Issue 34

PFI is poor value for money, say MPs (542 words)

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding for new infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, does not provide taxpayers with good value for money and stricter ...

Oh, it’s lonely at the top — for women (349 words)

There is a continuing trend of women being passed over for top jobs in Britain, according to the EHRC equality and human rights commission, ...

Take-home pay ‘fragile’ (272 words)

The outlook for both private and public sector pay remains fragile, according to data from the pay processor VocaLink. ...

Forecasts for economy (240 words)

The economy is expected to grow more slowly than forecast earlier, according to the Treasury’s summary of forecasts from around 40 independent institutions. ...

Rising demand for temporary staff (353 words)

The continuing fragility in the UK economy has resulted in employers increasing their long-term demand for flexible staffing while downgrading their plans to increase ...

UK's democratic deficit (330 words)

The European sovereign debt crisis, the News International scandal, and now the widespread looting in England’s major cities all bear witness, in different ways, ...

Employment relations in the public sector (172 words)

Government measures to reduce the deficit and reconfigure the role of the state could have profound implications for public sector employment relations, according to ...

Issue 33

Inflation steady at 5% (366 words)

Inflation is showing a stubborn reluctance to fall, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. The rate of inflation under ...

Health and safety law no burden on business (285 words)

Health and safety legislation in the UK is neither excessive nor damaging to innovation, according to Prospect, the trade union that represents staff at ...

Earnings slowly close gap with inflation (456 words)

Latest official figures show that earnings growth in some sectors is slowly catching up on inflation. ...

Redundancy pay cut court challenge fails (151 words)

The High Court challenge by the PCS civil service union to the imposition of cuts to civil service redundancy pay has been dismissed, despite ...

No joy on joblessness as figures show rise (550 words)

Unemployment rose on both counts, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. And it was women who were setting the ...

Issue 32

Don’t abandon family- friendly work (520 words)

Weakening the right to request flexible working risks giving employers the green light to abandon family-friendly practices, the TUC warns in its submission to ...

No sign of realism over pay in the City (261 words)

While some have been looting shops and businesses, other have been holed up indoors, checking their large pay cheques from working in the City. ...

Food supplier breached labour guidelines (319 words)

An investigation into agency labour suppliers at the Kent-based agricultural producer Thanet Earth by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) found that legal guidelines have ...

Gap in private sector pensions widens (513 words)

The growing pension gap in the private sector between the workforce and the top executives is revealed in a report from the High Pay ...

Vulnerable workers website launched (315 words)

Vulnerable workers — people who have little knowledge of their employment rights, who find it hard to access advice and who do not have ...

Disappointing dip in manufacturing output (296 words)

Manufacturing output fell by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the first quarter of the year, according to the Office for ...

Issue 31

Tory attacks on time-off for union duties (301 words)

The government has opened a new front in its war on trade unions. It is attempting to wreck union organisation among hundreds of thousands ...

New apprenticeships (164 words)

Details of a £25 million fund that will support up to 10,000 Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships, giving firms in sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, ...

Increase in demand for conciliation service (264 words)

The conciliation service Acas has seen a significant increase in demand for their help resolving large-scale disputes in the past year. Acas’s annual report ...

Charity funding cuts (314 words)

More than 2,000 charities and community groups are facing budget cuts as local authorities reduce their funding — or in some cases completely withdraw ...

Council backtracks on offshoring service (416 words)

Service Birmingham, the joint venture with Capita that provides services for Birmingham city council, has been asked to abandon plans to offshore IT and ...

Nurse wins landmark equal pay case (318 words)

A nurse, backed by her union UNISON, has won a landmark equal pay claim against City & Hackney Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT). ...

Pressure on settlements (341 words)

Employees have been “feeling the pressure” in their take-home pay, with three in five receiving pay freezes in 2011, according to research from the ...

Tories — win at any cost (109 words)

Last year — general election year — saw the Conservative Party spend over £6 million more than they received in income, their latest accounts ...