5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Friday (28 November 2025):

Black Friday is here: Once considered an American tradition, Black Friday has now become a major shopping occasion in numerous countries around the world – including the UK. HotMinute has rounded up the top Black Friday deals from the UK’s top retailers. [HotMinute]

Households face ‘dismal’ rise in spending power: Households are facing a “truly dismal” increase in living standards after the Budget, the head of an influential think tank has warned as it accused Labour of breaching its manifesto promise. Average disposable income – a measure of people’s earnings after tax – will rise by just 0.5% over each of the next five years, according to the government”s official forecaster. IFS boss Helen Miller said she considered the rise in National Insurance, due to the cap on salary sacrifice pension payments and the freezing of tax thresholds, a breach of its pledge not to raise taxes on working people. [BBC]

Government to ditch day-one unfair dismissal policy: A flagship policy that would have given workers the right to claim unfair dismissal after their first day on the job is to be ditched by the government in favour of a six-month threshold. In a U-turn constituting a direct breach of Labour’s manifesto, the government said it had brokered a deal between six of the country’s biggest business groups and trade union leaders to shake up its plan for the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation. [Guardian]

JPMorgan to build multi-billion pound tower in Canary Wharf: JPMorgan Chase & Co will build a tower in London’s Canary Wharf financial district, unveiling plans on Thursday to invest billions of pounds on the heels of a budget that sought to boost Britain’s finances and growth. The bank said the project would contribute 9.9 billion pounds ($13.1 billion) over six years to the local economy – including the cost of construction – and create 7,800 jobs. [Reuters]