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Workplace Report April 2012
Pay round review - An analysis of settlements from LRD's Payline database suggests that three out of five private sector deals are higher this year; Health, safety and equality - A gender-sensitive approach to health and safety is a sure way to get everyone protected; Latest case law on redundancy, transfers and dismissal
Pay and prices
Pay deals still lag inflation (253 words)
Pay settlements are still averaging 3.0% in the three months to March, unchanged from the three months to February, the latest figures from the LRD ...
Subscribers only
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (223 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered). ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
Source: ASHE 2011 uprated by ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (151 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
... Open access
Prices (74 words)
1 Jan ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (31 words)
Fourth quarter 2012 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Public sector pensions dispute is not over yet (801 words)
There will be another day of action over changes to public sector pensions on 10 May as unions, who feel that the government’s negotiating ... Subscribers only
Chemical workers get right formula on pay (367 words)
Pay rises of at least 3% seem to be the order of the day in the chemical manufacturing sector, but with bonus or performance elements adding to ... Subscribers only
Unions target local councils over rise for low paid staff (425 words)
Frustrated by a third year of pay freeze in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, union members in local government are switching their fire to ... Subscribers only
Parity at Eddie Stobart (178 words)
Pay parity for agency staff in year three of their service is part of this year’s 4% deal for staff at haulier Eddie Stobart’s ... Open access
Diamond Jubilee holiday (119 words)
Half a million construction workers covered by the Construction industry Joint Council (CIJC) Working Rule Agreement will be entitled to an ... Open access
Disputes still remain over new HMRC attendance policy (380 words)
Union objections to a new attendance management policy at the HM Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) have made their impact, with the approach ... Subscribers only
Unite ‘satisfied’ with ‘very fair’ pay pot of 3.6% at Axa (337 words)
When pay negotiations concluded at insurance company Axa, finance union Unite pronounced itself satisfied that real progress had been made, ... Subscribers only
Usdaw take CARE on Unilever pension (169 words)
Members of Usdaw at the soap to margarine manufacturers Unilever have reluctantly agreed to changes in the company pension scheme. ... Open access
Police are to ballot on right to strike (113 words)
The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents 135,000 police officers up to and including the rank of chief inspector, is to ballot ... Open access
Equality news
Cut hits poorest families who can’t get extra hours (398 words)
Figures released by the shopworkers’ union Usdaw and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) reveal that two-thirds of the families who stand ... Subscribers only
Women lose out over new pension’s pay thresholds (370 words)
More than a million low-paid women could lose out on employer pension contributions after a government decision on thresholds for auto-enrolment, ... Subscribers only
Women’s jobs take big hit in council cuts (258 words)
Women make up over two-thirds of those who have lost their jobs in councils across the England and Wales and in some councils they account for 100% ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Work experience valuable for successful apprentices (322 words)
Young people who take part in work experience or vocational study at school are more likely to succeed in an apprenticeship, according a new report ... Subscribers only
New learning centre opens (111 words)
Construction union UCATT and housing repairs and maintenance firm Kier North Tyneside have announced the opening this month of a new, ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Training course pulls in ‘hard-to-reach’ workers (253 words)
Public services union UNISON has run a successful innovative pilot training course aimed at giving in “hard-to-reach” outsourced ... Subscribers only
Two unions win rights (110 words)
The GMB general union has won the right to collectively bargain on behalf of care workers employed by Bethsaida Home Care Services, Whitehaven. ... Open access
Community Members’ Representation & Support Network (58 words)
Community: The Union for Life is urging members to help free up officers’ time by participating in a Members’ Representation & ... Open access
European news
‘Notable result’ as German public sector unions agree above-inflation rise (498 words)
Public sector unions and employers in Germany have reached agreement on a deal which provides an above-inflation 3.5% this year and a total of 6.3% ... Subscribers only
