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Open access articles
All magazine/bulletin articles of less than 250 words are open-access and can be read without subscribing to Publications Online. Selected longer articles are also open-access to contribute to wider debate within the union movement.
September 2022
Booklet: Law at Work 2022 (introduction)
The last year has seen the UK plunged into a cost of living crisis, and an epidemic of “fire and rehire” practices by employers determined to cut ...
Law at Work 2022
Collective redundancy consultation
n I have a member (in a workplace where we are not recognised) who has just been made redundant along with about 60 other employees and there was ...
Labour Research
April 2022
Jubilee bank holiday
Q. We’ve been told that if we want to take the Jubilee bank holiday off, we must take it as annual leave. Is this allowed? ...
Labour Research
Workers can claim back pay for holiday taken but not paid
Workers can recover payment for annual leave taken, but not paid, dating back to the start of their employment. ...
Workplace Report
Agency workers have no right to apply for vacancy
Agency workers do not have the right to apply for an advertised vacancy, only to be informed of it. ...
Workplace Report
March 2022
Booklet: Sickness absence and sick pay - a guide for trade unions and working people (introduction)
It is natural for anyone with a job to be unable to work at one time or another for health-related reasons. Being absent from work is always a worry, ...
Sickness absence and sick pay - a guide for trade unions and working people
What’s the outlook for women in our unions?
The biennial Labour Research survey of women’s representation and participation in unions takes stock of what progress unions are making in this ...
Labour Research
Keeping it together: collective grievances
In January, 70% of staff at MacMerry 300, a Scottish pub chain that manages 13 bars across Glasgow and Dundee, signed a collective grievance ...
Workplace Report
February 2022
When AI rules the workplace
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used as a management tool to monitor staff activity, both in the workplace and for remote workers. ...
Labour Research
January 2022
Booklet: Case law at work (18th edition) (introduction)
This is the 18th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work (18th edition)
Alongside Omicron, the cost of living will be a big challenge for workers and unions this year, but what else should we all be watching out for? ...
Workplace Report
December 2021
Developing green skills
Unions say the government must do much more to work with them on skills if it is to reach its target of two million green jobs by 2030. ...
Labour Research
November 2021
Booklet: Disciplinary and grievance procedures - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Representing members in disciplinary and grievance hearings is a fundamental part of the role of a trade union rep. According to the Workplace ...
Disciplinary and grievance procedures - a guide for union reps
Attacked for standing up for their members
Trade union reps are under increasing attack from employers, according to a motion carried by this year’s TUC Congress. ...
Labour Research
Our annual survey of the year’s pay developments reports on the highs and lows of pay bargaining under the pandemic, at a time when rising ...
Workplace Report
October 2021
Booklet: Health and Safety Law 2021 (introduction)
This latest edition of the Labour Research Department’s annual guide to health and safety law is being published shortly after the government swept ...
Health and Safety Law 2021
Race pay gap reporting ‘an obvious first step’
While ethnicity pay gap reporting could help address the disparity in earnings between black and minority ethnic employees and their white ...
Labour Research
September 2021
Homeworkers need the ‘right to disconnect’
The benefits of working from home need to be weighed against pressures on employees to be ‘always available’ — leading to demands for ...
Labour Research
Labour shortages: what’s the impact?
What do the labour shortages being reported in the media mean for unions and for pay? ...
Workplace Report
August 2021
Engaging with gender issues
Women’s experiences of working during the pandemic — whether in the workplace or in the home — have made the union case for a gender-sensitive ...
Labour Research
July 2021
Booklet: Law at work 2021 - the trade union guide to employment law (introduction)
This 33rd edition of Law at Work is published as the UK is beginning to emerge from the worst effects of the COVID pandemic and the economy begins to ...
Law at work 2021 - the trade union guide to employment law
Trade union branches: weathering the crisis?
A unique Labour Research survey examines the health of union branches — including how they have grappled with the coronavirus crisis. ...
Labour Research
Building back better – by backing better building
Pay rises are back in construction, but must take their place in a crowded agenda, where casual employment of one kind or another is now widely seen ...
Workplace Report
June 2021
Fight is on to kill the Bill
Unions say the draconian Police Bill threatens trade union activity — by restricting the right to protest and placing further restraints on ...
Labour Research
British Gas, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, Sheffield University and Go North West are some of the better-known employers that have been prepared ...
Workplace Report
May 2021
Booklet: Covid and mental health - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Covid-19 is a new virus and its long-term impact is not yet known, but in a short time its impact has been enormous, fundamentally changing how we ...
Covid and mental health - a guide for union reps
Privatisation and the market fails children
Something is going badly wrong in the children’s social care ‘market’, with private companies making huge profits in a broken system failing ...
Labour Research
Covid-19 affected everyone’s working lives. Now, as lockdown restrictions start to ease, everything could change again. To coincide with the ...
Workplace Report
April 2021
Booklet: Negotiating the new homeworking landscape - a guide for union reps (introduction)
COVID-19 has changed the working lives of millions of people and now, as restrictions gradually start to ease, the question is: how different will ...
Negotiating the new homeworking landscape - a guide for union reps
Is safety watchdog up to the task?
Britain’s workplace health and safety watchdog, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has faced accusations that it has “gone AWOL” during the ...
Labour Research
March 2021
Setting out the agenda
The new general secretary and first woman leader of the UNISON public services union tells Labour Research her priorities for the union. ...
Labour Research
A year ago this month, the UK entered its first national lockdown to bring down the rate of coronavirus. Labour Research looks at how trade union ...
Labour Research
Negotiating the future of work: automation
Even in the middle of the Covid crisis, automation is emerging as the next major issue for workers. But is it a threat or an opportunity? Workplace ...
