Pay and prices

Record deflation (278 words)

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) fell by 1.2% in the year to April, following the fall of 0.4% in the year to March. This ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (75 words)

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

Full-time weekly average earnings (17 words)

All workers£581.80All male£639.30All female£491.80Managers£863.80Professionals£778.90Associate professional£601.20Admin & secretarial£402.90Skilled/craft£488.70Services£345.30Sales£319.60Operatives£452.10Other manual£350.80 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (64 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 (22 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end April 2009)1.5%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end March 2009)3.0% ...

Inflation forecasts (20 words)

Fourth quarter 2009 ...

Prices (14 words)

Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ’87=100% annual increasesRPIRPI excl. mortgages March 2008212.13.83.5April214.04.24.0May215.14.34.4June216.84.64.8July216.55.05.3August21.7.24.85.2September218.45.05.5October217.74.24.7November216.03.0 3.96December212.90.92.8Jan 2009210.10.12.4February211.40.02.5March211.3-0.42.2April211.5-1.21.7 ...

Bargaining news

Agency worker consultation starts (455 words)

Unions have at last got their chance to argue over the detail of new equal treatment rights for agency workers, with the opening of ...

No freeze for Royal Mail or BT as talks continue (259 words)

The communications union CWU is still in negotiations with Royal Mail over pay, despite Royal Mail having released a letter to the media detailing ...

Visteon deal offers Ford terms and more (404 words)

The campaign by Unite general union on behalf of workers at former Ford spin-off car parts firm Visteon has resulted in a historic settlement ...

Pay holding steady (415 words)

LRD’s Payline database showed that the median pay settlement increase for April – a month which traditionally sees a large number of pay deals ...

HE and FE reject poor pay offers (214 words)

The GMB, UNISON, UCU, Unite, and EIS higher education unions have rejected an offer of 0.3% while the GMB, UNISON, UCU, Unite, ACM and ...

Piracy pay (62 words)

The International Bargaining Forum, the maritime unions’ joint negotiating body, has agreed a further extension of the piracy danger zone around Somalia and a ...

Being in a union means better pay for workers (302 words)

Labour Force Survey statistics published by BERR for the last quarter of 2008 show that union members are paid on average 12.5% more than ...

Reps are good citizens in and out of work (243 words)

According to research conducted by BERR in 2007, union reps are worth between £3.4bn and £10.2bn to the UK economy. Their presence in a ...

New minimum wage set for October (126 words)

The national minimum wage will rise by 7 pence in October. The Low Pay Commission has set a new NMW for adults of £5.80, ...

Blacklisting to be outlawed (61 words)

Following pressure from unions, the government has agreed to ban the use of blacklists by companies following the exposure of blacklisting in major construction ...

Tips campaign (98 words)

The government has agreed to end employers’ ability to use tips and service charges towards making up the minimum wage for employees in businesses ...

Living Wage Award (114 words)

The first Scottish Living Wage Employer Award has been awarded to Glasgow City Council after it increased the wages of all its low paid ...

Equality news

Union reactions to new Equality Bill (412 words)

Unions broadly welcomed the publication of the government’s Equality Bill last month, though some also made it clear that they felt the Bill could ...

Unite slams report on NHS religion costs (266 words)

A recent report claiming that religious demands are costing the NHS up to £40 million a year has been criticised as “erroneous and simplistic” ...

Equal pay case against transport ministry (286 words)

An equal pay claim brought by civil service union PCS is underway against the Department for Transport (DfT), where official figures show there is ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Recession could usher in era of union-busting by employers (427 words)

The downturn could be used by employers as an excuse for a new round of union-bashing, judging by the actions of two firms in ...

Learning and training news

Britain lags behind world as skills gap widens further (499 words)

A major study by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) shows that despite the huge investment in the expansion of apprenticeships and ...

European news

Daimler workers accept pay cut for job guarantees (446 words)

The German vehicle-maker Daimler and the company’s joint works council have reached an agreement aimed at reducing the company’s labour costs. The deal, which ...

German banking settlement (59 words)

A settlement has been reached for 250,000 employees in the German banking industry after 10 months of talks. It provides for a 2.5% increase ...

French finance benefits from union activity (249 words)

The French financial services group AXA has this month agreed a statement with its unions that aims to take better account of the personal ...

More Polish miners win increases (292 words)

After last month’s pay increases for 62,500 coal miners in Poland (see Workplace Report, April 2009, p. 8), another group of Polish miners has ...

Law - Contracts

Contracts – the basic legal rules (269 words)

Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on there being an “employment relationship”. This implies some contractual obligations between the employer and the worker. To ...

Contracts – the key developments (123 words)

n Even though it is an implied term of an individual’s contract that the employer will not undermine the trust and confidence between the ...

Inconsistent treatment (693 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Preventing retaliatory action (939 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Employment tribunals – the basic legal rules (207 words)

Most tribunal claims must be lodged within three months of the matter being complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in unfair dismissal ...

Employment tribunals - the key developments (133 words)

n The statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures can be complied with even if the step 1 letter is sent out and step 2 meeting ...

Requirement to consult (769 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Fair redundancy selection procedures (677 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Calculating compensation for constructive dismissal (421 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Health & safety news

TUC says get ready for flu pandemic (249 words)

Safety reps need to ensure that their employer has a workplace action plan for dealing with any possible outbreak of pandemic flu, now or ...

Workers’ Memorial Day announcement (304 words)

Unions have welcomed a government consultation into whether Workers’ Memorial Day should have official recognition in future years, following international and UK-wide events to ...

Rail safety strike (141 words)

Tube workers took “rock solid” strike action on health and safety issues last month. The 24-hour strike in April took place in a dispute ...

Job cuts risk gas safety says GMB (99 words)

GMB, the trade union representing gas workers, has slammed Northern Gas Networks for cutting jobs that threaten the safety of gas supplies, despite Health ...

CWU attacks management blame culture (138 words)

Dave Joyce, CWU safety officer said: “Over the last year we have seen a significant number of area managers and their teams adopt a ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

HSE to publish work-death details on web (245 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has agreed to publish limited information about work-related deaths, following a successful freedom of information campaign by safety ...

First corporate manslaughter charge (121 words)

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced the first charge of corporate manslaughter under the new legislation, a year after it came into force. ...

Schools promised asbestos action (185 words)

Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to tackle asbestos in UK schools and colleges at a meeting with the NUT, NASUWT and ATL teacher unions ...

Fire Improvement Notices (108 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served two Improvement Notices on Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in the aftermath of the deaths of ...

New safety poster (126 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published new versions of its approved health and safety poster and leaflet last month. ...

Miner’s knee officially a work disease (117 words)

The government had accepted an Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) report on osteoarthritis of the knee and will make the condition an industrial disease ...

Features

Working from home (2202 words)

A May 2008 survey by the CBI and Pertemps showed 46% of employers offering homeworking to some staff. This compares to a Workplace Employment ...

Negotiating apprenticeships – new opportunities for unions (3319 words)

After years of decline, apprenticeships underwent something of a revival in the mid 1990s, and the number of apprentices increased from a low point ...