Pay and prices

Settlements still above inflation (261 words)

The latest figures from the LRD Payline database of negotiated settlements show a median (mid-point) increase of 2.1% in the three months to July. ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (77 words)

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

Full-time weekly average earnings (17 words)

All workers£592.10All male£650.70All female£500.60Managers£879.10Professionals£792.70Associate professional£611.90Admin & secretarial£410.00Skilled/craft£497.40Services£351.50Sales£325.30Operatives£460.10Other manual£357.00 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (62 words)

Earnings index* for whole economy% annual riseWhole economyManufac-turingServicesPrivate sectorPublic sectorApril (r) 2008133.93.02.63.32.83.7May (r)135.13.33.73.13.33.3June (r)135.73.42.43.73.62.9July136.23.62.83.93.54.0August136.63.22.93.43.13.6September137.03.13.03.22.84.0October 137.33.62.93.93.63.8November 136.82.62.32.92.24.3December136.22.91.83.32.73.9Jan 2009 134.7-0.31.5-0.7-1.23.7February 135.4-1.81.0-2.2-2.63.7March137.11.20.31.20.63.4April138.53.42.43.43.43.6May (r)138.12.20.32.61.83.5June (p)138.11.81.61.91.24.0Headline rate for June2.51.42.62.13.7 ...

Other pay analysts (22 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end July 2009)1.0%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end June 2009)2.0% ...

Inflation forecasts (20 words)

Fourth quarter 2009 ...

Prices (14 words)

Retail Prices Index (RPI), Jan ’87=100% annual increasesRPIRPI excl. mortgages June 2008216.84.64.8July216.55.05.3August217.24.85.2September218.45.05.5October217.74.24.7November216.03.0 3.9December212.90.92.8Jan 2009210.10.12.4February211.40.02.5March211.3-0.42.2April211.5-1.21.7May212.8-1.11.6June213.4-1.61.0July213.4-1.41.2 ...

Bargaining news

Unions fight pensions “slash and burn” (749 words)

Pensions look set to headline debates at the TUC Congress this year, and not without reason. In the face of increasing scheme closures, contributions ...

Tesco 2.5% pay deals clarification (47 words)

USDAW shopworkers’ union has asked Workplace Report to clarify that the Tesco pay deal reported in the last issue (WR, July 2009), also this ...

New pay deals on Payline (303 words)

Long-term staged deals continued to deliver some of the best pay rises recorded on LRD’s Payline database this summer. ...

First Single Status deal is agreed in Scotland (348 words)

Public sector unions UNISON, Unite and GMB have agreed the first single status deal for pay, grading, terms and conditions in mainland Scotland to ...

Local authority pay offer (71 words)

Unions at Local Authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are balloting members on a new pay offer of 1% backdated to 1 April, ...

Pay medians holding up (238 words)

The median pay increase in the three-month period from June to August slipped slightly lower to 2%, (from 2.13% in June and 2.5% in ...

Long-term agreements reneged on (110 words)

In an unexpected move, employers Swissport and Cadbury have backed out of pre-negotiated long-term pay deals according to general unions Unite and GMB. ...

Row brewing over civil service redundancy pay (248 words)

Civil Service unions PCS and Prospect have been angered by government moves to slash redundancy compensation from April 2010, announced at the end of ...

No drama over theatres’ pay settlements (251 words)

BECTU members at London’s National Theatre along with colleagues at regional theatres have voted to accept a pay deal of 2% backdated to April ...

The cost of a decent standard of living (174 words)

The minimum income a single person needs to afford a basic but acceptable standard of living is now estimated at £13,900 a year before ...

Coastguards’ pay anger (125 words)

PCS expressed anger over pay increases for coastguards when it was revealed that managers of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) had awarded themselves ...

Teachers’ pay deal confirmed (79 words)

Teachers’ unions have welcomed the government’s confirmation that teachers will receive the agreed pay increases of 2.3% in September 2009 and again in September ...

Police payments ruling (67 words)

The independent Police Arbitration Tribunal has ruled in favour of on-call payments for police who are on standby to be recalled to duty in ...

Equality news

Motherhood and work – not having it all (465 words)

Becoming a mother has a “devastating” impact on earnings and employment prospects in the UK according to the Fawcett Society campaign for women’s rights. ...

EHRC consultation on reporting the pay gap (271 words)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has launched a consultation into how private and voluntary sector employers with at least 250 workers can ...

Mental health support (175 words)

The government has announced that people with mental health problems will receive additional support to stay in work. ...

Older workers hit by redundancy (100 words)

A survey of 800 jobseekers over the age of 50 by The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) in July revealed there was a sharp ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Unions increasing in size (192 words)

More than half of the 61 TUC-affiliated unions reported an increased membership during 2008, according to the latest TUC figures. ...

