Workplace Report May 2019

Gender pay gap - Gender pay gap data is available for over 10,700 large employers covering March/April 2018. Workplace Report looks at the pay gaps at some large unionised workplaces and the action plans introduced to narrow the gap, as well as the overall gaps in both public and private sector; Latest case law on dismissal, transfers and whistleblowing

Pay and prices

Payline deals averaging 2.7% 
 (112 words)

Settlements have maintained their level in the first four months of 2019.
 ...
Open access

Labour Research Department’s Payline Database 
 (224 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
 ...
Open access

Average weekly earnings (AWE)
 (254 words)

Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases 
 ...
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Full-time weekly average earnings
 (40 words)

ASHE 2018 median uprated by AWE. ...
Open access

XpertHR (19 words)

Median increases for three months to April 2019 ...
Open access

Prices (77 words)

1 Retail Prices Index (RPI), 
Jan ’87=100 ...
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2019 forecasts (39 words)


1 Fourth quarter ...
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Bargaining news

Target of 66% for UK National Living Wage?
 (770 words)

The highest minimum wage in Europe could become a surprise legacy of Theresa May’s Conservative government, if plans floated by chancellor Philip ...
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Cash on offer to maths and physics teachers
 (421 words)

Cash incentives worth an additional £2,000 are being made available to early career maths and physics teachers in the North East, Yorkshire & ...
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One in 17 workers now work at home, TUC finds
 (303 words)

There are now 1.7 million employees working from home — a 27.7% increase or 374,000 more employees than 10 years ago, a new TUC analysis shows. 
 ...
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Exit stage left with no agreement
 (280 words)

Negotiations to update the UK Theatre pay agreement with the BECTU section of the Prospect union have run into difficulties, with the two sides ...
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TUC study sets out how to improve line management
 (401 words)

Line managers are often the first port of call for workers who need advice or help and so play a pivotal role in the workplace, but do they come up ...
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Inflation-busting deal won at Network Rail (337 words)

Transport union RMT has said that it is winning battles across the country in the fight to smash the pay gap imposed on rail workers by transport ...
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Concern over missing pension contributions
 (133 words)

Unite members at transport firm XPO Logistics UK are considering the possibility of strike action, concerned about why the pension contributions of ...
Open access

Protest against bank’s clawback of pensions
 (155 words)

Banking group HSBC faced a protest at its AGM last month by members of the Unite general union angry about the unfair practice known as ...
Open access

Equality news

Inequality and racism rife in labour market
 (377 words)

Black and minority ethnic workers are far more likely to be trapped in temporary and insecure work, according to TUC analysis published last month to ...
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Pension age
 reforms worsen inequalities
 (328 words)

The workers best equipped to take advantage of the increased state pension age are more highly educated, more highly skilled, and better paid, ...
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Two-tier system favours white graduates
 (240 words)

A two-tier recruitment system is operating in the UK’s top multinational firms, according to new research from Bath’s department of education.
 ...
Open access

Learning and training news

MPs slam Tories over lack of progress on reforms
 of apprenticeships (236 words)

The Conservative government’s apprenticeships programme, particularly its focus on higher-level apprenticeships and large apprenticeship ...
Open access

Negotiating on skills guide from Unionlearn
 (76 words)

Unionlearn, the TUC’s education arm, has published a skills at work guide for union learning reps (ULRs), workplace reps and union officers. It ...
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Recruitment and organisation news

Spurt in recognition
 deals signed across a number of industrial sectors
 (395 words)

A number of important union recognition deals have been reached in different sectors in recent weeks, including some reached voluntarily and others ...
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New unions
 for staff in precarious work
 (134 words)

Two new union groupings have been launched in recent weeks to help workers combat increasingly precarious employment. 
 ...
Open access

European news

Emotional demands made on workers on the rise
 (459 words)

Protection from physical risks and work intensity remain important, but emotional demands, such as dealing with angry clients, are growing in ...
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Laconsegna delivers on national agreement
 (224 words)

