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Workplace Report September 2012
Working time - Change is afoot for the Working Time Directive. Workplace Report looks at the latest developments in hours at work; Disclosure of information - There are various avenues negotiators can exploit to get information out of employers; Latest case law on Contracts and employment tribunals
Pay and prices
Inflation closes gap on pay (250 words)
The gap between pay and prices has closed. The latest figures on pay settlements from LRD’s Payline database show the median (midpoint) ...
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 AWE. ... Open access
Annual increases in average weekly earnings (AWE) including bonuses (157 words)
1 The latest three-month ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
... Open access
Prices (73 words)
1 Jan ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (31 words)
Fourth quarter 2012 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Vince Cable’s reforms ‘a slap in the face’ (754 words)
The coalition government is consulting on whether to cut levels of compensation for unfair dismissal from the current cap of £72,300 to 12 ... Subscribers only
Anger at 1% imposed pay settlement at DWP (421 words)
An imposed 1% pay settlement at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirms that, after two years of pay-freeze policy, courtesy of ... Subscribers only
Most farm staff get 2.8% (326 words)
Pay increases due next month for agricultural workers in England and Wales will be geared in favour of the higher grades that cover three-quarters ... Subscribers only
£7,000 wage grab (150 words)
The share of economic output going towards wages has been falling, leaving us all worse off, according to a TUC report. ... Open access
Impact of outsourcing (137 words)
Employers and human resource (HR) specialists need to consider the impact of outsourcing and plan ahead so that employment relations is thought ... Open access
UCATT welcomes Labour’s review of ‘bogus’ contracts (473 words)
Construction union UCATT has welcomed an announcement by Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls at the September TUC Congress that the party ... Subscribers only
Sourhampton City Council pay cut reversed (221 words)
The pay cut imposed on local government staff by the then Conservative-controlled Southampton City Council is thankfully to be reversed. ... Open access
Living Wage in Bristol (115 words)
The South West TUC is calling on all the candidates standing for the post of elected mayor in November to support the idea of a Living Wage of £7 ... Open access
Rise after pay freeze (79 words)
Employees at Glassolutions (previously called Solaglas) around the UK have settled for a 2% pay rise effective from 1 July with a move to a common 1 ... Open access
London Living Wage (114 words)
Staff at the Industrial Dwellings Society, a small London-based housing association received a consolidated 2% pay increase from 1 August along with ... Open access
Equality news
Single parents ‘bumping down’ for flexible working (450 words)
Many single parents are unable to fulfil their working ambitions and instead have to take on junior jobs because they offer more flexible hours and ... Subscribers only
Ethnic workers hit as pay gap more than doubles (250 words)
The gap between the pay of white people and those from ethnic minorities has more than doubled in the 15 years to 2008, new research has found. ... Subscribers only
Rights of women facing job loss while pregnant (154 words)
The conciliation service Acas and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have published a new guide to help employers and employees understand the ... Open access
Learning and training news
Rise in Neets (108 words)
One in six 18-year-olds in England were not in education, employment or training (Neets) in the second quarter of 2012, according to recent ... Open access
TUC wants gold standard for apprenticeship schemes (344 words)
Stronger regulation and enforcement is needed to weed out sub-standard apprenticeship schemes and raise quality standards, according to the TUC in ... Subscribers only
Rep doubles up on awards (112 words)
Janette Dunbar, a Unite member working at Diageo’s Johnny Walker whisky factory in Kilmarnock, received a double shot of honours by winning ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Media union wants to win happy ending for soaps’ freelances (440 words)
Broadcast union BECTU is seeking the right to bargain on behalf of hundreds of freelances working on ITV’s Coronation Street and Emmerdale ... Subscribers only
European news
Weekly meetings for French unions and employers to improve employment security (344 words)
Unions and employers in France have agreed to meet on a weekly basis from the start of next month in an attempt to agree new arrangements to improve ... Subscribers only
Finns won’t reopen pay talks (428 words)
All three union confederations in Finland have turned down a proposal by the country’s most powerful employers’ associations to reopen ... Subscribers only
German paper workers get ‘fair result’ (260 words)
The German union Verdi has negotiated an above inflation pay increase for the around 100,000 workers employed in the paper and paper products ... Subscribers only
Law - Contracts
Contracts — the law (432 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions ... Subscribers only
Zero-hours contract did not reflect employment status (499 words)
The five claimants were careworkers engaged by Carewatch UK to provide a 24-hour critical care package for a severely disabled lady called VF. ... Subscribers only
Casual workers on assignments may have employment status (437 words)
Mr Drake worked for market researchers IPSOS MORI for five years, visiting members of the public in their homes and interviewing them. After he was ... Subscribers only
Independent contractor did fall into category of ‘worker’ (346 words)
Dr Westwood provided hair restoration services for a number of years under a contract of services as an independent contractor with the Hospital ... Subscribers only
Plan to cut pay was breach of employment contract (411 words)
Mr Roberts, a teacher at Whitecross School, was on sick leave suffering from stress and depression caused by work. ... Subscribers only
‘Use it or lose it’ holiday rules not allowed for sick workers (533 words)
Mrs Larner was off sick from her role as a clerical officer for NHS Leeds for the whole of the 2009-10 holiday year and into the next holiday year, ... Subscribers only
Government free to decide on rules for statutory holiday (290 words)
This case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) involved a German fireman who retired from service with 86 days of unused statutory holiday, built ... Subscribers only
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals — the law (269 words)
Most tribunal claims must be lodged within three months of the matter complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in unfair dismissal claims ... Subscribers only
Don’t lose shirt over date of termination of employment (528 words)
The effective date of termination of employment (EDT) is important because it is the date used to calculate whether a claim has been brought in the ... Subscribers only
Claimants must beware of strict approach to time limits (399 words)
Mr O’Cathnail had brought an unsuccessful claim against his former employer, Transport for London and he wanted to appeal to the Employment ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Heart problems brought on by working shifts (397 words)
Shift workers are significantly more likely to suffer heart attacks, coronary events, such as cardiac arrests, and strokes, a review of past studies ... Subscribers only
Doctors fail to make right assessment over deaths (283 words)
There has been suspicion for some time that doctors are making significant errors when assessing the cause of individuals’ deaths. In ... Subscribers only
Wristband warns over sunlight risk (287 words)
A new wristband which warns wearers when they are at risk of being overexposed to sunlight will be available from next year. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Mums-to-be benefit from early break from work (317 words)
Women who work late into their pregnancy may be harming their babies, recent research has shown. ... Subscribers only
Guide sets out how to work safely on roofs (83 words)
The HSE has produced the fourth edition of its guide to safe roof working. ... Open access
All at sea over tragedies (267 words)
Fifteen people lost their lives in 2011 on UK merchant or fishing vessels and eight lost their lives on non-UK vessels, according to the latest ... Subscribers only
Impact of stress on women's health (272 words)
A new US study has revealed the impact that stress can have on women’s health. ... Subscribers only
Features
European negotiations on track over working time (2,946 words)
There has been something of a lull in long-hours working and bargaining over working time. But with agreement on changing the Working Time Directive ... Subscribers only
Knowledge is power — reps’ rights to employer information (2,099 words)
Strong union organisation can be a major factor in winning improvements in the workplace over many issues, including pay and other benefits and ... Subscribers only