Workplace Report
February 2021
Booklet: Working safely with COVID-19 - a guide for workplace reps (introduction)
This booklet aims to be a practical guide for workplace reps on keeping workplaces safe through the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Working safely with COVID-19 - a guide for workplace reps
Uber drivers win Supreme Court victory
Uber drivers are workers and must be treated as such, the Supreme Court has ruled. The judgment means that drivers are entitled to rights and ...
Fact Service
The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on — and worsened — labour abuses in global supply chains, as Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
Pandemic shows why we should ❤ Unions
With Covid-19 raging and frontline workers under such pressure it might seem an odd time to celebrate ❤ Unions week, but in fact it’s a good time ...
Workplace Report
January 2021
Booklet: Case law at work - 17th edition (introduction)
This is the 17th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 17th edition
Covid adds to ‘out of control’ mental health crisis
Even before the Covid pandemic, work-related levels of stress, anxiety and depression were at a 20-year high. As evidence mounts of the impact the ...
Workplace Report
December 2020
Booklet: The National Minimum Wage 2021 - a trade union guide (introduction)
The National Minimum Wage, (NMW), which, since 2016, has included the National Living Wage (NLW), has been the UK’s statutory wage floor since 1998. ...
The National Minimum Wage 2021 - a trade union guide
Trouble lies on the road ahead
Public transport workers have put their lives on the line to get other key workers, as well as food and medicine, where they need to be throughout ...
Labour Research
As the UK emerged from the first lockdown, central government policy directed that workplaces should be made “Covid-secure” through the use of ...
Workplace Report
November 2020
Booklet: Tackling racism and inequality - a trade union guide (introduction)
The dramatic events of 2020 have brought a new awareness to many of the wide-ranging racial inequalities in our society. The global coverage of the ...
Tackling racism and inequality - a trade union guide
Unions say the government has ‘stepped away’ from talking about disabled people during the coronavirus pandemic, as Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
The Covid effect: pay and earnings
The 2019-20 pay bargaining round was split in two by the pandemic. A lot of settlements have been delayed or not reported, so it’s a very ...
Workplace Report
October 2020
BAME participation: how are unions faring?
In a year that has seen a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement, Labour Research asked UK unions what they are doing to encourage Black and ...
Labour Research
Consult, avoid, compensate: redundancy in the Covid crisis
As redundancy announcements driven by the Covid-19 crisis multiply, union negotiators are in damage-limitation mode, focusing on consultation, ...
Workplace Report
September 2020
Booklet: Defending terms and conditions - a legal guide for union reps (introduction)
This LRD guide explains the laws available to unions organising to defend terms and conditions and shares examples of successfully negotiated gains ...
Defending terms and conditions - a legal guide for union reps
This month is likely to see a major surge in people returning to workplaces after the easing of many of the restrictions put in place to reduce the ...
Labour Research
August 2020
Tories use crisis to ramp up privatisation
There is growing concern that the government has been using the coronavirus crisis to accelerate NHS privatisation. Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
July 2020
Can the show still go on?
Entertainment sector trade unions are warning of dire consequences for live entertainment in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. ...
Labour Research
Self-employment in the Covid crisis
The Covid crisis shone a light on the precarious status of self-employed workers, but has also seen unions stepping forward to lobby, support and ...
Workplace Report
June 2020
Booklet: State support and coronavirus - a trade union guide (introduction)
State support and coronavirus aims to provide guidance to those dealing with the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis and who need to navigate ...
State support and coronavirus - a trade union guide
Essential shopworkers experience tough times
Tens of thousands of workers in shops and the supply chain have played a critical role in helping to maintain our families and communities during the ...
Labour Research
Lessons from the crisis: union reps in the time of coronavirus
In the second of our features based on our survey of union reps during the coronavirus epidemic, the LRD goes beyond the “crisis issues” reps ...
Workplace Report
May 2020
Crisis sharpened by global nursing shortage
In this, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of union campaigns to end the ...
Labour Research
Austerity cuts unleashed a decade of devastation and are now hampering the ability of our ravaged public services to respond to the pandemic. ...
Labour Research
Reps at forefront of crisis response
In the first of two major articles we look at the experiences of union reps nationwide, as they tell us about their successes, struggles and ...
Workplace Report
April 2020
Booklet: Skills for work - the union response to future needs (introduction)
Rapid industrial change is taking place in the UK and globally, driven by automation and digitalisation and often referred to as the fourth ...
Skills for work - the union response to future needs
Big Brother is in the workplace
Technological change is increasingly enabling employers to monitor workers, with workplace surveillance becoming more and more intrusive. ...
Labour Research
New immigration system spells disaster say unions
The government’s new points-based immigration system, announced in February and due to take effect in January 2021, will create many casualties ...
Labour Research
Last month the government ordered thousands of businesses and organisations to close their workplaces to slow the spread of Covid-19. But millions of ...
Workplace Report
As the UK reels from the pandemic, health and safety have become our chief concerns. But, after a difficult “lost decade”, and with a new ...
Workplace Report
March 2020
Booklet: Monitoring and surveillance at work - a practical guide for trade union reps (introduction)
There have never been so many different ways for management to watch over and monitor the workforce. Moving on from the days of bag checks and ...
Monitoring and surveillance at work - a practical guide for trade union reps
Call for supermarket safety measures
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has welcomed supermarket group Morrison’s agreeing new safety measures, including perspex screens, to help protect ...
Fact Service
The latest biennial Labour Research Women in Unions survey looks at whether women are reaching the top of Britain’s largest unions.
...
Labour Research
Coronavirus outbreak: keeping workers safe
Back-up looks at trade union advice and demands for keeping workers safe in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
...