Laconsegna, a fast food delivery company in Florence, the capital of Tuscany, has agreed that it will apply the national agreement for the logistics ...
Open access

Belgian unions split on two-year national deal
 (146 words)

The national pay deal, agreed by union negotiators in February (see Workplace Report, March 2019, page 8) has been rejected by the FGTB, the second ...
Open access

German print workers maintain conditions 
 (137 words)

Negotiations on a new pay agreement for Germany’s 134,000 print workers concluded on 3 May with a three-year year agreement. 
 ...
Open access

Law - Dismissal

Dismissal - the law (668 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 ...
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Not always unfair to dismiss without separate investigation
 (655 words)

Mr Radia was an analyst for a financial services firm, Jeffries International. His job was regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 
 ...
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Teacher’s suspension not breach of trust and confidence
 (402 words)

Ms Agoreyo joined Glenbrook Primary School in London on a nine-month fixed-term contract to teach a Year 2 class. 
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Admission of responsibility reduces need for investigation
 (701 words)

Catherine Beattie worked for seven years as the bar steward for a social club. A routine stocktake revealed that two cases of vodka and two bottles ...
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Investigatory suspension should not lead to any loss of salary
 (661 words)

Dr Gregg was suspended from practice by the General Medical Council (GMC) following two patient deaths. He was also arrested on suspicion of gross ...
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Law - TUPE

Transfers - the law (217 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

Dismissal over poor working relationship TUPE-related
 (485 words)

Ms Kaur worked for 13 years for wine wholesaler, H&W Limited. She had a poor working relationship with a senior manager, Mr Chatha. 
 ...
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Law - Other Law News

Whistleblowing (239 words)

Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), employees and workers who disclose information about alleged wrongdoing at work ...
Open access

Disclosure to clear own name was not in public interest
 (373 words)

Mr Ibrahim worked at an HCA International private hospital as an interpreter for Arabic speaking patients. He complained to his employer that a staff ...
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Health & safety news

Unions’ campaign fights for better mental health
 (387 words)

“Organising around core trade 
union issues, building union strength to fight for improved conditions must be explicitly part of fighting for ...
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Teachers face timetable of bullying in schools
 (224 words)

Many teachers are facing a daily diet of stress, bullying and violence, according to new research by the NASUWT teaching union. 
 ...
Open access

South coast council to ban pesticides? 
 (73 words)

Campaign group Pesticides Action Network (PAN-UK) says it is “ready and waiting” to work with Brighton and Hove Council to ensure that a ...
Open access

Guide for new and expectant mothers
 (106 words)

Employers are not doing enough to protect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers at work, according to the TUC and Maternity Action. 
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Open access

Mapping noise levels on London Underground
 (150 words)

Innovative research has highlighted London Underground journeys where noise levels exceed dangerous levels.
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Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Pitiful fines for health and safety offences slammed
 (332 words)

Campaign groups and families have criticised the low fines handed down in two high-profile cases.
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Environmental health
 services hit by austerity (182 words)

Austerity has cut environmental health services to the bone, according to a new report from the public services union UNISON. 
 ...
Open access

Cancer in tyre and rubber industry
 (166 words)

Tory government attacks on health and safety are hampering efforts to tackle cancer hazards in the tyre and rubber industry, says the Unite general ...
Open access

Strategy for rail safety improvements off track
 (169 words)

There have been too many near misses where “workers have had to jump for their lives at the last moment”, according to the Rail Accident ...
Open access

Acoustic shock appeal
 (96 words)

The Royal Opera House has lost its appeal against last year’s High Court ruling that it had failed to protect the hearing of its musicians and had ...
Open access

Features

More needed from employers to close gender pay gap
 (4,318 words)

Large employers have a legal duty to disclose their gender pay gap, but are under pressure to go further, explaining what the data means and coming ...
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