Issue 30

Economic recovery continues in first half (249 words)

The UK economy continued on its road to recovery, but there are still fears of a double dip recession. ...

Ageism still rife in UK job market (602 words)

The coalition government’s plans to reform welfare-to-work benefits are set to increase the number of older workers looking for a job. However, the Age ...

Co-op Group to create 2,000 apprenticeships (377 words)

A £21 million campaign to inspire young people, including a new Apprenticeship Academy that will eventually offer all young staff transferable skills and qualifications ...

Payline settlements up to 2.1% in May (257 words)

The median (mid-point) for pay increases in the three months to June was 2.1% for all agreements, the Labour Research Department’s (LRD) Payline database ...

Skills reform needed to keep world ranking (454 words)

Experts have warned that the UK’s economy — currently the sixth largest in the world — is set to slide down the international rankings ...

Council unions register dispute with employers (233 words)

Local government unions have registered a formal dispute with the LGE employers’ organisation over three measures which will have a detrimental impact on members ...

Minimum wage change (122 words)

From 1 January next year, the law will change to stop payments made into travel and subsistence tax relief schemes from counting towards the ...

Issue 29

Bad start to year for UK's trading position (248 words)

Britain’s trading with the rest of the world deteriorated at the start of 2010, according to early estimates from the Office for National Statistics. ...

Coalition's work from home proposal (332 words)

Employers will be encouraged to let staff work from home as part of a government campaign to cut traffic congestion, it has been announced. ...

Trade unions’ political spend is down (146 words)

The 28 unions with political funds spent £17.8 million in 2008-09 — a 5% fall on the previous year when they spent £18.76 million. ...

Pension calculation to move to CPI measure (885 words)

The coalition government has announced its intention to move to using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) as the measure of price inflation for the ...

Interns should be paid training wage (200 words)

Union calls for an end to the exploitation of graduate interns have been echoed by the release of a policy paper by the Chartered ...

Recognition successes for two unions (93 words)

Workers in the body building and paint spraying shops of Hants and Dorset Trim have voted in favour of recognition for the RMT transport ...

Earnings growth dips (348 words)

Average earnings for the whole economy rose by 1.4% in May against just 0.8% the previous month, according to the Average Earnings Index figures ...

Issue 28

UK economy was on the up in early 2010 (104 words)

The UK economy was expanding in early 2010, latest official estimates show. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.3% in the first quarter of ...

Holiday childcare is postcode lottery (382 words)

A woeful lack of holiday childcare is revealed in new research by the Daycare Trust, the national childcare charity. Ahead of the school holidays, ...

Inflation edges down (250 words)

Inflation dipped slightly on the back of cheaper clothes and falling domestic fuel prices. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), inflation was 5.0% in ...

Jobless fall comes with warning from TUC (514 words)

Unemployment fell on both official counts, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...

Tribunal claims soar in the recession (202 words)

The number of claims accepted by employment tribunals has increased by 56% to the highest level on record, according to new figures. ...

Earnings growth still lags behind inflation (336 words)

Earnings across the economy continue to fall in real terms, the latest official figures show. ...

Issue 27

NATS directors fly off as millionaires (239 words)

Two directors of the air traffic control group NATS flew off into the sunset with £million pay and benefits packages, the company’s latest accounts ...

New equality law takes effect from October (262 words)

The first wave of implementation of the 2010 Equality Act will go ahead as planned in October, the coalition government has announced. ...

Boardroom pay — no link to performance (267 words)

The pay packages enjoyed by Britain’s top directors are increasingly out of step with the actual performance of their companies, a report claims. ...

Returning to work can aid recovery (332 words)

People with mental health problems do not have to be completely recovered to return to work as getting back into their job can aid ...

Government assault on civil service pay-offs (364 words)

The coalition government is to attack the redundancy rights of those civil servants it is attempting to get rid off in its all-out attack ...

Fatalities at work down to record low (313 words)

The number of people killed at work in Britain fell last year to a record low, but the figures came with a warning against ...

People missing out on minimum standard (476 words)

People on low incomes face a much higher inflation rate than shown in the official Consumer Prices Index, which the Budget announced as the ...

Issue 26

Prince’s princely profit (271 words)

The Prince of Wales’s private income rose last year to £17.2 million — but less official travel meant he received a cut in grant-in-aid ...

Transsexual wins right to pension at 60 (269 words)

A married transsexual has won a legal battle to receive a pension from the age of 60. ...

Earnings growth dips (308 words)

Average earnings showed the distorting effect that City bonuses can have on the official earnings figures. The monthly rise in April was 1.0% against ...

BBC to cut pensions (220 words)

Media unions have condemned proposals by the BBC to radically change the pension provision for current and future staff at the corporation from December ...

Job cuts will follow austerity Budget (426 words)

George Osborne’s austerity Budget will result in the loss of up to 1.3 million jobs across the economy over the next five years, according ...

'Progessive' Budget claim is debatable (490 words)

The coalition’s claim that the Budget is “progressive” is debatable, according to the respected think tank the Institute for Fiscal studies (IFS). ...

Network Rail directors pick up £6 million (227 words)

The total pay bill of directors at public sector rail infrastructure company Network Rail came to £6.2 million in the year ending March 2010 ...