Pay and prices

Pay rises fall further behind inflation (245 words)

The latest figures from LRD’s Payline database show settlements running at 4.0% in the three months to July. This is the median for all ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (72 words)

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

Full-time weekly average earnings (16 words)

All workers£572.90All male£631.60All female£482.20Managers£862.20Professionals£773.10Associate professional£591.00Admin & secretarial£394.40Skilled/craft£481.40Services£338.80Sales£319.40Operatives£445.90Other manual£347.50 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (61 words)

* 2000=100. ** Average of earnings increases for latest three months compared to a year earlier. (r) revised. (p) provisional. Source: National Statistics. ...

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end July 2008)3.5%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end June 2008)3.5% ...

Inflation forecasts (18 words)

Fourth quarter 2008 ...

Bargaining news

Inflation-linked deals push pay trend higher (745 words)

The mid-point in pay settlements hasn’t hit the 5% mark since 1992* and, although annual inflation (Retail Price Index — RPI) stood at 5% ...

Inflation adjustment at Siemens (94 words)

Staff at Siemens SIS (formerly part of BBC technology) have secured an improvement in the second year of their two-year pay deal, following a ...

Train company cuts hours (49 words)

Alstom West Coast Traincare reduced the working week from 38 to 37 hours as part of an April pay settlement increasing pay rates by ...

Regulations push up negotiated leave (84 words)

Increased leave entitlement now provided under the Working Time Regulations is feeding through to negotiated agreements. Bus company Stagecoach (Hants and Surrey) awarded an ...

Travel loan deal for museum staff (48 words)

The National Museum and Galleries of Wales increased its travel loan for season tickets to £1,500 per year in April, alongside a pay deal ...

Rail companies agree to improve parental leave (339 words)

Train operators First Capital Connect and Transpennine Express have both agreed improvements to parental leave in this year’s negotiations. ...

Asda links pay deal to National Minimum Wage (339 words)

This year’s pay award at the supermarket giant Asda is initially worth 2.5%. However, the company has opted to align its pay review dates ...

Distribution firm looks at sickness and alcohol and drugs policies (108 words)

Joint working groups on sickness absence and drugs and alcohol policies are being set up at the 3663 distribution company as part of a ...

Plumbers get minimum mileage allowance (69 words)

A minimum mileage allowance of £0.25 per mile payable to operatives or apprentices requested to use their own vehicle on company business was introduced ...

Scottish local council bosses get 2.5% (83 words)

Fresh talks are taking place to resolve the local government pay disputes affecting England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as Scotland. However, the ...

OFSTED faces likelihood of more industrial action (431 words)

OFSTED, which inspects schools, training provision and care for children and young people, faces the possibility of further industrial action over a pay deal ...

Education unions draw up model Academy agreement (280 words)

With the number of Academy schools in England set to grow (the government’s target is 400) education unions assisted by the TUC have drawn ...

Equality news

Civil service plans equality and diversity strategy (456 words)

The civil service has published a new strategy to promote equality and diversity covering all forms of discrimination in its workforce. The strategy document ...

Training courses aim to boost equality reps (284 words)

The TUC has set up a co-ordinated training programme to further boost the growing network of union equality reps in workplaces across the UK. ...

Equality bill (112 words)

Senior union and business figures will meet monthly to advise ministers on how best to implement the new Equality Bill. ...

Flexible working (148 words)

The government has set up a consultation process to look at how it can make it easier for employers to deal with flexible working. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Unions support Activist Academy (233 words)

THE three largest school teaching unions are among the first group of 10 unions signing up to support a new TUC Activist Academy being ...

Union avoiders get report change (170 words)

Union-avoidance consultants The Burke Group (TBG) have managed to get the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which oversees the statutory recognition process, to revise a ...

TUC holds organising meetings (62 words)

THE TUC is holding two meetings on organising in the next few weeks. A TUC fringe meeting in Brighton on 10 September will ask ...

Learning and training news

TUC wants higher apprentice pay (304 words)

TheTUC has called for all apprentices to be fully covered by the National Minimum Wage (NMW) arguing that this will protect them from exploitation ...

Agreement covers access to skills (94 words)

The TUC has signed a partnership agreement with the government, CBI employers’ organisation, Business Services Association, Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and ...

European news

Negotiations lead to 20% jump in minimum wage (453 words)

Romania's unions, employers and government have agreed that the national minimum wage should increase by 40 lei (€11.20) a month from the start of ...

Cabin crews want higher pay deal (460 words)

THE Lufthansa airline and the services union Verdi have agreed a pay deal for 34,000 ground staff. Pay rates will rise by 7.4% over ...

Iberia will keep unions informed on BA merger (133 words)

Iberia, the Spanish airline, has agreed to trade union requests to set up a body which will regularly inform the two main union confederations, ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination law (407 words)

f Depending on the facts, discriminatory action by an employer may amount to a fundamental breach of trust and confidence, so that the employee ...

Constructive dismissal (174 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Fertility treatment dismissal (196 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Discrimination by association (202 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Discriminatory statements (196 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Burden of proof (173 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Justifying age discrimination (405 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Disability discrimination (333 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Injury to feelings (244 words)

Case 8: The facts ...

Equal pay comparators (231 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Religious discrimination (363 words)

Case 10: The facts ...

Equal pay: pay protection (671 words)

Case 11: The facts ...

Bargaining priorities and equal pay (445 words)

Case 12: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Scottish teachers suffer high levels of stress (134 words)

Scotland’s teachers are crippled by stress and depression and are taking up to six times the UK average in sick leave due to psychological ...

Royal Mail takes hard line on absence (141 words)

Last month Unite, the union representing postal managers, accused Royal Mail of misusing security systems to help track employees’ attendance and then resorting to ...

RMT takes action over harassments and assaults (329 words)

Eleven London Underground stations were affected by strike action at the end of last month in two separate disputes that involved the dismissal of ...

Union says bullying is rife in media companies (153 words)

Nine out of 10 journalists have been affected by bullying, according to new figures from the NUJ journalists’ union. ...

Safety Reps Rights: No. 5: Safety Committees (168 words)

THE Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations came into force nearly 30 years ago, in October 1978. Workplace Report is running a regular column ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

MPs accuse government of complacency on safety (242 words)

The chair of a key parliamentary safety monitoring committee has slammed the government as “pathetic, defensive and complacent”, according to reports in Safety and ...

HSE has to publish names of work-related deaths (402 words)

The Information Commissioner has forced the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to publish the names of those who have died in work-related deaths, in ...

Family wants firm charged over death (253 words)

The family of a man killed by a mechanical digger at a recycling centre has called for the firm involved to face corporate manslaughter ...

Features

Plugging the loopholes in the Working Time Regulations (3175 words)

The Working Time Regulations limit the working week for most workers to an average of 48 hours over a set period, while also setting ...

Providing support in cases of drug or alcohol misuse at work (2029 words)

A key challenge for trade unions is how to deal with alcohol or drug misuse at work when the approach of employers is often ...