Royal Mail staff cry foul over shares, ￡50 note could feature Princess Diana and Prof Hawking, and more top news

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Royal Mail staff have claimed their shares were sabotaged, after the company issued a profit warning just weeks before many employees planned to sell their holdings. Shares in Royal Mail hit an all-time low after the company surprised investors with a profit downgrade, prompted by a bigger-than-expected fall in letter volumes and poor productivity performance. Today is the first time in five years that employees will be free to sell their shares without paying income tax. Royal Mail claims it had no choice but to tell investors as soon as it realised profits would be lower.

The public will be asked to nominate a British figure to appear on the new ￡50 note. Ministers have scrapped plans to ditch copper coins and the ￡50 note, instead announcing a new “modern” ￡50 note to be introduced in 2020. Printed on thin, flexible polymer that is cleaner and more durable than paper, the central bank said the new notes would be “harder to counterfeit and increase the quality of notes in circulation”. Princess Diana and Stephen Hawking topped a Sky News poll of possible contenders to appear on the new note.

Patisserie Valerie is considering suing auditor Grant Thornton for failing to spot a ￡40 million “black hole” in its finances. Executive chairman Luke Johnson revealed yesterday that the board has discovered two “secret” company bank overdrafts with HSBC and Barclays worth ￡9.7m. On Friday, he announced he will lend ￡20 million of his own money to save the company from folding. The 92-year-old chain revealed last week that it had discovered an estimated ￡20 million-plus in potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities.

Three-quarters of UK workers do not receive same pay from one month to the next, according to a report. The Resolution Foundation found pay volatility was particularly acute among the lowest earners, and was likely to lead to “increased anxiety and stress as well as more debt, and fewer opportunities to save for the future”. The thinktank has urged government to address zero-hours contracts and investigate reforming the universal credit benefit plan.

Car insurance costs have accelerated for the first time in a year, adding to fuel price pressures for motorists. An index put together by Confused.com and Willis Towers Watson showed insurers pushed up the premium for comprehensive cover by an average of 1%, or ￡8 per policy, between June and the end of September – bringing to an end four consecutive quarters of price falls. Drivers now must fork out around ￡760 on average for vehicle insurance.

Idea of the Day: When you’re pursuing a long-term, challenging project — like starting a business from scratch — it’s common for impatience and discouragement to set in. That’s why, Adobe’s Scott Belsky writes, it’s crucial to focus on the little victories, every step of the way.

“It is hard to summon a sense of hope and self-worth when you’re on your own. So you squeeze out any semblance of progress you can find, and then you celebrate it. One of the greatest motivators is a sign of progress.”

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— Natalie MacDonald