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Workplace Report March 2014
Multi-employer bargaining - Pay bargaining is now carried on much more at the company level, but in some industries, particularly construction, multiemployer deals are still popular; Overtime - The best rates sourced from LRD’s Payline database of collective agreements; Latest case law on TUPE transfers, redundancy and dismissal
Pay and prices
One step back after 2.6% rise (252 words)
Pay data shows a reverse in February as the 2.5% rise was down on the January rise of 2.6%. The median (midpoint) figures are derived from the Labour ...
Subscribers only
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (224 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
Source: ASHE 2013 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (153 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
Other pay analysts (24 words)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecasts-for-the-uk-economy-march-2014 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (33 words)
Fourth quarter 2014 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Health unions angry over Hunt’s snub (787 words)
The “independent” pay review body system took another hit this month as health secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected modest proposals on health ... Subscribers only
Government agrees 3% rise in NMW adult rate this autumn (449 words)
The coalition government has accepted the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission that the adult rate for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) should ... Subscribers only
Joint campaign success over London Living Wage at King’s (277 words)
Lower paid workers at a London university are to get the London Living Wage after a successful joint campaign by the GMB general union and the ... Subscribers only
Five-year deal in power distribution (221 words)
Staff at the power distribution firm National Grid are set to agree a five-year, part inflation-linked pay deal, running from July 2013 to June 2018. ... Open access
Benefit rates (79 words)
New rates for statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay come into force early next month. From 6 April, the new rate is £138.18 a week – a ... Open access
Compensation agreed for transferred council staff (414 words)
The public service union UNISON has finally agreed compensation with a north London council over council workers who were made redundant or ... Subscribers only
Santander final salary pension scheme saved (343 words)
The CWU communication workers’ union has negotiated a pay and pensions package for UK employees at the Santander bank that keeps the final salary ... Subscribers only
Prison staff get 1% and pay progression (282 words)
The recommendations of two pay review bodies for the prison service and the armed forces were accepted in full by the coalition government. However, ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Generation of women aged over 50 have been let down (320 words)
The work-life difficulties faced by older women have been addressed in a recent TUC report. ... Subscribers only
TUC guidance on menopause (135 words)
Employers have been slow to recognise that women of menopausal age may need special consideration, but that must change, says the TUC in new guidance ... Open access
Disabled children miss out on childcare (258 words)
Recent media headlines have focused on the horrendous cost of childcare, but the figures on supply of childcare for disabled children are dire and ... Subscribers only
Equality failings at NHS Trust? (311 words)
A union review of an NHS trust’s equality procedures has raised questions about their effectiveness. ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Rights of apprentices to be championed by new society (407 words)
A new pressure group for apprentices, the National Society for Apprentices, was officially launched by the National Union of Students (NUS) during ... Subscribers only
Apprentices get just 2% rise (138 words)
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for apprentices will rise by 2% from October to £2.73 an hour. ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Triple success in deals for Unite (375 words)
The Unite general union has recorded a number of new recognition successes in recent weeks, including two voluntary deals and one that required the ... Subscribers only
European news
German National minimum wage of €8.50 set for 2015 (645 words)
In early April, the German labour minister, Andrea Nahles, is expected to publish legislation setting out how the new national minimum wage will work ... Subscribers only
On the buses in Slovakia (201 words)
The OZ KOVO union has applied to the Slovak ministry of labour for an agreement it has just signed with the bus operators’ association, ZAD, to be ... Open access
Deal with unions sees end to pay freeze in 2016 at Iberia (261 words)
The Spanish airline Iberia has signed agreements with the three major groups of its staff, putting an end to more than a year of conflict. ... Subscribers only
Law - TUPE
Transfers — the law (238 words)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ... Open access
Post-transfer harmonisation of terms and conditions unlawful (649 words)
As a result of a TUPE transfer of the Offender Learning Programme, some 3,500 new staff joined a Manchester further education college. The programme ... Subscribers only
Contractual entitlements based on custom and practice transfer (587 words)
Some 23 employees of information technology business IT Services Limited transferred to a new employer, CSC Computer Sciences Limited (CSC), under a ... Subscribers only
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy — the law (267 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 of ... Subscribers only
Employer’s unreasonable delay over alternative employment (247 words)
Ms Langford, a qualified teacher, was about to go on maternity leave when the school opened a 90-day consultation on a planned restructuring. All ... Open access
Rugby club failed to consult on possible job share alternative (366 words)
Ms Monkman worked behind the bar at the Stroud Rugby Club until she was made redundant due to financial difficulties. ... Subscribers only
Refusal of voluntary redundancy made compulsory job loss unfair (373 words)
A further education college needed to make one redundancy from a pool of building maintenance trainers. It devised a scoring matrix which included a ... Subscribers only
No obligation to offer post to disabled worker ahead of others (347 words)
Mr McCarthy worked for Jaguar Cars. He had been off work for more than a year suffering from a serious mental illness, which was a disability ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal — the law (561 words)
f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of dismissal do not require ... Subscribers only
Long-term sick staff must be consulted over return to work (643 words)
The claimant, BS, had worked for Dundee City Council for 35 years. He was dismissed after one year of sickness absence for depression and anxiety. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Guidance aids shopworkers’ fightback against attacks (282 words)
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has welcomed new guidance that the main retail employer’s body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), has published on ... Subscribers only
Social workers take strain (311 words)
Social workers in mental health trusts reported the highest recorded levels of work-related stress in 2013, according to a Community Care analysis of ... Subscribers only
TUC safety reps survey (112 words)
The TUC is running its 10th survey of health and safety reps. It is designed to provide the TUC and individual unions with information about who ... Open access
Council in contract ban (261 words)
A London council — Islington — has taken decisive action to ensure it does not do business with companies that are involved in blacklisting. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
‘Alarming’ cuts to construction site inspections in Wales (355 words)
A dramatic fall in the number of spot checks on building sites has been revealed by BBC Radio Wales following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request ... Subscribers only
HSE advice on how not to get lost in the ozone (351 words)
The HSE has reviewed its ozone guidance to help employers of people exposed to the gas at their work. In addition, the guidance will be on interest ... Subscribers only
MoD failures in heat of day (296 words)
The HSE has served the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a Crown Improvement Notice following the death on three army reservists on the Brecon Beacons. ... Subscribers only
Features
Multi-employer bargaining: rumours of death exaggerated (2,517 words)
Nowadays, pay bargaining in the private sector is more likely to be with individual employers or at specific sites within a single company or ... Subscribers only
Over and over and over again — what does overtime pay? (1,538 words)
A number of union reps in both the private and public sectors told Workplace Report that there was increasing reluctance on the part of employers to ... Subscribers only