New GMB branch takes action against council (124 words)

Over 200 Leeds minicab drivers have joined the GMB general union and formed their own branch after being harshly treated by Leeds City Council. ...

Learning and training news

New skills alliance (308 words)

Five Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) last month formed the Manufacturing Skills Alliance, an initiative to improve access to quality training for manufacturing employers in ...

Dyslexia guidance (124 words)

The Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) general secretary, Matt Wrack, launched the union’s Dyslexia Guidance Document at the FBU’s national Union Learning Rep (ULR) school ...

European news

Spanish unions attack new retail agreement (471 words)

A new four-year agreement has been signed for more than 300,000 employees in department and other large stores in Spain but the country’s largest ...

German social work deal narrowly agreed (281 words)

Members of Germany’s second largest union Verdi have backed a deal ending a six-month dispute over pay and conditions in social services. ...

Restaurant negotiators sent back to the table (279 words)

Negotiations on a new agreement for workers in the French restaurant sector have restarted after three out of the five main union confederations in ...

Law - Contracts

Contracts – the basic legal rules (268 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 (89 words)

• Claims for unpaid holidays under the Working Time Regulations 1998 can be made under regulation 30 of those Regulations, and/or under Part II ...

Working Time Regulations: unpaid holiday claims (338 words)

Mr Ainsworth was employed by HMRC as a tax inspector from 1976 until 4 November 2002. He became ill at the end of 2000 ...

No statutory sick pay on maternity leave (274 words)

Ms Sutcliffe worked as an administration officer for the DWP. In May 2006, she told her employer she wished her maternity leave to start ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Employment tribunals – the basic legal rules (218 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 claims ...

Employment tribunals – the key developments (285 words)

• Under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, an employee may have the right to legal representation at an internal disciplinary ...

Legal representation at an internal disciplinary (823 words)

Dr Kulkarni was employed as a Foundation Year One Doctor with the Milton Keynes Hospital Trust. He had previously been prosecuted for sexual assault ...

Lost earnings compensation (352 words)

After her dismissal, Ms Ridley, a TV journalist, was able to get work on a self-employed basis from Press TV. For the first 30 ...

Express or implied intention (602 words)

The claimants, who are nurses, presented tribunal claims for equal pay during 2004 and 2005. During the case preparation and after meeting with a ...

Discretion in late claims (474 words)

On 23 April 2008, Mr Wadher brought a claim for age discrimination. He claimed he was being given less work because of his age ...

Ongoing negotiations (457 words)

Ms Eagles was made redundant on 29 February 2008. She received a letter on that date indicating various sums payable to her and inviting ...

Irrelevant evidence witnesses excluded from hearing (276 words)

Mr McBride brought claims regarding detrimental treatment as a result of whistleblowing, as well as sex and race discrimination. At a case management discussion, ...

Health & safety news

Report calls for RSI action (272 words)

Government action is needed to support people with musculoskeletal disorders, including repetitive strain injuries (RSI) caused by work. ...

New construction guide (94 words)

A new guide to help reduce accidents and improve worker involvement on construction sites has been published. ...

Hazards conference 2009 (152 words)

Around 500 union members and safety campaigners attended the 20th Hazards Conference at Manchester University in July. ...

Blood clot from long hours at desk (141 words)

A civil servant who suffered a life-threatening blood clot from long hours sitting at her desk has received a substantial sum in compensation. ...

Tougher dog laws proposed in Scotland (116 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has called on the Scottish government to push ahead with plans to introduce new dangerous dog laws, after a ...

Broken chair caused slipped disk (101 words)

Kay Fagg, a member of UNISON public services’ union, nearly died while undergoing a back operation after Southend Borough Council failed to replace her ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Question over HSE board representation (342 words)

Is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board really a tripartite organisation, or is it heavily weighted in favour of employers? That is the ...

Workers’ Memorial Day consultation opened (249 words)

The Department for Work and Pensions has opened a consultation on proposals for the official recognition of Workers’ Memorial Day in the UK. ...

HSE asbestos pack (70 words)

The HSE asbestos information pack has been updated and redesigned to give it a fresh look. The material also has more information for trade ...

Health and safety now applies offshore (168 words)

Health and safety law was extended offshore last month to cover wind turbines and other activities. ...

CCA is no more (120 words)

The Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) formally closed on 28 August, much to the sadness of unions and safety campaigners. Its international director David ...

Features

The pressure on pensions (3446 words)

In 2005, as the Pensions Commission led by Adair Turner prepared to deliver its final report, there was a clear public agenda on pensions: ...

The new learning landscape (2275 words)

If you are confused about the current system of government training provision you are most certainly not alone. In January this year, a cross ...