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Workplace Report April 2016
National Living Wage - The new National Living Wage brings a welcome pay rise for some, but employers are not wholly embracing it as they cut back on other terms and conditions to pay for it; Higher education - Insecure casual, zero-hours contracts for teaching staff in UK universities have grown over recent years; Latest case law on discrimination
Pay and prices
No change in median rise (241 words)
For nine out of the last 12 months there has been no change in the overall median rise for collectively agreed settlements.
...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (226 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (42 words)
Source: ASHE 2015 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (155 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to March 2016 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (38 words)
Fourth quarter 2016 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Productivity puzzle? Workers have answer, says think tank (721 words)
Employers who want to increase the productivity of their businesses and services should ask their workers. That’s the clear and very timely message ...
Subscribers only
High street deals to be found at Tesco and Greggs (450 words)
Pay deals at supermarket giant Tesco and bakery chain Greggs are setting trends on the high street this month, by refining exactly what is on offer ... Subscribers only
National Trust's National Living Wage and 4.5% pay budget increase (302 words)
The National Trust, which employs 10,000 staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, offered a pay budget increase of 4.5% in February, following ... Subscribers only
Royal Mail managers (153 words)
A “paltry” 1.3% pay offer may mean Royal Mail managers taking industrial action.
... Open access
Holyrood 2% deal (146 words)
Specialist staff at the Scottish Parliament, members of the Prospect union, have accepted a two-year inflation busting deal.
... Open access
National Living Wage performance management system discriminates (381 words)
Discrimination is embedded in the civil service performance management system (PMS) ratings, new research for the PCS civil union has found.
... Subscribers only
Fight for $15 goes global (307 words)
GMB members, including young members and other trade unionists, staged protests across English cities and towns on 14 April.
... Subscribers only
Three-year deal at BMW Mini Cowley (292 words)
Workers at the BMW Mini car plant in Oxford are celebrating a 10% pay deal over three years, negotiated by the Unite general union.
... Subscribers only
Equality news
Capability policy checklist to combat climate of fear in schools (457 words)
Capability policies assist in the management of alleged underperformance and should be used to promote fairness and order in the treatment of ... Subscribers only
Acas guidance on sex discrimination (288 words)
Employment advisory service Acas has produced new guidance on what it describes as one of the most common types of discrimination at work, sex ... Subscribers only
Enforcement gap faced by non-UK seafarers (251 words)
The unfair treatment of non-UK seafarers in the UK shipping industry could be exacerbated by the introduction of the National Living Wage, the ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Union and HS2 framework covers apprenticeships (294 words)
HS2 Limited and the TUC have agreed a framework to maximise the economic and labour benefits of the UK’s new London-Midlands high speed rail line. ... Subscribers only
Qualifications and the gender pay gap (127 words)
Young women with vocational qualifications earn 15% less than men with comparable qualifications, according to research from the TUC.
... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Contractors take different approaches to GMB (329 words)
Members of the GMB general union at patient transport contractor Coperforma could take industrial action over the company’s effective derecognition ... Subscribers only
Unions sign charter (114 words)
Sheffield City Council has agreed to promote the benefits of unions to staff under a Charter of minimum standards on construction projects.
... Open access
European news
Four-year pay deal penned by Spanish banks and unions (511 words)
The Spanish banking association and the banking federations of the two main union confederations, CCOO and UGT, have reached agreement on a pay deal, ... Subscribers only
German pay round hots up (307 words)
Two major groups of workers are threatening strike action in support of their claims as negotiations reach a critical point.
... Subscribers only
Greek bargaining recast (141 words)
Changes in collective bargaining arrangements have led to falls in living standards, according to a report produced by INE, the research institute ... Open access
Dutch local government (79 words)
Unions and employers have reached a pay settlement for employees in local government. This provides for a 2.2% pay rise from 1 April plus a one-off ... Open access
Italian banking concord (82 words)
The Italian banking association ABI and the unions have formally signed the agreement for the sector which was agreed in principle last March. The ... Open access
Law - Discrimination
Discrimination - the law (894 words)
Discrimination law is found in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010). The EA 2010 lists nine “protected characteristics”: age; disability; gender ... Subscribers only
Knowledge of disability was not implied (579 words)
Mr Gallop was employed as a technical officer by Newport City Council in 2004. He had several periods of sick leave and became disabled towards the ... Subscribers only
Manual lifting amounts to ‘normal day-to-day’ activity (460 words)
Mr Banaszczyk was employed by Booker Ltd as a picker in one of their distribution centres. He had to lift and move cases that weighed up to 25kg, ... Subscribers only
Salary sacrifice scheme benefits stopped during maternity (633 words)
Ms Donaldson was employed by HR consultancy Peninsula Business Services Ltd. The firm had a scheme under which employees could chose to sacrifice ... Subscribers only
No need for person to share protected characteristic to establish harassment (302 words)
Mr Noble was employed by Sidhil Ltd in a paint workshop from 2003 to 2012. He mostly worked with his line manager (the second respondent), often ... Subscribers only
Failure to offer redundancy package was age discrimination (678 words)
Mr Donkor, born in 1960, had been a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) employee since 1978, and from March 2003 he worked as a regional director in retail ... Subscribers only
Sanctions over acts of religious nature not discriminatory (786 words)
Ms Wasteney started working as head of forensic occupational therapy in an NHS mental health facility in March 2007. She was employed by East London ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Unions have key role to play in tackling mental health (337 words)
Mental health at work is a huge issue that needs tackling, and unions have a key role in improving mental health both in the workplace and in the ... Subscribers only
Asbestos management failings in schools national problem (303 words)
Last month, the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) highlighted two key examples of asbestos failures, in schools in a London Borough and Wales, ... Subscribers only
Global tools from ITUC (62 words)
The global union confederation ITUC has made new resources available online. A brochure for use around International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 ... Open access
Danger of missing out on rest breaks (168 words)
A safety rep has told the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) annual conference that many physiotherapists who are on call are missing out on ... Open access
35-hour week CWU’s aim at Royal Mail (111 words)
Communication workers’ union CWU is to push for a shorter working week of 35-hours by 2020 as a priority aim during the forthcoming negotiations ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Government wants health and safety on the cheap (469 words)
The government’s stranglehold on public spending means the HSE will receive less year-on-year from the public purse over the next four years.
... Subscribers only
HSE guidelines - profits before safety? (262 words)
The HSE has been told by government ministers to prioritise the interests of corporations ahead of fundamental workers’ rights to health and ... Subscribers only
Dangerous dogs (149 words)
New guidelines have been announced by the Sentencing Council which will see harsher punishments handed down to owners convicted of dangerous dog ... Open access
Offshore safety (137 words)
Maritime union RMT has questioned assurances about safety offshore following a HSE improvement notice served on Marathon Oil in relation to a pipe ... Open access
Features
National Living Wage provides pay boost for over 25s but at a cost (3,197 words)
The new National Living Wage was heralded by chancellor George Osborne as Britain getting a pay rise. Some employers have embraced it and applied it ... Subscribers only
Casualisation and zero-hours contracts rife in universities (2,216 words)
The goverment may have plans for a teaching excellence framework in universities. But it won’t be achieved unless the teaching staff can look ... Subscribers only