Pay and prices

Pay medians stay at 2% (266 words)

The latest Payline database figures for negotiated settlements show a median (mid-point) increase of 2.0% in the three months to September. ...

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£594.40All male£653.20All female£502.50Managers£882.50Professionals£795.80Associate professional£614.30Admin & secretarial£411.60Skilled/craft£499.30Services£352.80Sales£326.50Operatives£461.90Other manual£358.40 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (69 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 Sept 2009)0.0%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end August 2009)1.0% ...

Inflation forecasts (20 words)

Fourth quarter 2009 ...

Prices (13 words)

Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ’87=100% annual increasesRPIRPI excl. mortgages August217.24.85.2September218.45.05.5October217.74.24.7November216.03.0 3.9December212.90.92.8Jan 2009210.10.12.4February211.40.02.5March211.3-0.42.2April211.5-1.21.7May212.8-1.11.6June213.4-1.61.0July213.4-1.41.2August214.4-1.31.4September215.3-1.41.3 ...

Bargaining news

“Bargain basement” for public sector pay (691 words)

In an atmosphere of increasing tension over jobs, pensions and pay in the public sector, unions have reacted with anger to chancellor of the ...

Royal Mail strikes go ahead as last minute talks fail (133 words)

Members of the CWU communications workers’ union were embarking on the first day of a national strike as Workplace Report went to press, after ...

Three-year deal “safe” says Police Federation (318 words)

Police officers, chief officers, superintendents and staff received pay rises of 2.6% in September, in the second stage of a three-year deal negotiated in ...

NAECI talks go back to the drawing board (289 words)

Engineering construction workers have rejected a deal recommended by their unions GMB and Unite that offered 2% in pay and a number of measures ...

Meat hygiene workers agree 2.99% pay deal (107 words)

UNISON members in the meat hygiene industry voted in July to accept a deal of 2.99% backdated to August 2008. The agreement gives 5% ...

New pay deals on Payline (278 words)

Long-term deals in the transport sector topped settlements registered on Payline during September and October. Arriva Derby drivers received 9% in the final stage ...

Agency workers’ law postponed to 2011 (313 words)

New legislation to give temporary agency workers the right to the same pay, terms and conditions as permanent staff after 12 weeks of employment ...

Supermarkets go for consolidated pay deals (202 words)

Almost all the major supermarket chains have settled wage agreements paying up to 2.5% following the Tesco 2.5% deals reported by Workplace Report in ...

Tips and the minimum wage (154 words)

From 1 October, at the same time as the rise in the National Minimum Wage, the use of tips by employers to make up ...

NMW and redundancy pay increases (100 words)

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) increased on 1 October to £5.80 per hour. According to the TUC, two in every three of the almost ...

Work rights helpline (171 words)

A new government Pay and Work Rights helpline, launched in September, fulfils a key recommendation of the Commission on Vulnerable Employment, and is being ...

Equality news

Disability still leads to “deep inequality” (349 words)

The EHRC equality commission’s disability committee aims to help narrow the employment and skills gap between disabled and non-disabled people as one of a ...

Mothers’ and fathers’ benefits postponed (365 words)

Plans to extend maternity pay from nine months to a year have been shelved while rights to increased paternity leave will now come into ...

Equality toolkit (126 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has launched an equality officers’ toolkit, which is described by national officer Linda Roy as a “ground-breaking initiative”. ...

Age-friendly employers (120 words)

Three British companies have won an international award for age-friendly employer practices. Telecoms giant BT, the Centrica utilities group and insurance group Domestic and ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Recognition ballots fall (272 words)

The number of new recognition cases going to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) has fallen to its lowest level since the statutory recognition provisions ...

Organising award (54 words)

The TUC’s annual Organising Rep Award for 2009 went to a GMB member whose recruitment efforts lead to 20-fold increase in branch membership in ...

Union branch for photographers (59 words)

A branch of the NUJ journalists’ union has been established exclusively for photographers, following a request by a meeting of photographer activists in London in ...

Nowak moves up (45 words)

Paul Nowak, who has led the TUC’s work on organising and recruitment since 2002, has been appointed as its new head of organisation and ...