Labour Research
Coronavirus - confused guidance on who can go out to work
There has been a lot of confusion over who should and should not be going out to work in the wake of the prime minister’s call to “stay at ...
Workplace Report
UNISON provides online learning
Public services union UNISON is ensuring that its members continue to have access to training during the current coronavirus crisis.
...
Workplace Report
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 ...
Workplace Report
New right gives parents time to grieve over loss of a child
The new entitlement, nicknamed Jack’s Law after Jack Herd, the 23-month old boy whose mother Lucy has been campaigning on the issue since he ...
Workplace Report
February 2020
Suicide - the forgotten workplace killer
Safety campaigners, unions and academics point out that the official response in the UK to work-related suicide is woefully inadequate.
...
Labour Research
January 2020
Booklet: Case law at work - 16th edition) (introduction)
This is the 16th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 16th edition)
Trade unionists and others who were targeted by undercover police officers feel that much is still to be revealed about their activities. But will ...
Labour Research
December 2019
Top fat cats continue to rake in millions
The Labour Research annual survey of top bosses’ pay once again finds that the highest-paid executives continue to be awarded enormous sums.
...
Labour Research
Revised pay bands for council staff tighten up spinal column
Local government workers have often been left feeling like the Cinderellas of the public sector in recent years. Their employers, represented mainly ...
Workplace Report
November 2019
Booklet: Redundancy law - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show an overall fall in redundancy figures year-on-year over the past decade since their peak in 2009. ...
Redundancy law - a guide for union reps
Labour Research looks at the impact of cuts to bus services on users, workers and the environment, as well as union demands for change.
...
Labour Research
It’s not just pay that’s been a target for negotiators
Apart from a decent pay rise, what’s been on the union shopping list and likely to be on the want list for the present pay round? There is enormous ...
Workplace Report
October 2019
Booklet: Whistleblowing - a guide to the law (introduction)
This booklet sets out the law and policy governing “whistleblowing” in the UK. Its intended audience is interested trade union reps and members ...
Whistleblowing - a guide to the law
Labour’s candidates are part of the union
With a general election looking increasingly likely, Labour Research examines the trade union backgrounds of some of those fighting for the Labour ...
Labour Research
‘Slow burn’ as pay settlements increase by 2.7% on average
This time last year, Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane thought he saw signs of a “new dawn” breaking for pay. Instead we’ve seen ...
Workplace Report
September 2019
Booklet: Union action on climate change - a trade union guide (introduction)
Trade unions have a long and proud tradition of taking and demanding action on the environment, but in recent years it has not always easy for them ...
Union action on climate change - a trade union guide
In the five years since Labour Research last performed a health check on trade union branches, there are improvements in a number of areas, although ...
Labour Research
August 2019
Unions respond as high street shuts up shop
As the crisis in retail deepens, and the sector continues to undergo major transformation, Labour Research looks at how retail unions are ...
Labour Research
July 2019
Establishing common ground
Unions are engaging with environmental campaigns and arguing for a workers’ voice in the debate on how to respond to the climate emergency.
...
Labour Research
June 2019
Booklet: Workplace action on mental health - a trade union guide (introduction)
Mental health and ill health has soared up the news agenda in recent times, but people experiencing mental health problems are still facing numerous ...
Workplace action on mental health - a trade union guide
May 2019
Workers attacked to shore up the elite
Latin America’s largest country, Brazil, now has an openly far right president in Jair Bolsonaro. This is deeply disquieting for Brazilian trade ...
Labour Research
Universal Credit and other in-work benefits is the latest edition of the Labour Research Department’s annual union reps’ guide to the benefits ...
Universal Credit and other in-work benefits - a guide for union reps and workers
As teaching unions prepare for their annual conferences this month, Labour Research looks at the challenges academisation has posed for them.
...
Labour Research
March 2019
Booklet: Employment tribunals - a guide for union reps and workers (introduction)
For trade unions and their members, bringing a claim in an employment tribunal is a last resort when a negotiated agreement has failed. The benefits ...
Employment tribunals - a guide for union reps and workers
Health unions warn over Brexit
With time rapidly running out for prime minister Theresa May to get Parliamentary backing for a withdrawal agreement and avoid a no-deal Brexit, ...
Labour Research
February 2019
Booklet: Tackling bullying and harassment at work - a guide for union reps and workers (introduction)
Bullying and harassment is a top concern for trade union safety reps, second only to stress. The 2018 TUC biennial survey of safety representatives ...
Tackling bullying and harassment at work - a guide for union reps and workers
Labour Research looks at union policies and action on “just transition” — the process enabling a shift to a low-carbon economy that is ...
Labour Research
January 2019
Booklet: Case law at work - 15th edition (introduction)
This is the 15th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 15th edition
Amid Brexit uncertainty, the experts at Labour Research look at the issues likely to be impacting on UK workers and their unions in the year ...
Labour Research
December 2018
Fat cats lap up the cream
The annual Labour Research survey of the pay of top executives finds that the highest paid among them continue to scoop up eye-wateringly huge ...
Labour Research
November 2018
Grand theft of workers’ overtime
Working to make video games sounds like a cool job. In reality it is rife with insecurity, extreme pressure and huge amounts of forced unpaid ...
Labour Research
Bargaining agenda has been more than just pay rises
The pay round in 2017-18 saw the strongest pay rises for six years in collectively agreed settlements as negotiators successfully responded to peak ...
Workplace Report
October 2018
Booklet: Equality Law at Work 2018 - a guide for trade unions and working people (introduction)
Achieving equality at work and across society is a core value shared across the union movement. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and ...
Equality Law at Work 2018 - a guide for trade unions and working people
Casting a vote on the final deal?
Unions are united in condemning the Tory government’s inept handling of the Brexit negotiations. But where do they stand on calls for a ...
