Pay and prices

Pay rises fail to keep up with prices (260 words)

The latest figures from the LRD Payline database of collective agreements show settlements in the three months to September have a median (mid-point) increase ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (73 words)

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

Full-time weekly average earnings (16 words)

All workers£596.70All male£653.30All female£509.20Managers£876.80Professionals£796.40Associate professional£616.30Admin & secretarial£418.30Skilled/craft£492.30Services£354.80Sales£329.70Operatives£451.10Other manual£352.20 ...

Annual increase in average weekly earnings (AWE) including bonuses (48 words)

MonthWhole economyPrivate sectorPublic sectorManu- facturingServicesJune (r) 20091.20.63.91.11.5July (r)0.4-0.53.3-0.70.7August 0.7-0.43.61.40.6September 1.00.03.81.81.2October 0.3-0.63.81.50.6November 1.00.13.91.81.1December0.50.23.43.40.8January 20100.4-0.84.13.8-0.3February5.55.83.85.35.5March6.87.35.79.56.4April0.4-0.53.23.70.3May0.90.91.04.11.0June 1.10.14.43.20.9July (r)1.91.72.24.71.8August (p)2.11.82.04.92.0Headline rate11.71.22.94.31.6 ...

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end September 2010)2.0%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end August 2010)2.0% ...

Inflation forecasts (18 words)

Fourth quarter 2010 ...

Prices (13 words)

Bargaining news

Bonfire of the quangos hits pay bargaining (771 words)

Hundreds of thousands of rural workers and school support staff, both low-paid groups, could fall victim to the government’s “bonfire of the quangos”. The ...

Centrica and GMB reach deal on winter work (489 words)

British Gas engineers have been awarded an 11.3% wage increase in exchange for working a 45-hour week throughout the winter months. The deal comes ...

Living wage extended (315 words)

University College London (UCL) is introducing a “living wage” for all staff which is to extend to workers employed by contract companies. Living wage ...

UNISON FE members narrowly accept offer (203 words)

UNISON members in English further education (FE) colleges have narrowly voted to accept the Association of Colleges’ (AoC) pay offer while the UCU lecturers’ ...

Caramel wafers (100 words)

The pay dispute at Tunnock’s bakery, where Caramel wafers and Teacakes are made, has ended with a majority of staff voting to accept the ...

Jaguar workers rewarded for ‘pragmatic approach’ (442 words)

The future for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) UK manufacturing plants has been secured until at least 2020, thanks to successful negotiations with general union ...

RMT pay deals beat gloom (374 words)

The RMT rail union has welcomed a 5.2% pay increase secured by the union’s negotiators for all South West Trains staff. The pay increase ...

CBI call for restrictions ‘one dimensional’ — TUC (191 words)

The latest call for strikes to be further restricted, made by the CBI employers’ organisation, has been slammed by TUC general secretary Brendan Barber ...

Minimum wage increased (100 words)

Increased National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates came into force on 1 October. ...

Equality news

Employers ‘should make most of ethnic diversity’ (405 words)

Employers need to “radically rethink” how they recruit staff to make the most of changes to the UK population over the next 15 years, ...

Women forced out of media (368 words)

Women working in the creative media industries are under-represented, underpaid, and more highly qualified than their male counterparts, according to a report by Skillset, ...

Working parents’ rights are safe, says government (275 words)

The additional paternity leave regulations implemented earlier this year by the previous government will remain in force and the right to flexible working for ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Unions ‘prevent unfairness’ (265 words)

A majority of workers (54%) feel that unions perform very well in terms of protecting workers against unfair treatment, according to a survey. But ...

Union growth forces Adecco to table (106 words)

Growing membership of the CWU communications union at an Adecco call centre in the North West has led management to agree to a meeting ...

Learning and training news

Employer bodies attack right to request time off for training (436 words)

The statutory right for workers to request time off for training should be abandoned, according to employer organisations. Their responses to a five-week consultation ...

