Pay and prices

Pay increases take a fall as inflation rises (220 words)

The latest figures from LRD’s Payline database show pay settlements dropping back to a median increase of 3.3% in the three months to October ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (74 words)

For the three months up to and including: ...

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end October 2007)3.4%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end October 2007)3.2% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (16 words)

All workers£562.40All male£620.00All female£473.40Managers£846.40Professionals£759.00Associate professional£580.20Admin & secretarial£387.20Skilled/craft£472.60Services£332.60Sales£313.50Operatives£437.70Other manual£341.20 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (57 words)

Earnings index* for whole economy% annual riseWhole economyManufacturingServicesPrivate sectorPublic sectorJuly 2006 (r)126.73.84.73.73.74.1August (r)126.93.85.33.83.93.2September (r)127.54.05.64.14.23.3October127.84.35.14.54.53.2November128.24.04.74.14.23.1December128.83.94.04.24.13.3January 2007129.34.93.55.35.23.3February131.34.93.65.45.42.8March129.73.53.53.33.83.1April129.83.43.23.63.23.2May130.53.64.43.53.83.0June131.13.23.93.23.23.1July (r)131.53.84.33.84.22.5August (r)132.24.22.84.64.53.2Sept (p)132.84.22.14.54.43.2Headline rate** for September4.13.04.34.33.0 ...

Prices (13 words)

Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ’87=100% annual increasesRPIRPI excl. mortgages September 2006200.13.63.2October200.43.73.2November201.13.93.4December202.74.43.8January 2007201.64.23.5February203.14.63.7March204.44.83.9April205.44.53.6May206.24.33.3June207.34.43.3July206.13.82.7August207.34.12.7September208.03.92.8October208.94.23.1 ...

Inflation forecasts (17 words)

Fourth quarter 2007 ...

Bargaining news

ASHE reveals earnings growth of just 2.9% (286 words)

Gross weekly pay for the typical (median) full-time employee in the UK stood at £456.70 in April 2007, according to this year’s newly published ...

WNO workers consider ‘risky’ three-year deal (316 words)

Entertainment workers’ union BECTU is balloting its members at Welsh National Opera (WNO) on a three-year settlement offering an initial 3.8% pay rise – ...

UNISON offers a warning over local government pay (444 words)

A pay award for 2007 in local government across England, Wales and Northern Ireland is finally to go ahead, after public services union UNISON ...

Unite forces Rolls-Royce to end two-tier pay in Derby (285 words)

Workers at Ross Ceramics in Derbyshire have agreed an inflation-beating pay deal after holding the first of three planned walkouts. ...

UCU rejects ‘insulting’ pay offer of 2.55% (274 words)

Academic staff at Craven College in Yorkshire are to receive a nationally agreed pay rise of 3% for the 2006/07 academic year, after threatening ...

CWU delivers up to 9.5% for Post Office workers (343 words)

Supply Chain workers at Post Office Limited (POL) will receive pay rises of up to 9.48% under a new pay deal being put to ...

Hospital contractor agrees to match NHS conditions (398 words)

Hospital workers employed by Serco Services in Norwich are to receive the same annual leave provisions as directly employed NHS staff, under a new ...

Airport staff hold out for 4.4% increase (264 words)

Strike action at Liverpool John Lennon Airport was averted this month after all-day negotiations resulted in an improved pay offer. ...

Equality news

Right to request flexible working will be extended (377 words)

The government is planning to extend the right to request flexible working, following proposals outlined in the Queen’s Speech “to help people achieve a ...

TUC calls for mandatory audits to close pay gap (354 words)

The gender pay gap is at its narrowest since records began – but the TUC says that progress in closing the gap completely is ...

Fire scheme targets women and BME people (158 words)

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has become the first UK fire service to set up a graduate training scheme aiming to place more women ...

