Pay and prices

Settlements regain slight lead over RPI (230 words)

The median level of pay increases on LRD’s Payline database for the three months to September was 4.0%, the same as August’s revised figure, ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (84 words)

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

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end September 2007)3.3%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end September 2007)3.2% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers£565.80 All male£622.30 All female£477.60 Managers£853.70 Professionals£768.10 Associate professional£584.20 Admin & secretarial£375.30 Skilled/craft£471.80 Services£330.30 Sales£313.20 Operatives£434.90 Other manual£337.80 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (82 words)

Earnings index% annual rise Whole economyManufacturingServicesPrivate sectorPublic sector June 2006 (r)127.05.05.84.95.33.7 July (r)126.73.84.83.73.74.1 August (r)126.83.85.33.63.93.2 Sept (r)127.54.15.34.34.33.4 October (r)127.84.35.14.54.53.2 November (r)128.24.04.74.14.23.1 December (r)128.83.94.04.24.13.3 Jan ...

Prices (27 words)

Retail prices index (RPI)*% annual increases RPIRPI excl. mortgagesAugust 2006199.23.43.3 September200.13.63.2 October200.43.73.2 November201.13.93.4 December202.74.43.8 January 2007201.64.23.5 February203.14.63.7 March204.44.83.9 April205.44.53.6 May206.24.33.3 June207.34.43.3 July206.13.82.7 August207.34.12.7 September208.03.92.8 ...

Inflation forecasts (21 words)

Fourth quarter 2007 ...

Bargaining news

CWU recommends end to Royal Mail dispute (642 words)

A conclusion to the long-running dispute between the CWU communication workers’ union and Royal Mail looked possible as Workplace Report went to press, after ...

Minimum wage rates are increased (87 words)

The adult rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), which applies to workers aged 22 and over, increased by 3.2% on 1 October, from ...

Barclays employees stay well ahead of inflation (399 words)

Negotiators at general union Unite have secured what they describe as a “leading-edge agreement” for Barclays Bank’s 48,000 staff. ...

Ballots increase prospect of local government deal (298 words)

A pay settlement in local government in England and Wales is in the balance this month, after members of two of the three unions ...

Strike action preserves jobs at Metronet (263 words)

Rail unions have claimed victory on the issues of jobs and pensions following a solid strike at Tube maintenance firm Metronet, which went into ...

Health unions reluctantly accept NHS settlement (607 words)

Midwives have rejected this year’s revised NHS pay offer in England, while its acceptance by other health unions has come with a warning that ...

RPI increase at Cineworld (176 words)

Projectionists at cinema chain Cineworld are set to receive increased bonuses as part of an inflation-based settlement negotiated with entertainment union BECTU. ...

School support staff will get new pay body (274 words)

Education secretary Ed Balls is to set up a negotiating body for school support staff in England, to be in place and developing a ...

Equality news

Anti-ageism law has little impact on discrimination (338 words)

Awareness of the UK’s new age equality regulations already appears to be widespread, but this hasn’t done much to reduce ageism in the workplace. ...

BECTU attacks Ofcom over ethnic monitoring secrecy (375 words)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission began work this month – and broadcasting union BECTU has already asked it to investigate the activities of ...

Councils are offered loans for equal pay (282 words)

The government is allowing 46 local authorities across England to borrow £500 million to fund equal pay settlements, in a move that could enable ...

Recruitment and organisation news

NUJ is odds-on for recognition (240 words)

The non-TUC British Association of Journalists (BAJ) has been forced to walk out of a sweetheart deal at the Racing Post, leaving the way ...

Congress praises star organisers (217 words)

A union activist who single-handedly signed up 257 new members and two more who achieved union recognition for young agency workers have been recognised ...

Learning and training news

UK adults still lack basic skills (206 words)

An estimated 13.5 million adults in the UK become stressed if asked to do basic sums, according to new research from the country’s largest ...

Lammy calls for more apprentices (171 words)

Skills minister David Lammy has called on public-sector employers to offer more apprenticeships to young people and adults, and to break down barriers preventing ...

European news

Finance giant banks on its new plan for sex equality (462 words)

Unions have agreed a new plan designed to improve the position of women at Spanish finance group Banco Santander. ...

German rail negotiations have hit the buffers again (228 words)

The dispute between German railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the GDL, the union representing most of the company’s train drivers, had still not ...

Finns aim for equal pay in local councils (289 words)

The Finnish government has agreed an annual subsidy of €150 million to help fund pay rises in the areas of local authorities’ operations where ...

Law - Contracts

Contract law (522 words)

nWhere a local agreement specifies that agreement must be reached with all unions, a proper process must be followed – even if the union ...

Collective agreements (293 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Withdrawal of car allowances (254 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Overtime (219 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Holiday pay (241 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Agency worker or employee? (146 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Entitlement to allowances (241 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Casual workers (305 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Part-time workers (178 words)

Case 8: The facts ...

Agency workers and sick pay (190 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Contractual terms (207 words)

Case 10: The facts ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Tribunal case law (350 words)

nWhen deciding whether to accept an unfair dismissal claim outside the three-month time limit, a tribunal must consider what the employee should have known ...

Grievance procedures (744 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Change to tribunal panel (198 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Withdrawal of claim (184 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Striking out a claim (205 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Companies in construction agree safety action plan (282 words)

The government and employers in the construction industry have agreed an action plan with unions to improve health and safety standards, after a summit ...

Liverpool fails to protect council workers’ health (140 words)

Workers at Liverpool City Council are not getting the legally required level of occupational health support, according to inspectors from the Health and Safety ...

CWU briefs its reps on good lighting practice (177 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has issued its safety reps with a briefing on workplace lighting after concerns were raised about the quality of ...

TUC publishes guide to banning the bullies (76 words)

The TUC has produced guidance on preventing workplace bullying in advance of Ban Bullying at Work day on 7 November. ...

Retail staff face a rising tide of violence (201 words)

Shopworkers’ union USDAW is calling on local authorities and police forces to make retail crime a higher priority, in the wake of new figures ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

HSE nears critical point as further cuts are proposed (235 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is facing its biggest-ever crisis after being earmarked for cuts over the next three years. ...

Accident prompts warning on migrant worker safety (180 words)

Employers have been warned by the HSE to ensure that all workers understand safety procedures, regardless of their understanding of English, after an incident ...

WSA scheme leads to more worker involvement (205 words)

The now-defunct Workers’ Safety Adviser (WSA) scheme was a success, according to a new evaluation report carried out for the HSE. ...

Promises, promises (99 words)

Judith Hackitt, the new chair of the Health and Safety Commission, began her term of office this month by calling for more board-level engagement ...

Texting HSE (99 words)

The HSE may be low on staff, but it’s up to date with technology. It promises that anyone who texts “HSE” to 64446 or ...

Reporting accidents (114 words)

A new HSE report has questioned the need to collect data on accidents at work that do not lead to injuries, on the grounds ...

Features

Upward trend in pay deals isn’t enough to keep pace with prices (5219 words)

At the start of the pay round in August 2006, annual growth in the retail prices index (RPI) – the most widely used measure ...