Fact Service September 2012

Issue 39 (28/09/2012) More NHS trusts are in deficit; A third of bonuses are paid in finance sector; Proposals would make it easier to dismiss; Government consults on tribunal procedure; Women's employment; Survey of occupational pension schemes; Auto enrolment gets underway; Proposals on micro businesses; NMW increases

Issue 38 (20/09/2012) Inflation falls to 2.9%; Excess workloads bring heart risks; Coalition banks on business bank; Take home pay index shows weak growth; Shift in women's jobs; Regional disparities to get worse unless...

Issue 37 (13/09/2012) Top directors' pensions; Small fall in official jobless figures; Tough climate for union negotiators; Call for national minimum hours; Little growth in average earnings; Flexible working a means to an end

Issue 36 (06/09/2012) Named and shamed over minimum wage; More right wing takes on regional pay; How austerity affects public sector pay; Too young for pension, too old for work; Zero-hours contracts take hold in NHS

Issue 39

More NHS trusts are in deficit, says report (258 words)

A new report from the Audit Commission summarises the findings from the 2011-12 audit of primary care trust (PCT), NHS trust and strategic health ...
Subscribers only

A third of bonuses are paid in finance sector (166 words)

The Office for National Statistics has released its analysis of bonus payments in the year to March 2012. A total of £37 billion was paid in ...
Open access

Proposals would make it easier to dismiss (423 words)

The government is consulting on making it easier, cheaper and faster for employers to dismiss workers and resolve tribunal claims. ...
Subscribers only

Government consults on tribunal procedure (359 words)

The government intends to adopt Lord Justice Underhill’s recommendations on amending employment tribunal procedure and is currently ...
Subscribers only

Women's employment (173 words)

In a new Economic report the TUC focuses on women and work, looking at changes since the turn of this century. ...
Open access

Survey of occupational pension schemes (265 words)

The annual survey of occupational pension schemes for 2011 has been published by the Office for National Statistics. ...
Subscribers only

Auto enrolment gets underway (132 words)

For major employers, pensions auto-enrolment is about to be introduced from October 2012. This will clearly have some impact in future years, ...
Open access

Proposals on micro businesses (279 words)

The government has published its response to the consultation on Dealing with Dismissal and Compensated No Fault Dismissal for Micro Businesses. ...
Subscribers only

NMW increases (116 words)

The adult National Minimum Wage rises by 11 pence per hour to £6.19 per hour from 1 October. The increase in percentage terms — 1.8% ...
Open access

Issue 38

Inflation falls to 2.9% (469 words)

There were falls in both of the main measures of inflation last month, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. ...
Subscribers only

Excess workloads bring heart risks (249 words)

Highly demanding jobs where workers feel they have little control over decision-making could raise their risk of heart attack by a quarter, ...
Open access

Coalition banks on business bank (469 words)

A new financial institution or business bank needs to be created to help companies invest in capital and drive their expansion, according to ...
Subscribers only

Take home pay index shows weak growth (219 words)

Weak growth in manufacturing take home pay and slow growth in the service sector led to a decrease in the take home pay index produced by pay ...
Open access

Shift in women’s jobs (353 words)

Many of the recent increases in women’s employment levels have been in self-employment and involuntary part-time work, which pose a threat to ...
Subscribers only

Regional disparities to get worse unless... (440 words)

The regional divide is set to widen unless the government does more to rebalance the economy, according to a report by The Work Foundation. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 37

Top directors’ pensions (294 words)

Directors of the UK’s top companies have built up huge pension pots, according to the TUC’s 10th PensionsWatch survey. ...
Subscribers only

Small fall in official jobless figures (567 words)

There was a small fall in the number of jobless people, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. ...
Subscribers only

Tough climate for union negotiators (296 words)

Austerity and the poor state of the economy has created a tough climate for union negotiators, according to the latest TUC Equality Audit. ...
Subscribers only

Call for national minimum hours (308 words)

In the face of an increasing number of employers using zero-hours contracts, there has been a union call for national minimum hours. Sarah Veale, ...
Subscribers only

Little growth in average earnings (543 words)

Average earnings growth edged up, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, which have been subject to wide revisions. ...
Subscribers only

Flexible working a means to an end (283 words)

Every worker should be able to do their job flexibly unless a business can justify otherwise, according to a new report from the Age UK charity. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 36

Named and shamed over minimum wage (506 words)

Norman Lamb, minister for employment relations, has named an employer under a government scheme for naming employers who flout National Minimum Wage ...
Subscribers only

More right wing takes on regional pay (706 words)

Two more dubious pieces of research have been produced in support of Chancellor George Osborne’s idea of destroying national pay deals in the ...
Subscribers only

How austerity affects public sector pay (121 words)

An austerity pay calculator on the website of the PCS civil service union gives a personal estimate of the impact of the government’s ...
Open access

Too young for pension, too old for work (544 words)

Disability and poor health are preventing nearly half a million people approaching retirement from working, a figure that will only increase as the ...
Subscribers only

Zero-hours contracts take hold in NHS (313 words)

A damaging culture of zero-hours contracts is taking hold in the NHS as a result of changes introduced by the coalition government, the public ...
Subscribers only