Equality Bill is shelved (129 words)

Government plans to introduce a Single Equality Bill were put on hold this month when the proposed legislation was omitted from the Queen’s Speech. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Government recommends more clarity in reps’ rights (406 words)

The TUC has welcomed government proposals to beef up the code of practice that sets out the time and resources that should be available ...

Freelances win recognition at BBC Resources (126 words)

The past month has seen voluntary recognition agreements reached by the PCS civil servants’ union at the Electoral Commission and by broadcasting union BECTU ...

Learning and training news

New apprenticeships need funding (382 words)

Education and skills were prominent in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, with proposals provoking both criticism and praise. ...

European news

Postal workers fail to get industry-wide pay minima (593 words)

Unions have agreed minimum rates for two important groups of low-paid workers in Germany – but the prospect of agreed pay minima for those ...

Austria signs above-inflation deals (246 words)

A settlement in Austria’s metalworking and mining sector, signed last month, has increased nationally agreed pay rates by 3.6% from 1 November – well ...

Agreed rates are below legal minimum (166 words)

Despite government efforts to get employers to negotiate new agreements, many national pay settlements in France still have wage rates that are inoperative because ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination case law (722 words)

nAn equal pay claim that relies on jobs been rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme cannot be backdated to before the evaluation ...

Backdated equal pay claims (190 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Equal pay and pay protection (252 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Disparate impact (229 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Equal pay comparator (163 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Sex discrimination (345 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Part-timers’ right to pensions (200 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Individual liability (118 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Race discrimination (231 words)

Case 8: The facts ...

Offers of alternative work (567 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Knowledge of a disability (231 words)

Case 11: The facts ...

Reasonable adjustments (170 words)

Case 12: The facts ...

Definition of disability (411 words)

Case 13: The facts ...

Disability-related dismissal (173 words)

Case 15: The facts ...

Religion or belief (144 words)

Case 16: The facts ...

Maternity discrimination (243 words)

Case 17: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Public-sector attacks are on the rise in Scotland (253 words)

Council staff and health workers in Scotland are at increased risk of physical violence, according to official statistics published last month by public services ...

BBC backs UCU on bullying (194 words)

Interviews with UCU lecturers’ union members at Leeds Metropolitan University have revealed a disturbing culture of individual and institutional bullying. ...

CWU raises cancer awareness at BT (233 words)

The CWU communication workers’ unions and telecoms giant BT are working together on a major cancer awareness initiative. ...

Planes boycott at Flybe (106 words)

Flight crew at budget airline Flybe are refusing to fly part of the company's fleet, on the grounds that poor air quality is putting ...

Reps’ explosive discovery (109 words)

Safety reps from the TSSA rail union uncovered a dreadful safety failure by private contractor Tube Lines at a London Underground station last month. ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Improvements in workers’ health go into reverse (290 words)

Work-related ill health reached a five-year high last year, according to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) annual round-up of statistics published this month. ...

Employers’ health advice line proves a costly flop (217 words)

Workplace Health Connect (WHC), a multi-million-pound project to provide telephone advice on workplace health issues to small and medium-sized firms, has officially been branded ...

Lack of HSE inspectors theatens nuclear plans (111 words)

Prospect, the union which represents HSE inspectors, says the HSE has “gone beyond the critical mass at which it is capable of performing the ...

EMF directive faces delay (156 words)

Unions have reacted angrily to attempts by the European Commission to delay important new laws protecting workers from electromagnetic fields (EMFs). ...

Hospital trust is fined over asbestos (120 words)

The HSE is warning employers to take proper precautions over the management of asbestos in their buildings, following the prosecution of an NHS trust. ...

Features

Looking beyond basic pay rises (3639 words)

As Workplace Report noted in last month’s review of the pay round that ran from August 2006 to July 2007, a surge in inflation ...

Get paid for sleeping on the job (2387 words)

In September, Workplace Report looked at the meal allowances offered to employees who have to work away from their usual workplace. We found that ...