Labour Research
Tight labour market puts new vim into pay deals
The pay round in 2017-18 saw the strongest pay rises for six years in collectively agreed settlements as negotiators successfully responded to peak ...
Workplace Report
September 2018
Booklet: Women's health and safety at work - a guide for union reps (introduction)
The UK’s 15 million working women now make up around half the workforce. But the risks they face at work are often described as hidden or ...
Women's health and safety at work - a guide for union reps
Community and digital routes to brighter future
Delegates gathered at TUC Congress will be debating how to build the movement for the future. Labour Research examines the decline in unionisation ...
Labour Research
August 2018
No end in sight to prisons safety crisis
Labour Research examines the chaos in Britain’s jail system and finds the conditions are also taking a severe toll on the prison workforce.
...
Labour Research
July 2018
Health, safety and automation
How can unions resist moves in some sectors towards increased pressures on workers through the use of a range of new technologies?
...
Labour Research
June 2018
The fight for justice and accountability continues
As the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire approaches, Labour Research looks at union action to support those affected, and the fight for ...
Labour Research
May 2018
Returning privatised services to the public
Labour Party plans to reverse the privatisation agenda pursued by British governments since the 1980s have been welcomed by unions and campaigners ...
Labour Research
April 2018
Preparing for the new data law
Wide-ranging changes to data protection legislation take effect on 25 May — with major implications for many organisations, including trade unions, ...
Labour Research
So Mr Chief Executive, why do you pay women less than men?
Gender pay gap reporting may not be the last word in equality legislation, but it is giving union reps in thousands of workplaces across the UK a new ...
Workplace Report
On 25 May 2018, data protection laws in the UK will be strengthened by the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (No.2016/679) ...
The General Data Protection Regulation - a practical guide for trade unionists
What’s the outlook for trade union women?
Although change at the top level is slow, unions continue their efforts to ensure women are fairly represented throughout their structures.
...
Labour Research
Private sector leads the way in latest pay round
The public sector pay cap may be ending but it’s still a mixed picture for pay in the 2017-18 pay round so far, with inflation-linked deals ...
Workplace Report
February 2018
Booklet: Tackling sexual harassment at work - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Sexual harassment can happen to anyone at any time, in any place. All too often this sort of behaviour has been laughed off by perpetrators as a ...
Tackling sexual harassment at work - a guide for union reps
Unions and campaigners are warning that the Trade Bill, currently going through Parliament, could undermine democracy — and threaten jobs, public ...
Labour Research
January 2018
Booklet: Case law at work - 14th edition (introduction)
This is the 14th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 14th edition
As the squeeze on real wages continues, the experts at Labour Research look at what else 2018 is likely to bring for unions and their members.
...
Labour Research
Unions get ready for action over public sector pay cap
Civil servants want the Tories’ 1% pay cap scrapped. A Workplace Report analysis of UK civil service awards shows a mix of approaches to pay, with ...
Workplace Report
December 2017
Executive pay grows fatter
Top executives’ pay is 72 times that of the average worker — and government proposals to reveal the pay gap between boardroom and shop floor seem ...
Labour Research
November 2017
Booklet: TUPE - a union rep’s guide to using the law (introduction)
The Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) were introduced to protect the rights of employees on a compulsory ...
TUPE - a union rep’s guide to using the law
Unions take a range of important factors into account when setting out membership subscription rates, as Labour Research reports.
...
Labour Research
It’s not just pay that’s on the bargaining agenda for unions
The fight for better pay has not stopped negotiators tackling a wide range of bargaining issues including holidays, work-life balance and family ...
Workplace Report
October 2017
Booklet: Drug and alcohol policies at work - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Many employers now have workplace policies in place to manage problems arising from the misuse of drugs and alcohol. In part, this is in response to ...
Drug and alcohol policies at work - a guide for union reps
Tribunal fees ruling helps revive discrimination claim
In one of the very first decisions to be made partly based on UNISON’s recent Supreme Court victory establishing that tribunal fees are unlawful ...
Labour Research
Labour and the unions: forging stronger links?
Since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour Party leader, several unions that were not Labour-affiliated have been considering their relationship with the ...
Labour Research
Pay settlements stuck in rut as overall rise is 2.0% once again
The public sector pay cap has been a brake on real growth in pay and earnings across the labour market, but next month’s Budget could see the cap ...
Workplace Report
September 2017
Booklet: Taking industrial action - a legal guide (introduction)
When the government decided to enact the Trade Union Act 2016, described by the TUC as “the most serious attack on the rights of trade unions and ...
Taking industrial action - a legal guide
End the pay pinch, scrap the cap
Union campaigns against the government’s public sector pay cap have stepped up over the summer, with the latest pay awards for public sector ...
Labour Research
August 2017
Booklet: Time off for trade union duties and activities - a guide to facility time (introduction)
Union and other workplace representatives need time off to carry out their duties and activities if they are to represent workers to their best ...
Time off for trade union duties and activities - a guide to facility time
Concerns over skills shortages in parts of the UK economy are being intensified by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the status of EU ...
Labour Research
July 2017
One hundred years of service
Labour Research this month celebrates 100 years of service to trade unions. We look at the many issues of concern to the movement the magazine has ...
Labour Research
June 2017
Hammering the unions, the workers and the poor
Ahead of this month’s general election, Labour Research looks at the damage the Tories have inflicted on unions, and on both working and ...
Labour Research
May 2017
The French election and the unions
How will the outcome of France’s presidential election impact on the country’s workers and their trade unions? Labour Research investigates.
...
Labour Research
April 2017
Entrenched inequality still exists
A new review of race in the workplace finds that race inequality stubbornly persists. And unions warn that real progress will continue to be elusive ...
