British Airways to suspend 36,000 employees using job retention scheme

British Airways, which already grounded the majority of its fleet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been negotiating a deal with Unite for more than a week, whose details aren't signed yet. The agreement would suspend 80% of the airline cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and headquarters' employees but would not make them redundant.

As a result, the decision will impact the staff at Gatwick and London City Airport after the airline pauses its operations at both locations until the crisis is over. The people affected by the decision will receive compensation from the government's job retention scheme in response to the coronavirus crisis, which covers 80% of someone's salary capped at a maximum of £2,500 a month.

19 startups shortlisted for the Bright Red Sparks awards in Edinburgh

The shortlist has been unveiled for the third Bright Red Sparks awards and includes six categories. An initiative from Edinburgh Napier’s Bright Red Triangle hub, these awards provide an excellent opportunity for Edinburgh Napier students, staff, and alumni to showcase their entrepreneurial success with a chance to win cash prizes (more than £10,000 in prizes - with food, clothing, cleaning and media businesses) and support to further develop themselves, their ideas, and their business.

The winners will be announced online via a Facebook live event on the evening of Tuesday April 14. More information related to COVID-19 is available on their website.

Bright Red Sparks Awards 2020 shortlist:

  • Bright Ideas (£2,000 prize + in-kind support): CupClean cleaning product (Ross McFarland), 10T clothing brand (James Marshall), FoxBox tableware hire service (Linda Freimane)
  • Going for Growth (£2,000 prize + in-kind support): MaRobert’s food and sauces (Maggie Mazoleka), High Tide film and video production (Alex Porter-Smith, Eathan Currie), Monstrous Regiment Publishing indie press (Lauren Nickoemus, Ellen Desmond)
  • Business for Good (£2,000 prize): 10T clothing brand (James Marshall), Fine Piece homeware from recycled materials (Kirsty McKain & Rebecca Subido), EQUIPLY supply chain equality (Wai Fong Lam)
  • Active Citizens (£1,000 prize): Bloody Big Project period poverty awareness (Hannah Stevens, Brogan Henderson, Sam Calder), Towns of Today personalised guides (Rory Cotter, Morgan Tamplin), pRESPECT reducing child poverty (Viana Maya, Karsten Huttenhain)
  • Enterprising Educators (£2,000 prize): Enterprise Partnership Initiative student entrepreneurship (Dr King Omeihe), Entrepreneurial Leadership Programme developing entrepreneurial thinking (Dr Christopher Cramphorn, Dr Rosemary Alford), Built Environment Exchange sustainable construction (Prof Robert Hairstans, Dr Mila Duncheva, Andrew Livingstone, Carola Calcagno, Wojciech Plowas), Design for Professional Practice career development (Ruth Cochrane)
  • Freelancer of the Year (£1,000 prize + in-kind support): Loïc Bauméa web development, Bright Edge Media video storytelling (John Matheson), Charles Seed Media photographer and videographer

UK government to launch coronavirus 'contact tracking' app

Similarly to what has been done in China, The UK government is preparing to launch an app that will warn users if they are in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. NHSX will announce an ethics board to oversee its development.

How will it work? The app is programmed to use short-range Bluetooth signals to detect other phones in close perimeter and then store a record of those contacts on the device. If somebody tests positive for COVID-19, they will be able to upload those contacts, who can then be alerted via the app. This means that the data will not be regularly shared with a central authority - which potentially could raise concerns around privacy infringement. If people with the app later test positive for coronavirus, they can allow all the people they've been near to be informed, so those people could self-isolate.