Minimum wage for apprentices (123 words)

Apprentices are for the first time now covered by a national minimum wage (NMW). From 1 October the new NMW regulations mean young people ...

European news

Steel workers’ pay deal reflects industry boom (500 words)

A pay increase of 3.6% for 85,000 steel workers in the main steel producing regions in West Germany has been won by the country’s ...

Dutch unions want ‘decent work’ (309 words)

The two main union confederations in the Netherlands, the FNV and the CNV, have published their preliminary pay demands for 2011. The FNV, the ...

Italian unions agree changes to national agreement (243 words)

Two of Italy’s main unions in the metalworking sector have signed a deal which allows for greater flexibility in the operation of the national ...

Law - Contracts

Contracts law — the basic legal rules (276 words)

Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on there being an “employment relationship”. There are legal distinctions between an employee, a worker and someone who ...

Contracts law —the key developments (285 words)

f To qualify as a worker or an employee, an individual must show they are obliged to do the work personally. A genuine obligation ...

Employment status (559 words)

An individual’s ability to access particular statutory employment rights generally depends on his or her “employment status”, in particular, whether that person is an ...

Interpretation of collective agreements (543 words)

Mr Vickers’ was a firefighter in London whose case concerned a new competency-based pay structure that came into force in August 2004. ...

Garden leave does not depend on contract (431 words)

Mr Christie was an accountant who resigned from his position as a general tax adviser. He was placed on “garden leave” for the duration ...

When can a public body walk away from its agreements? (510 words)

Rose Gibb, was chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust at the time of outbreaks of C difficil in the Trust which ...

Working while off sick and covert surveillance (458 words)

Mr McCann was a part-time college lecturer in motor engineering and also worked part time at a garage that he owned, a fact that ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Employment tribunals — the basic legal rules (187 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 ...

Amendment of claims (361 words)

Mr Evershed, a fund manager, resigned from his position at New Star Asset Management Holdings Limited, alleging that he and his colleagues had been ...

Stay of proceedings (415 words)

This case concerned an application by the police for an indefinite stay of tribunal proceedings that had been brought against the police by Mrs ...

Health & safety news

Equity in breakthrough for fashion models (241 words)

The actors’ union Equity launched the first union agreement for catwalk models at last month’s London Fashion Week. The agreement sets out recommended terms ...

Post Office safety reps’ facilities deal improved (196 words)

A health and safety agreement promoting collaborative working and providing substantially improved facility time for safety reps at Post Office Ltd is now in ...

Firms ‘must improve worker involvement’ (168 words)

Non-unionised employers should enhance worker involvement in order to improve safety, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The campaign ...

Tube unions take industrial action (148 words)

London Underground (LU) members of the RMT and TSSA transport unions are taking further strike action in November as part of their ongoing campaign ...

Union issues warning on health checks (135 words)

Specialists’ union Prospect is reminding safety reps that the use of pre-employment medicals to weed out applicants on health grounds is now illegal under ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Offices and shops ‘need safety inspections’ (240 words)

Retail union USDAW has accused the Con Dem government of attacking the most fundamental right at work – the right to be safe. ...

Teachers warn against asbestos complacency (239 words)

THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Department for Education (DfE) have “misplaced” confidence in local authorities’ management of asbestos in schools, says ...

MSP pushes ‘equity fines’ (176 words)

MSP Dr Bill Wilson has called on his Westminster colleagues to look at introducing equity fines as a new penalty for corporate crime after ...

Train drivers union slams level crossing (154 words)

Train drivers’ union ASLEF has reacted angrily to the report of the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) into the fatal accident at Hallkirk level ...

Scientists union warns of research cuts (104 words)

The specialists’ union Prospect has condemned government plans to cut back on scientific research as wrong-headed and dangerous. ...

Features

Pay settlements fail to reflect the official end of the recession (5213 words)

Although the recession had ended by the start of the year, annual economic activity remained well below its pre-crisis peak and the risks to ...