Labour Research
Is it time to dust off the slogan Britain need a pay rise?
The picture that emerges from a survey of 380 settlements drawn from the LRD Payline database is that:
...
Workplace Report
March 2017
Booklet: Promoting race equality at work - a union rep's guide (introduction)
Despite more than five decades of race equality legislation, the largest ever review into race inequality in Great Britain concluded in 2015 that ...
Promoting race equality at work - a union rep's guide
Will employers finally start to mind the gap?
Regulations obliging employers to publish information on the gender pay gap are set to come into effect at last. But are the new rules sufficient?
...
Labour Research
February 2017
Booklet: Protecting workers from violence and abuse - a union rep's guide (introduction)
Work-related violence threatens dignity, security, health and well-being and impacts not only on workers and employers, but also on their families, ...
Protecting workers from violence and abuse - a union rep's guide
Critics say that Sustainability and Transformation Plans for health and care organisations in England will create yet more chaos across the NHS.
...
Labour Research
January 2017
Booklet: Case law at work - 13th edition (introduction)
This is the 13th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 13th edition
What will 2017 bring the unions?
A continued pay squeeze, the implementation of the Trade Union Act and the impact of the Brexit process will all make for a tough year for unions. ...
Labour Research
December 2016
Booklet: Performance management and capability procedures - a guide for union reps and negotiators (introduction)
Punitive and dysfunctional performance management systems and capability processes top the workplace agenda for a growing number of union reps. Low ...
Performance management and capability procedures - a guide for union reps and negotiators
Top executives' remuneration packages have continued to ratchet up, albeit at a slower rate. Prime minster Theresa May has promised to address ...
Labour Research
November 2016
Booklet: Using information and consultation rights - a union rep's guide (introduction)
For more than ten years the UK has had regulations on the statute book through which employees and their representatives can require employers to ...
Using information and consultation rights - a union rep's guide
Legal rights: trade unions set out hopes and fears
Employment rights are more than ever under the spotlight in the face of the UK’s exit from the EU.
...
Labour Research
October 2016
Booklet: Stress and mental health at work - a guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Stress is the number one health and safety concern for trade union members and their reps across all sizes of workplace and in every region and ...
Stress and mental health at work - a guide for trade union reps
Higher education: lower standards?
Legislation enabling the entry of more for-profit providers in higher education seriously endangers academic quality, as Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
Collectively agreed settlements again average out at 2.0%
Bargaining around low pay expanded in the 2015-16 pay round with rises in the National Mimum Wage and the introduction of a higher minimum wage for ...
Workplace Report
September 2016
Booklet: Supporting pregnant workers - a union reps guide (introduction)
Despite steady improvements in rights for working parents in recent years, pregnant workers and those returning to work face huge problems in terms ...
Supporting pregnant workers - a union reps guide
Manifesto sets out stall on new workers’ rights
Britain’s largest unions are backing comprehensive policy proposals for a framework of collective bargaining, underpinned by strong trade union ...
Labour Research
Leadership candidates set out their stalls
Labour Research puts seven questions on a range of issues of concern to unions and their members to the two candidates for the leadership of the ...
Labour Research
August 2016
Are workers getting a fair share of this gig?
The “sharing” or “gig” economy is producing a realignment of employment relationships, as Labour Research finds out.
...
Labour Research
July 2016
Minorities will fall foul of this Act
Unions and those campaigning for migrants’ rights fear that the government’s Immigration Act will create a hostile environment for minority ...
Labour Research
Heads not heels should rule when drawing up dress code
The TUC is calling for a relaxation of dress codes at work as the country currently sits in a heatwave and the ‘heels case’ of Nicola Thorp is ...
Workplace Report
June 2016
Should I stay or should I go?
What positions are UK unions adopting in relation to this month’s historic referendum on whether Britain should remain in, or leave, the EU?
...
Labour Research
May 2016
Booklet: Social media at work - a practical guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Social media appears to be an unstoppable force. In the last decade people’s usage of social networking sites has exploded and for many they have ...
Social media at work - a practical guide for trade union reps
Addressing the needs of disabled members
What are the top concerns of disabled trade union members? And how are unions ensuring disabled members’ participation in union life? Labour ...
Labour Research
New mums and dads get better deal if they are in union
Shared Parental Leave celebrated its first anniversary in April, but fathers may have been deterred in embracing it, with the loss of pay involved. ...
Workplace Report
April 2016
Government plans persist in avoiding home truths
Affordable social housing is becoming an ever more distant dream for many, thanks to Conservative plans.
...
Labour Research
March 2016
Are women making progress?
Women now make up over half (55%) of Britain’s 6.4 million-strong trade union membership. So are unions ensuring that they are fairly represented ...
Labour Research
February 2016
Unions move forward on transgender issues
Trans issues have a greater presence than ever on the union agenda, as Labour Research discovers.
...
Labour Research
January 2016
Booklet: Case law at work - 12th edition (introduction)
This is the 12th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 12th edition
Migrants to the UK act as “transnational economic entrepreneurs” and “transnational economic activists”, helping to promote economic ...
Labour Research
The Conservatives’ union-bashing Trade Union Bill will be one of many challenges UK unions have to face in 2016, as the Labour Research staff ...
Labour Research
December 2015
Monster pay packets keep fat cats purring
Eye-watering remuneration packages remain the order of the day for top executives.
...
Labour Research
November 2015
Pay in manufacturing
Factory workers have made up some lost ground against inflation in their pay this year, official figures show. However, they lost ground to other ...
Fact Service
Bill legitimises union-bashing
The Conservatives’ Trade Union Bill is an attempt at undermining unions and silencing resistance to public sector cuts, as Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
Employee representation: the lessons from Europe
Board-level employee representation is found in a majority of EU Member States. But its operation varies markedly — and raises some questions ...
