As the spring sunshine continues to beat steadily down on the UK and we look set to enjoy a long hot summer, the economy seems to be sharing the same pleasant outlook as the weather.

Although 0.5 percent is nothing to write home about, it is better than many of our European neighbours and certainly more positive than the position which Ireland, Portugal and Greece fin themselves.

However, a note of caution also needs to be sounded for private contractors to the public sector as many governmental organisations are announcing cut backs in areas such as re-branding and structural cosmetic expenditure. 

With this in mind, an important announcement from the British Printing Industries Federation to take note off is the new legislation in regards to the repeal of the default retirement age, urging ‘extreme caution’.

Under the regulations from April 4th 2012 employers will not be able to lawfully notify any employees they are being retired. However, as part of the published transitional arrangements an employee who has reached the age 65 before or on September 30th 2011 can be retired after April 4th. But following a discrepancy in the actual wording of the regulations, this transitional arrangement is essentially defunct, and the BPIF urge all employers to consult legal advice before issuing any retirement notices in the near future.

On another note, I am very happy to announce that SignLink has taken a new team member on board in the form of Pádraig McGarrigle, who will be our new online reporter.

Pádraig’s role is to push forward the momentum of our presence in cyber space and build on the re-launch of the website and its associated Sign-TV.co.uk sister site. He will also be focussing on breaking financial stories on the website and keeping a watch on rogue traders, phoenix companies and business liquidations. As always, we welcome contributions from our readers and urge you to get in contact if you have any news, updates or opinions on the content of our editorial section.