Five-year deal signed n Spanish telemarketing (314 words)
After protracted negotiations, unions have reached an agreement in principle on pay and other conditions for the 40,000 people employed in the ... Subscribers only
Two-year settlement for childcare staff in the Netherlands (126 words)
Unions representing 95,000 employees working in childcare in the Netherlands have reached agreement on pay increases in 2012 and 2013. ... Open access
Indexation threat to Belgian living standards (152 words)
In a surprise move, the Belgian public services minister Hendrik Bogaert has suggested making changes to the country’s pay setting mechanism, ... Open access
Law - TUPE
Transfers (285 words)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ... Subscribers only
Bus drivers’ relocation was a ‘significant change’ (572 words)
This is an important case interpreting regulation 4(9) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). This ... Subscribers only
Dedicated team required for service provision transfer (324 words)
The company, Eddie Stobart Limited, ran a warehousing and logistics business distributing meat between suppliers and several British supermarkets. ... Subscribers only
Replacing staff with franchisees was a ‘change of workforce’ (370 words)
The claimants were a group of directly employed meter readers, who went from house to house reading domestic meters for Scottish Power. Their ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal - the law (406 words)
f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least a year, although some types of dismissal do not require ... Subscribers only
Failure over ‘reconstruction’ made dismissals unfair (621 words)
Two long-serving nurses with clean disciplinary records were dismissed for gross misconduct after a colleague reported seeing them tie an ... Subscribers only
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy - the law (290 words)
A redundancy situation exists where an employer closes or intends to close the workplace or reduce the number of employees doing a particular kind ... Subscribers only
Steward was automatically unfairly selected for redundancy (441 words)
The claimant, a GMB shop steward, worked in the warehouse of a large multinational building materials manufacturer. ... Subscribers only
Employer can use subjective criteria in redundancy selection (425 words)
Samsung Electronics carried out a restructuring which eliminated the claimant’s existing role and created other positions, including a new ... Subscribers only
Yes, an employer can use a selection pool of one (257 words)
The claimant worked for a small distributor. He was the only member of staff based in China. Other employees, based in the UK, carried out ... Subscribers only
No, an employer cannot use a selection pool of one (226 words)
Capita Hartsmead employed four actuaries, and needed to make one redundancy because of a fall in work. Many of the pension schemes administered by ... Open access
Health & safety news
Older workers carry out more unpaid overtime (369 words)
Proportionally, more of the unpaid overtime worked in the UK is performed by older workers in their late 50s and early 60s, according to TUC research. ... Subscribers only
Women don’t feel safe on journey to and from work (345 words)
One in seven (15%) of retail union Usdaw’s female members feel that travelling to and from work is unsafe or very unsafe. ... Subscribers only
Mayor ignores safety concerns on driverless trains (296 words)
The Mayor of London is risking lives with his promise to introduce driverless trains on the London Underground (LU). ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Introduction of HSE’s cost recovery scheme delayed (271 words)
The HSE has postponed a scheme to bill employers for taking action against them over breaches of health and safety law. ... Subscribers only
Union welcomes inquiry into dog attackes (212 words)
A retired High Court Judge is to head an independent inquiry into dog attacks on postal workers. ... Open access
Asbestos victims need ‘help’ (174 words)
Victims, dying of occupational cancers, should not be penalised as a consequence of the government’s drive to trim £350 million off the ... Open access
New asbestos regulations (164 words)
Regulations covering asbestos have been updated. ... Open access
Laws faced with axe (99 words)
The HSE is consulting about removing 14 legislative measures as part of its Red Tape Challenge and on the recommendations in the Löfstedt ... Open access
Features
Private sector deals hold up well but pay curbed in public sector (3,268 words)
There is to be a 1.8% rise on the adult minimum wage this autumn, but how will that stack up alongside wider pay trends? Evidence from LRD’s ... Subscribers only
Gender approach makes sure that every worker is protected (2,025 words)
Health and safety law in the UK covers virtually all workers. However, the current legislation is generally “gender-neutral” — ... Subscribers only