Labour Research
October 2015
Certification Officer role to be further politicised
This month, Back-up examines another aspect of the Trade Union Bill, this time focusing on Tory plans to fundamentally alter and expand the role of ...
Labour Research
Unions look to new pay round for sustained improvements
The 2.0% rise in collectively agreed pay settlements in the last pay round was disappointing and was the lowest rise since the 2009-10 pay round. ...
Workplace Report
September 2015
Buzz word rears its ugly head
Unions have told Labour Research how employers are looking to resilience as a way of trying to make workers more able to cope with stress, rather ...
Labour Research
August 2015
Booklet: Working from home - a negotiator's guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Four million people are now homeworkers, according to TUC analysis of the latest 2015 government statistics. Developments in modern technology, most ...
Working from home - a negotiator's guide for trade union reps
Labour Research interviews the candidates for leadership of the Labour Party on a range of issues of concern to unions and their members. ...
Labour Research
July 2015
Membership challenge
What happened to trade union membership during the years of the Tory-led coalition government? Labour Research reports. ...
Labour Research
June 2015
What is the impact of early conciliation?
New rules introduced last year mean that workers can no longer take a claim to tribunal without first considering conciliation. So what have these ...
Labour Research
Dismissal decision not discriminatory where final decision maker not influenced by discrimination
Dr Reynolds, who was an expert in medical insurance, had worked since 1968 for a leading insurance provider, part of the Canada Life Group. After ...
Workplace Report
May 2015
A different legal framework
Labour Research looks at unions’ alternative vision for employment law after the election, and at what Labour’s manifesto has to offer trade ...
Labour Research
April 2015
The poor are hardest hit
This month sees further cuts to social security as the Tory-led coalition’s “welfare revolution” continues to hammer the poorest. ...
Labour Research
Most workers still waiting for return of good times on pay
On the eve of the 2015 general election, low inflation has taken hold. But has that impacted on pay settlements? Now at its halfway point, Workplace ...
Workplace Report
March 2015
The real welfare beneficiaries
The government makes much of cutting welfare spending. What it is less vocal about is the corporate welfare that goes to businesses and individuals ...
Labour Research
February 2015
Booklet: Pay: getting it right - bargaining information for union reps (introduction)
Negotiating, campaigning and representing members on pay and related issues remains at the very heart of trade union activity. The need for strong ...
Pay: getting it right - bargaining information for union reps
Conservative Party headquarters received almost two and a half times the sum the Labour Party received at its HQ in 2014, according to a Fact Service ...
Fact Service
New regulations have been rushed through by the government to limit a worker’s basic right to recover their unpaid wages. These are the Deduction ...
Labour Research
Agency workers want umbrella pulled from above them
The number of agency workers has been on the increase, but legislation covering them has been accompanied by many employers seeking to skirt around ...
Workplace Report
January 2015
Booklet: Case law at work - 11th edition (introduction)
This is the 11th edition of Case law at work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 11th edition
Is health and safety being weakened?
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Health and Safety Executive. But celebrations will be somewhat muted by the latest ...
Labour Research
Most EU states see real pay rise, but UK records a fall
Last year saw a further revival of real pay in the EU, with pay increasing faster than prices in 22 countries, compared with 15 in 2013. However, the ...
Workplace Report
Where they survive, workplace canteens keep staff well fed
A Workplace Report survey of 351 workplaces found a significant fall in the proportion of workplaces providing a staff canteen, although a higher ...
Workplace Report
December 2014
Pay surge sees boom time in boardrooms
Top company executives continue to rake it in as their pay ratchets ever upwards. ...
Labour Research
November 2014
Booklet: Unfair dismissal - a legal guide for union reps (introduction)
A well organised workforce is one that knows its rights. This means that union and employee representatives need to have a good grasp of the current ...
Unfair dismissal - a legal guide for union reps
As millions struggle with low pay and insecure work, and the taxpayer subsidises poverty wages, calls for a decent living wage grow louder. ...
Labour Research
October 2014
Booklet: Leave and pay for working parents - a guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Over the last 10 years successive governments have introduced a wide range of measures aimed at helping working parents to balance their employment ...
Leave and pay for working parents - a guide for trade union reps
The TUC-organised demonstration on 18 October is making the case that “Britain Needs a Pay Rise”. Labour Research examines the backdrop. ...
Labour Research
September 2014
Roots of movement will survive
Local union branches are increasingly being seen by unions as key to ensuring the continued health of the movement. Union branches have always formed ...
Labour Research
What new parents can expect in best pay and practice policies
The introduction of a new right in 2015 to Shared Parental Leave means that paternity and maternity policies will need to be modified in the coming ...
Workplace Report
August 2014
Booklet: Casualisation at work - a guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Casual work has always existed. Even before the 2008 recession, non-standard forms of working were an established feature of the UK and European ...
Casualisation at work - a guide for trade union reps
Unions have their say on Scotland’s vote
How are UK unions positioning themselves in relation to next month’s vote on Scottish independence? ...
Labour Research
July 2014
Booklet: Workplace pensions - a guide for trade union reps (introduction)
The coalition government’s radical shake up of both workplace and state pensions is continuing at a startling pace, raising new issues for trade ...
Workplace pensions - a guide for trade union reps
Challenging the myths around migrant workers
What is the actual impact of migration on UK employment and the UK workforce? Labour Research investigates. ...
Labour Research
June 2014
Probation service up for grabs
What impact will the part-privatisation of the probation service have on those who work in the service and on public safety? ...
