Fact Service August 2019

Issue 35 (28/08/2019) - More boardroom excess; Public sector pensions: further legal claims?
; Message is ignore mobile while driving
; Non-compliance over auto-enrolment; Recognition for Unite at motorway group


Issue 34 (22/08/2019) - Chief execs earn 117 times average worker
; NI women penalised for being pregnant
; The productivity puzzle and its cost
; Tories should get a grip on pensions industry

Issue 33 (15/08/2019) - Real pay cut for lower and middle earners
; Unemployment back above 1.3 million
; RPI inflation pegged down a notch
; Average earnings growth slips back

Issue 32 (08/08/2019) - Lower-income families hit most since 2008


; Register to log workers affected by silica dust; Asbestos group wins access to court files; Scrap earnings trigger to close pension gap; Landmark victory over holiday pay; Asda threaten staff over new contract

Issue 31 (01/08/2019) - Study finds 4.5m plus in deep poverty in UK


; Number of workplace deaths increases; New protections for pregnant women?
; Approach to equality law needs to change; Eye-watering bills for holiday childcare

Issue 35

More boardroom excess
 (691 words)

Twenty-one top executives received a total on £60.16 million in the latest tranche of executive pay deals detailed in the table on page 138.
 ...
Subscribers only

Public sector pensions: further legal claims?
 (480 words)

The government could be facing legal challenges from teachers and doctors who were transferred into less beneficial pension schemes. 
 ...
Subscribers only

Message is ignore mobile while driving
 (511 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has used the Royal Mail’s August Road Safety campaign to ram home the message: “A phone call or your life? ...
Subscribers only

Non-compliance over auto-enrolment
 (258 words)

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has used its enforcement powers to tackle pensions auto-enrolment non-compliance 23,409 times between April and June 2019 ...
Subscribers only

Recognition for Unite at motorway group
 (205 words)

A successful organising campaign by the Unite general union and positive negotiations between the union and Connect Plus Services (CPS), have won ...
Open access

Issue 34

Chief execs earn 117 times average worker
 (524 words)

The average salary for chief executives fell by 13% between 2017 and 2018, but they still earned 117 times more than the average UK full-time worker, ...
Subscribers only

NI women penalised for being pregnant
 (722 words)

Many working women are still experiencing unfair treatment and being penalised for being pregnant and taking maternity leave in workplaces across ...
Subscribers only

The productivity puzzle and its cost
 (682 words)

Increasing the wages of workers and giving them more time off to spend them is key to raising the UK’s productivity, according to research from the ...
Subscribers only

Tories should get a grip on pensions industry
 (472 words)

The government should compel all pension schemes to show how they are providing value for money, as it is not convinced the industry can rise to the ...
Subscribers only

Issue 33

Real pay cut for lower and middle earners
 (378 words)

Millions of employees in lower- and middle-income jobs have suffered real pay reductions over the last decade, according to new TUC analysis of how ...
Subscribers only

Unemployment back above 1.3 million
 (574 words)

Unemployed posted an increase in the latest official count, pushing up the unemployment rate too.
 ...
Subscribers only

RPI inflation pegged down a notch
 (516 words)

Dearer holidays both here and abroad were offset by the travelling there, according to official data.
 ...
Subscribers only

Average earnings growth slips back
 (623 words)

Average weekly earnings growth fell back in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 
 ...
Subscribers only

Issue 32

Lower-income families hit most since 2008 
 (596 words)

The income squeeze that followed the last financial crisis has left low and middle income households more vulnerable to the next economic shock than ...
Subscribers only

Register to log workers affected by silica dust
 (308 words)

An online register to allow workers who have been exposed to silica dust to register their exposure, to assist with potential future legal cases if ...
Subscribers only

Asbestos group wins access to court files
 (372 words)

The Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK can access court documents used in a legal case against the asbestos manufacturer Cape Intermediate ...
Subscribers only

Scrap earnings trigger to close pension gap
 (309 words)

The gender pension gap could be reduced by scrapping the earnings trigger for auto-enrolment pensions, says the professionals’ union Prospect.
 ...
Subscribers only

Landmark victory over holiday pay
 (482 words)

Holiday pay for permanent staff who only work part of the year should be calculated using their average earnings over a 12-week period and not ...
Subscribers only

Asda threatens staff over new contract
 (147 words)

Supermarket group Asda is threatening tens of thousands of workers with the sack if they don’t sign “punishing” new contracts.
 ...
Open access

Issue 31

Study finds 4.5m in deep poverty in UK
 (638 words)

More than four million people in the UK are trapped in deep poverty, meaning their income is at least 50% below the official breadline, according to ...
Subscribers only

Number of workplace deaths increases
 (637 words)

There was an increase in the number of workers fatally injured at work in Great Britain last year, according to the latest official figures.
 ...
Subscribers only

New protections for pregnant women? 
 (255 words)

Pregnant women and new mothers could receive up to two years of legal protection against redundancy, with new protections being extended for an ...
Subscribers only

Approach to equality law needs to change
 (478 words)

There should fundamental shift in how equality laws are enforced as the current approach is not fit for purpose, says the Women and Equalities ...
Subscribers only

Eye-watering bills for holiday childcare
 (230 words)

Working parents are facing a holiday childcare bill of up to £800 — more than double the cost of term-time childcare, according to an annual ...
Open access