Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Friday (19 December 2025):
- Workers’ rights bill threatens to kill part-time jobs, warns Currys boss: Labour’s workers’ rights bill threatens to kill part-time jobs, the boss of Currys has said. Alex Baldock warned of “unintended consequences” from the Employment Rights Bill, which passed through the House of Lords on Tuesday. He said: “What it boils down to is the harder, riskier and more expensive you make it to employ people, the fewer people will be employed.” Baldock said he was particularly concerned about rules that would force retailers to give staff guaranteed hours, which “threaten the viability of the very part-time and flexible, and entry-level jobs that they set out to protect”. [Telegraph]
- UK’s roads and airports brace for busiest Christmas getaway on record: Britain’s roads and runways will take a festive pounding on Friday as traffic peaks before Christmas and record numbers head to the skies. Motoring organisations are forecasting exceptionally busy roads, with getaways expected to peak on Saturday and Christmas Eve. However, they say the mix of commuter travel, shopping trips, and early departures will make Friday the most congested day. [Guardian]
- £100 contactless card limit to be lifted: Millions of people will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits or even have no limit at all, a regulator has confirmed. Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum – or unlimited – single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN. But they are also being encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to allow cardholders to set their own individual limits, or switch off contactless entirely. Some banks already offer this function. [BBC]
- TikTok signs deal to avoid US ban: TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with US and global investors for the majority of its business in America, TikTok’s boss told employees on Thursday. Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on 22 January, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns. [Axios]
- On Friday, Oil was trading flat at $59.40. The pound is trading at $1.34, €1.14, and ¥9.42.
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