Labour Research
May 2014
Europe, immigration and bashing workers’ rights
While its anti-immigration and anti-EU policies are well known, the UK Independence Party’s other policies, such as those on workers’ rights, are ...
Labour Research
April 2014
Equality must come of age for older women
The needs of older women workers are being overlooked, despite their increased numbers in the workforce. ...
Labour Research
March 2014
Tackling sexual harassment
With the issue of sexual harassment scarcely out of the headlines in recent months, Labour Research asks unions whether it is still a significant ...
Labour Research
February 2014
Care workers must be paid for travel time
This month’s Back-up looks at an employment tribunal decision with very important ramifications for care workers across the country. An Employment ...
Labour Research
Should there be a legal right to bereavement leave?
The issue of bereavement leave has been in the news of late, with renewed calls for the introduction of a statutory right to time off in the event of ...
Workplace Report
January 2014
Booklet: Case law at work - 10th edition (introduction)
This is the 10th edition of Case Law at Work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 10th edition
The experts at Labour Research examine what the forthcoming year is likely to bring for working people and their trade unions. ...
Labour Research
UK one of two EU states where real pay falls as economy grows
After three years of pay lagging behind prices in most countries of the European Union, 2013 saw something of a real pay recovery. In 17 out of 27 ...
Workplace Report
December 2013
Time to ring down the curtain on this performance
New forms of performance management are causing misery for thousands of workers. ...
Labour Research
November 2013
Booklet: Promoting equality for disabled workers - a guide for trade union reps (introduction)
Disabled people are statistically less able to participate in employment compared to their non-disabled colleagues. In 2012, the Labour Force Survey ...
Promoting equality for disabled workers - a guide for trade union reps
NHS unions don’t want poisoned pill from pay review body
Agenda for Change, the national agreement for those NHS staff covered by the NHS Pay Review Body is almost 10-years old. Under the coalition ...
Workplace Report
October 2013
Upturn in economy has yet to feed into pay settlements
The economy is growing again, but there is little sign of it in headline trends on pay deals in the private sector. Meanwhile, Chancellor Osborne ...
Workplace Report
September 2013
Booklet: Contracts of employment - a guide to using the law for union reps (introduction)
Ongoing coalition government attacks on employment rights mean there has not been a more important time in recent years to be an active trade union ...
Contracts of employment - a guide to using the law for union reps
Austerity impacts on headcount
The 145th TUC Congress meets this month, five years on from the 2008 crash and four since the country hit the depths of recession. But growth is all ...
Labour Research
Auto-enrolment: the story so far and what the future may hold
In the last few years, the number of people judged to be not saving enough for retirement has risen from nine to 11 million, so the statutory duty ...
Workplace Report
August 2013
Some more highly paid charity workers
The pay of top executives of development charities, such as Save the Children, has come under attack in the Daily Telegraph and from the chair of ...
Fact Service
July 2013
Booklet: Representing older workers - a guide for trade union negotiators (introduction)
The UK has an ageing population and an ageing workforce. Throughout the 1990s, fewer than 8% of men over 65 and women over 60 were in work. By 2006, ...
Representing older workers - a guide for trade union negotiators
Sickness absence does not make management’s heart grow fonder
Next year, the government will be setting up a new health and work assessment and advisory service to help sick employees back to work, but it is ...
Workplace Report
June 2013
Supplements aim to help staff working in and around capital
The higher cost of living hits workers in their pockets, so paying a London allowance helps soften the blow. However, the latest Workplace Report ...
Workplace Report
Paid time off, not a spoonful of sugar, helps medicine go down
A good sick pay scheme delivers support when it is needed and remain an important workplace benefit. Workplace Report analyses the results of a sick ...
Workplace Report
May 2013
Is it only a flash of recognition?
There has been a sharp decline in applications under the statutory procedure for union recognition, while the procedure has brought UK unions both ...
Labour Research
Reps’ time off to do their union work is under attack
Union reps need to have reasonable paid time off from their normal job to carry out their role effectively. A Workplace Report survey has found that ...
Workplace Report
April 2013
Booklet: Working Time Regulations - Application and enforcement (introduction)
This booklet looks in detail at the application and enforcement of the Working Time Regulations (WTR) in the UK. Although it is essentially a matter ...
Working Time Regulations - Application and enforcement
Historically, black and minority ethnic people have been at a disadvantage in the labour market — and things don’t appear to be ...
Labour Research
March 2013
Trade unionists will be among the millions who will lose out
Government reforms changing the way that civil cases are processed and funded will start to take effect next month. The reforms apply across civil ...
Workplace Report
February 2013
Zero-hours contracts on the increase across all sectors
Casualised work arrangements, such as “zero-hours” contracts, are spreading. The recession seems to be a lot to do with it, but there is also a ...
Workplace Report
January 2013
Booklet: Case law at work - 9th edition (introduction)
This is the ninth edition of Case law at work, the LRD’s key source of information on recent employment law cases. It contains clear summaries and ...
Case law at work - 9th edition
Union reps face battle to win better standard of living
Inflation has remained stubbornly high and union reps and official are expecting a tougher bargaining climate in 2013 year than last year. A ...
Workplace Report
December 2012
Maintaining the branch meeting
In the second of a two-part series on the union branch, Labour Research examines the cornerstone of branch activity — the branch meeting. ...
Labour Research
November 2012
State of the union branch
In the first of a two-part series on the union branch in 2012, Labour Research finds out how branches are faring and what affects their health. ...
Labour Research
October 2012
BME leadership: how are UK unions faring?
What are unions doing to encourage BME members to participate in the life of the union and to move up the union ranks? ...
Labour Research
Double-dip recession hits settlements in last pay round
Union negotiators have had to operate in the difficult environment of a double-dip economic recession and a government intent of pursuing its failed ...
