麻豆社

Some employers are now allowing their staff to take time off when they get a new pet. It's being called "pawternity" leave. Some bosses are also allowing people to take their pets into work with them. Is it a step too far to allow time off for a new dog? And what is it like working with a colleague who brings their dog into work?

If you're retiring this year, you're likely to have a bigger income than a new graduate. It's the first time that average pension incomes have overtaken what a new graduate can expect to earn. Figures from a survey carried out by the Prudential suggest that average pension incomes have reached 拢20,000 a year, while government figures show that people who've just graduated are typically earning just over 拢19,000. Is that fair? We hear from a father and son, who retired and graduated in the same year.

People who run small independent shops say that the cost of returning goods is putting them out of business. Internet shopping has raised expectations that we can return anything we've ordered, just because we've changed our minds. But where the big chains can absorb the cost of "free returns", it is much harder for smaller traders. We hear from one whose business closed as a result and ask how small stores can respond to this new pressure.

Producer: Jonathan Hallewell
Presenter: Winifred Robinson.