Learning and training news

Pressure on public sector for more construction apprentices (512 words)

The government is keeping up pressure on construction employers, particularly those involved in public procurement, to increase numbers of apprenticeships. Using his announcement of ...

European news

Volkswagen workers get 4.2% despite falling prices (494 words)

IG Metall, Germany’s largest union, has agreed a pay settlement with Volkswagen which provides a 4.2% increase over 18 months. The deal comes at ...

7.3% on table over three years for Italian food workers (514 words)

The first agreement under Italy’s new collective bargaining arrangements has been agreed by food industry employers and two of the country’s three main union ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination – the basic legal rules (324 words)

It is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex, race, disability, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. For the purposes ...

Discrimination – the key developments (361 words)

n A decision taken on racial grounds is still direct discrimination, even if the employer has a “benign” motive (case 1). ...

No “benign” race bias (690 words)

Ms Ahmed worked as a “campaigner” for Amnesty. She was of Sudanese ethnic origin. Her family came to the UK in 1991 and she ...

Other male comparators (432 words)

Equal pay claims were brought by 244 female classroom assistants, support for learning assistants and nursery nurses employed by a Council in schools. They ...

Default retirement age upheld by High Court (360 words)

In this long-running case, often referred to as “Heyday” (the former name of the membership part of Age Concern), Age UK (formed by the ...

Comparators for equal pay (389 words)

Mrs Pike, a teacher, took early retirement on ill-health grounds. She returned to work subsequently on a part-time basis. At the time, she was ...

“Normal” includes nightshift (401 words)

Mr Adams started work as a probationer police constable in 2005. By early 2006, he was struggling to complete night shifts due to ill ...

Men’s “piggyback” equal pay claims allowed (350 words)

The great majority of claimants in three large multiple equal claims brought in the North of England were women. Most of the women were ...

Definition of “likely” in Disability Discrimination Act (566 words)

Ms Boyle was a buyer and stock controller. She suffered from hoarseness and vocal nodes. The condition emerged in 1975 and she underwent surgery ...

Time limits for equal pay arrears under TUPE (590 words)

The claimants were female domestic cleaners employed up to July 2001 by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust at Hartlepool General Hospital. From December ...

Health & safety news

Early intervention for muscle and joint pain (312 words)

Early intervention can make a big difference to rehabilitating workers suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), according to the Fit for Work Europe report produced ...

Working through illness harms people and output (241 words)

Over half of people living in Britain are so scared of losing their job in the current climate that they are risking their health ...

Union warns on own car use for work (139 words)

The CWU communication workers union has warned postal workers against using their own cars on delivery, after two members were penalised by police. ...

Union urges swine flu vaccine for health workers (102 words)

Health union UNISON has announced that it will give full support to the swine flu vaccination programme for workers in the NHS. UNISON’s Health ...

Union action wins safety improvements (106 words)

A union go slow on an unsafe rail line has forced management to implement safety measures. ...

Recycling injuries (49 words)

Unions issued a warning about safety in recycling after Alan Shambrook, a UNISON member, seriously injured his shoulder while collecting recycling rubbish for Stevenage ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Campaigners condemn ASA on asbestos ruling (323 words)

Unions and safety campaigners have condemned an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling on asbestos, which criticised the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) radio advertisements ...

Safety additions to ACAS code of practice (159 words)

A revised ACAS Code of Practice on Time off for Trade Union Duties and Activities came into force on 1 October, with some significant ...

HSE rejects workplace temperature limit (189 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board has rejected amending the law to impose an upper workplace temperature limit, despite strong union arguments in ...

Free HSE guidance (59 words)

Nearly 250 previously “priced” health and safety guidance publications are now available free of charge on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website. ...

Health and Safety law anniversary (126 words)

The TUC paid tribute this month to the architects of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, which celebrates its 35th anniversary on ...

Features

Recession and pay: analysis of the 2008-09 pay round (5615 words)

The CBI employers’ organisation now believes that the economy is emerging into growth, but demand remains uncertain. Unemployment is expected to continue rising: it ...