Features

Pay deals in brief (1680 words)

Agreement % increase hours holidays date number ...

Pay & prices (135 words)

Other pay analysts ...

Latest developments in contract law (1467 words)

Without some form of contractual relationship most employment rights cannot be enforced. Bargaining Report looks at recent legal cases covering contract law. ...

UK proposals on temporary workers fall short of European law (350 words)

The government has published its proposals for new regulations covering the rights of temporary workers, due to come into force soon. The law has ...

British Library agrees deal suspending performance pay (197 words)

Following talks convened by the conciliation service ACAS, the 2000 pay deal for British Library (BL) staff was finally concluded in April, eight months ...

Pay deals agreed for three groups at the AA (289 words)

Three separate pay deals for different sections of the Automobile Assocation's (AA) workforce have recently been concluded. ...

BAA concedes 6% on shift pay and at least £575 on basic (93 words)

A flat rate rise of £575 or 3.2%, whichever is the greater, has been agreed with effect form 1 April. Pay-related allowances rose by ...

Anglian Water adopts broad banding (145 words)

All Anglian Water Services employees received a pay rise of 3% with effect from 1 April. April also saw the launch of a new ...

Major study of mental health at work gets underway (80 words)

A major new study looking at anxiety and depression among UK employees has just been started. It will look at the impact of mental ...

European Court rules on "display screen" definition (159 words)

The European Display Screen Equipment Directive covers workstations with screens on which film clips and video recordings are displayed as well as conventional computer ...

HSE warns of hand-arm vibration risks (285 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is trying to get employers to choose more carefully when buying or hiring hand-held power tools, because of ...

Pilots' union proposes alternative to random drink and drugs testing (452 words)

A campaign to replace the plan for random drink and drugs testing for British airline pilots with a programme of peer pressure has been ...

TUC launches weekly e-mail safety bulletin (135 words)

The TUC has just launched a new weekly health and safety e-bulletin Risks. Risks aims to keep safety reps and others informed about TUC, ...

Unions face up to challenge of tackling racism in the workplace (2320 words)

A new TUC report, Black workers deserve better, published at the end of April reveals the persistent problem of racism in Britain's workplaces with ...

Civil service rises imposed in France (234 words)

The French government last month imposed pay increases for the next two years after negotiations with unions representing 5.2m civil servants, in central and ...

More flexibility in Netherlands (243 words)

After a lengthy dispute an agreement has finally been reached covering the 400,000 employees in small engineering and metalworking establishments in the Netherlands. The ...

Substantial rises for Italian healthworkers (175 words)

Workers in the Italian public health system won substantial pay increases in a deal signed earlier this month, just before the election won by ...

Individual time-banking in Spanish chemical industry (206 words)

The national agreement for the 183,000 employees in the Spanish chemical industry signed last month provides for individual time-banking for the first time. ...

Government avoids court case by extending parental leave rights (308 words)

The government announced an extension to parental leave rights last month just days before the European Court of Justice was due to hear the ...

Award on offer for workplace equality activists (163 words)

An award to recognise individuals whose efforts have had a real impact on equal opportunities in the workplace is being offered by the Wainwright ...

Fall in childminders threatens government's childcare strategy (236 words)

Recent research has revealed a significant fall in the number of registered childminders, despite the government's determination to help working parents by increasing the ...

ACAS sets out details of unfair dismissal arbitration scheme (372 words)

The arbitration service ACAS has published details of the scheme to provide voluntary but binding arbitration in unfair dismissal claims. The scheme should be ...

Whistleblowing protection (53 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that the effect of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (which protects employees who 'blow the whistle') is to ...

Refusal to teach was valid trade dispute (73 words)

The High Court has held that a refusal by teachers to teach a disruptive and unteachable child was a valid trade dispute over terms ...

Tribunal changes announced (141 words)

From 16 July 2001 the costs that can be awarded against applicants whose claims are seen as misconceived will rise from £500 to £10,000. ...

Survey finds low level of contributions in money-purchase plans (188 words)

A survey of 288 companies by employee benefits consultants William M.Mercer shows that contributions into defined contribution (money purchase) schemes are inadequate to provide ...

Regulator publishes guide for trustees (156 words)

The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) has published a new guide for pension scheme trustees. It is aimed at new trustees, including member-nominated trustees, ...

National Bus pension surplus case nears its end (183 words)

The long-running legal dispute over ownership of the pension fund surplus from the scheme of the privatised National Bus Company should be over by ...

Will pay follow inflation down? (633 words)

The headline inflation rate fell to 1.8% for the year to April, down from the 2.3% recorded in March. The trend since the start ...

Stakeholder pensions shake up AVC schemes (176 words)

A survey published earlier this month has found that the introduction of stakeholder pensions has brought about major changes in additional voluntary contribution (AVC) ...

Major employers shift away from final salary pension schemes (1727 words)

Last month telecoms giant BT closed its defined benefit (final salary) occupational pension scheme. Any employee joining the company from 1 April can only ...