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Workplace Report December 2015
Shift pay and premia - the best collectively agree shift premia payments are revealed; Adverse weather - The recent floods have resulted in much advice on coping with severe weather; Latest case law on contracts of employment and tribunal procedures
Pay and prices
Improvement in settlements (248 words)
Collectively agreed settlements edged higher in November.
...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (223 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (151 words)
1 The latest three-month average. ... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (42 words)
Source: ASHE 2015 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
XpertHR (20 words)
... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (38 words)
Fourth quarter 2015 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Council pay offer does not address issue of low pay (848 words)
Local government unions are mulling over a “final” pay offer, while opposing a move to scrap the distinctive youth workers’ agreement and move ...
Subscribers only
EDF introduces a rarity — a new final salary scheme (398 words)
Members of UNISON and GMB have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new pension deal at EDF Energy.
... Subscribers only
Employers set to increase rates for older staff (337 words)
Employers have just three months left to prepare for the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) in April, set initially at £7.20 an hour for ... Subscribers only
BT Consumer agreement (167 words)
CWU members have voted to accept a far reaching Transformation Agreement with BT Consumer, British Telecom’s retail customer arm.
... Open access
Welsh care provider sacks its entire staff (115 words)
Public sector union UNISON has lodged a formal dispute over the decision of social care provider Anheddau Cyf to dismiss its entire staff of 300 ... Open access
Publish pay gap between boardroom and workforce (353 words)
The pay gap between worker and boardroom should be published in the hope of shaming the boardroom out of its excesses, the latest report from the ... Subscribers only
Improved offshore catering offer likely to be accepted by workers (327 words)
The Unite general union has agreed to accept an improved pay offer under the Catering Offshore Trade Association (COTA) agreement following a ... Subscribers only
Big ‘No’ to pay freeze at Shorts (281 words)
Workers at the aircraft manufacturer Shorts in Belfast have rejected management proposals to freeze their pay as part of cost-saving measures.
... Subscribers only
Equality news
Breadwinner mothers more common than in 1990s (430 words)
One-third of mothers in working families are breadwinners in Britain, says a report by the IPPR think tank.
... Subscribers only
Teachers want racial justice (293 words)
Black and minority ethnic teachers are not treated fairly when applying for jobs or promotion, says the NASUWT teaching union.
... Subscribers only
Transgender guidance (123 words)
New government guidance on recruiting and retaining transgender staff was published last month.
... Open access
Invisible impairments (115 words)
Most disabled people do not have visible signs of impairment, such as the use of a mobility aid. And if a person’s impairment is not visibly ... Open access
Learning and training news
Government sets out its apprenticeship reforms for England (351 words)
This month, the government unveiled plans for its apprenticeship reforms in its document, English apprenticeships: our 2020 vision.
... Subscribers only
Numbers in FE hit by Tory cuts (141 words)
There were 1.3 million fewer adults in further education last year compared to 2010, according to the Skills Agency.
... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
UCU and college group in new working relationship (178 words)
A partnership agreement has been reached between the university
and college lecturers’ union (UCU) and NCG (formerly the Newcastle College ... Open access
Success for Community (50 words)
The Community union has won recognition for hourly paid workers at engineering firm Ironspray, based in Cwmbran, Gwent, under the statutory process. ... Open access
Usdaw looks for membership growth (90 words)
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw is holding a membership recruitment week next month. The union runs its Membership Week campaigns twice a year — one in ... Open access
European news
Italian three-year settlements skewed to late on (695 words)
Italian unions have signed new pay deals in three important industries, as they seek agreement on a common approach to a new bargaining structure. ... Subscribers only
German airline pay deal has wings (285 words)
Lufthansa, the German national carrier, has signed an agreement with the services union Ver.di on a pay increase for its 33,000 ground staff. ... Subscribers only
Motor deals in Spain (181 words)
Two recent settlements at car plants in Spain are signs of the limited recovery that the economy is experiencing.
... Open access
Law - Contracts
Contracts - the law (389 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions between an ... Subscribers only
Wrong conclusion, right decision on continuity of employment (439 words)
Mr Jones was employed as an estate maintenance worker by Culden Faw Limited (Culden) from June 2011. ... Subscribers only
No retroactive recalculation in leave on work pattern change (582 words)
Ms Greenfield was employed by the Care Bureau Limited. Her contract of employment stipulated that the hours and days on which she worked varied from ... Subscribers only
What is ‘in the public interest’ for whistleblowing protection? (562 words)
Mr Underwood was employed as a lorry driver at a haulage depot owned by Wincanton plc. ... Subscribers only
Mobile staff travel time from home to clients is working time (427 words)
This case originating in Spain addressed the issue of whether time spent travelling between home and customer premises is working time for the ... Subscribers only
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals - the law (724 words)
Nearly all tribunal claims must be brought within three months of the matter complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in an unfair ... Subscribers only
Extra period of Acas conciliation not needed for amended claim (482 words)
Ms Mills was employed by Science Warehouse Ltd (SW). She resigned from her employment while on maternity leave. ... Subscribers only
Claimant without interpreter was given ‘reasonable opportunity’ (475 words)
Mr Hak, a Cambodian, had lived in the UK for around 17 years. Khmer was his native language. Hak was employed as a night worker at a children’s ... Subscribers only
Balancing prejudice and merits of claim over time extension (347 words)
Mr Rathakrishnan, a chef employed by Pizza Express, suffered from diabetes. He was dismissed for breaching food safety procedures. He pursued several ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Teachers stressed out and exhausted with workloads (400 words)
Excessive workloads are damaging teachers’ health and leaving them exhausted and wanting to leave the profession, according to the results of a new ... Subscribers only
Staff should be able to work without fear of violence (306 words)
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has called after the union’s latest Freedom from Fear survey results showed that last year the annual Christmas shopping ... Subscribers only
Prevention better than well-being cures (141 words)
Well-being programmes are not a substitute for stopping workers becoming ill and employers must address issues such as long hours, stress, unsafe ... Open access
Survey on bullying (105 words)
The Society of Radiographers (SoR) is carrying out a confidential survey to determine the scale and effects of bullying among students on clinical ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Are new guidelines already leading to higher fines? (351 words)
A number of high fines given to companies for health and safety breaches has prompted speculation that new guidelines on sentencing for health and ... Subscribers only
Council inspections fall (193 words)
The number of proactive visits being carried out by local authority environmental health officers has fallen by a massive 95% over the last five ... Open access
Shadow of death over European ports (161 words)
It has been a particularly dark year for safety in the docks, according to the European Transport Workers’ Federation, with workers killed in ports ... Open access
Convictions over deaths (275 words)
Three more companies have been convicted of corporate manslaughter offences.
... Subscribers only
Features
Night and day, 24/7 working is at a premium for employees (2,811 words)
The threat of industrial action by junior doctors helped put unsocial hours and the compensation staff deserve for working them at the top of the ... Subscribers only
Advice on working when the weather outside is frightful (2,267 words)
The floods in the North of England this month have brought the issue of working in severe weather conditions into sharp focus once again. And who ... Subscribers only