Workplace Report
September 2012
Difficult climate for equality
The last three years have clearly been a tough period for unions to negotiate improvements for their members. And equality is no exception. ...
Labour Research
August 2012
The impact of the think tanks
Many think tanks are hoping to catch the government’s eye with their policies. Labour Research reports on some of the more successful. ...
Labour Research
July 2012
Unions keep up pressure for improved deals for parents
The pace of change on maternity and paternity rights has slowed considerably under the coalition government. However, collective bargaining has ...
Workplace Report
June 2012
Whistleblowing at work
Legislation on whistleblowing was intended to give employees the confidence that they would be protected from reprisals if they took action to alert ...
Workplace Report
May 2012
Booklet: Preventing injury at work - a union reps' guide to musculoskeletal disorders (introduction)
If you ask workers about their chief health concerns at work, back pain and strain and repetitive strain injuries (RSI) are always high on the list. ...
Preventing injury at work - a union reps' guide to musculoskeletal disorders
The impact of the bonus culture on low-paid workers in the finance industry is very different to that enjoyed by top bank executives. ...
Labour Research
A need to negotiate over growing problem of mental health at work
The TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference later this month will note that “discrimination against people with mental health impairments is ...
Workplace Report
April 2012
Booklet: Safety, health and equality at work - a practical guide for trade unionists (introduction)
The decades since the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations came into force in 1978 have witnessed seismic changes in the UK ...
Safety, health and equality at work - a practical guide for trade unionists
Coalition proposals to introduce fees to access employment tribunals will further undermine black workers’ chances of obtaining justice, ...
Labour Research
March 2012
Struggle for justice is far from over
On the second anniversary of legislation intended to control blacklisting, Labour Research finds that the law is failing to deliver proper redress ...
Labour Research
February 2012
Pensions strike boosts trade union recruitment
Unions have reported an upsurge in recruitment in the wake of last November’s pensions strike. ...
Labour Research
January 2012
Booklet: Case law at work - 8th edition (introduction)
There is a huge amount of employment legislation governing the workplace, from the right to be paid a minimum wage to laws protecting workers from ...
Case law at work - 8th edition
Workers’ rights come under siege
It’s farewell to “partnership” as the Con-Dem coalition embarks on an onslaught on employment rights. ...
Labour Research
December 2011
Booklet: Using financial information - a practical guide for trade unionists (introduction)
Strong trade union organisation can be a major factor in winning improvements in the workplace over many issues, including pay and other benefits. ...
Using financial information - a practical guide for trade unionists
November 2011
Booklet: Workplace pensions reform - a practical guide to auto-enrolment (introduction)
Workplace pensions have been making headlines recently with the government trying to make public sector workers work longer and pay more to get less ...
Workplace pensions reform - a practical guide to auto-enrolment
October 2011
Booklet: Agency Workers Regulations - a legal guide (introduction)
Trade unions have been concerned about the treatment of agency workers for decades. This is not surprising as agency workers have endured some of ...
Agency Workers Regulations - a legal guide
June 2011
Redundancy policies - early consultation and steps to avoid job losses are key
In bad times, when redundancies are looming, it is something of a relief to unions and employers to have good redundancy policies to draw on. Indeed ...
Workplace Report
April 2011
Booklet: Safety reps in action (introduction)
There are around 150,000 safety reps appointed and supported by trade unions. This booklet makes the case for trade union safety reps. As well as ...
Safety reps in action
January 2011
Booklet: Case law at work - 7th edition (introduction)
There is a very considerable amount of employment legislation governing the workplace, from the right to be paid a minimum wage, to laws protecting ...
Case law at work - 7th edition
April 2010
Booklet: Hazardous substances - a guide for safety reps (introduction)
Hazardous substances are used in almost every workplace — factories, offices, building sites, shops, schools, hospitals, kitchens, parks, ...
Hazardous substances - a guide for safety reps
January 2010
Booklet: Case law at work - 6th edition (introduction)
There is a very considerable amount of employment legislation governing the workplace, from the right to be paid a minimum wage, to laws protecting ...
Case law at work - 6th edition
October 2009
Recession and pay: analysis of the 2008-09 pay
round
Workplace Report
August 2009
Booklet: Organising and bargaining in the downturn - a guide for unions (introduction)
Although recession has a detrimental and sometimes dramatic effect on employment and on the conditions of union members’ jobs, it does not ...
Organising and bargaining in the downturn - a guide for unions
October 2008
Inflation hits pay settlements as global downturn looms
Workplace Report
January 2008
Booklet: Case law at work - 4th edition (introduction)
Case law at work - 4th edition
December 2007
Booklet: Young workers - a guide for union reps (introduction)
Young workers - a guide for union reps
October 2007
Upward trend in pay deals isn’t enough to keep pace with prices
Workplace Report
April 2007
Booklet: Carers in the workplace - a guide to negotiating flexible working and leave (introduction)
Carers in the workplace - a guide to negotiating flexible working and leave
February 2007
Booklet: Tackling asbestos at work - a trade unionist's guide (introduction)
Tackling asbestos at work - a trade unionist's guide
January 2007
Booklet: Case law at work - 3rd edition (introduction)
Case law at work - 3rd edition
January 2006
Booklet: Case law at work - 2nd edition (introduction)
Case law at work - 2nd edition
October 2005
Booklet: Bargaining to organise - a guide for trade unionists (introduction)
Bargaining to organise - a guide for trade unionists
November 2004
Booklet: Case law at work - 1st edition (introduction)
Case law at work - 1st edition
May 2004
Booklet: Worker Representation in Europe (introduction)
Worker Representation in Europe
August 2000
Booklet: European works councils - an LRD guide (introduction)
European works councils - an LRD guide