Pay and prices

Prices move further ahead of pay (266 words)

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is up to 4.8% for the year to December, from 4.7% for the year to November. Meanwhile the latest ...

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£610.30All male£666.40All female£523.40Managers£894.00Professionals£809.80Associate professional£628.80Admin & secretarial£427.80Skilled/craft£503.90Services£362.10Sales£337.50Operatives£463.40Other manual£360.40 ...

Annual increase in average weekly earnings (AWE) including bonuses (47 words)

MonthWhole economyPrivate sectorPublic sectorManu- facturingServicesSept 2009 1.0-0.13.71.81.0October (r)0.0-0.73.71.50.4November (r)1.20.13.92.01.1December0.50.23.43.40.8January 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 1.81.72.24.71.8August 2.11.92.24.22.1September (r)2.22.02.43.92.3October (r) 2.02.02.63.92.4November (p)2.01.72.22.72.1Headline rate12.11.92.43.52.3 ...

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end December 2010)2.0%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end November 2010)2.2% ...

Inflation forecasts (18 words)

Fourth quarter 2011 ...

Prices (14 words)

Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ’87=100% annual increasesRPIRPI excl. mortgages November 2009 216.60.32.7December218.02.43.8January 2010217.93.74.6February219.23.74.2March220.74.44.8April222.85.35.4May223.65.15.1June224.15.05.0July223.64.84.8August224.54.74.7September225.34.64.6October225.84.54.6November226.84.74.7December228.44.84.7 ...

Bargaining news

Private sector recovery hopes rely on retail (817 words)

New employment is being promised in the car industry, energy, hospitality, fast food and retail at the same time as jobs are being slashed ...

Profit-hungry Heinz agrees improved pay deal (329 words)

Heinz food manufacturer has had to concede a revised pay deal at its Kitt Green factory near Wigan worth 3.9% for a full 12 ...

Industrial settlements set the pace in January (456 words)

Pay settlements look set to vary widely as companies with different prospects adjust to higher inflation, judging by newly negotiated industrial pay deals which ...

National Grid faces industrial action (150 words)

National Grid faces a revolt by engineers, industrial and administrative workers over pay. Talks started last April but, nine months on, the offer stands ...

Less discretion, higher minimum finance pay (119 words)

National Australia Group (NAG), which owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, resisted an RPI-based claim despite making annual profits of £164 million. However, management agreed ...

Pay increase at Phoenix (19 words)

At Phoenix (formerly Pearl) there was a pay increase of 3% for bands one to five. ...

Shake up due in leave for working parents (463 words)

Major changes are being planned to rights for working parents, allowing women and men to share entitlements to time off. Deputy prime minister Nick ...

Refinery sell-off spurs RPI-plus pay (319 words)

Petrochemicals giant Shell, which hopes to sell its Stanlow refinery in the North West, has paved the way to a smooth transition with an ...

Banked hours scheme at SKF improved (274 words)

Improvements to the “banked hours” working-time arrangement at bearings manufacturer SKF (UK) were agreed as part of this year’s 4% pay deal for the ...

Equality news

Employers fail to consider disadvantaged applicants (446 words)

In the last three years, three out of four employers have not hired from disadvantaged groups, such as young people with few or no ...

Law firms show class bias (359 words)

Some elite London law firms are passing over well qualified, white working-class job applicants because their appearance or accent was not thought “smart” enough. ...

Home Office is top gay-friendly employer (267 words)

A survey of gay employees has named the Home Office as the best place to work for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people. Campaigning ...

Recruitment and organisation news

X Factor shuns Musicians' Union (142 words)

The Musicians’ Union (MU) has accused the bosses of TV hit show X Factor of discrimination after it asked for violinists to perform on ...

Woodley’s switch (131 words)

Recruitment and organising has received a boost at general union Unite with the appointment of former joint general secretary Tony Woodley as the union’s ...

Learning and training news

Interns ‘should get at least National Minimum Wage’ (337 words)

The TUC has commented on a proposal made this month by the human resources and development organisation, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ...

IT workers not getting crucial skills training (112 words)

A survey of employees working for well known IT companies conducted by general union Unite this month, revealed that 62% of respondents felt they ...

European news

Belgian negotiators finally sign new two-year deal (478 words)

The terms and conditions for the 2.5 million workers in Belgium’s private sector have been set for the next two years after negotiators representing ...

French minimum wage rises 1.6% (292 words)

The French minimum wage, the SMIC, has gone up by 1.6% this month to €9 an hour. This is the amount required by law, ...

German rail deal stops race to bottom (296 words)

The new union representing the majority of German railway workers, EVG, has achieved a settlement which should guarantee that in future companies bidding for ...

Law - Contracts

Contracts — the basic legal rules (277 words)

Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are legal distinctions between an employee, a worker and someone ...

Contracts - the key developments (279 words)

f Employees who sleep at the workplace at night in order to be on-call are generally only entitled to the National Minimum Wage for ...

Central government “two-tier code” removed (221 words)

The Cabinet Office announced on 13 December 2010 the abolition of the Code of practice on workforce matters in public sector service contracts (the ...

National Minimum Wage and “on-call” workers (525 words)

This case concerns the rules governing the extent to which employees who are expected to sleep at the workplace while “on-call” overnight are entitled ...

Varying the effective date of termination (421 words)

This case concerns the rules that govern the effective date of termination (EDT) and examines the circumstances in which parties can agree to vary ...

Payments in lieu of notice and bonus payments (515 words)

Andrew Locke was a chartered surveyor employed by Candy and Candy Limited, an interior design management company, as development director for the Chelsea Barracks ...

Collective agreements and individual contracts (580 words)

This case centres on the now well known decision by British Airways (BA) to reduce its crew complement on flights. A test case had ...

Working time opt-out and overtime (491 words)

This is an important case making its way through the tribunal system, brought against bus operator Arriva London, by Mr Nicolaou, a bus driver. ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Employment tribunals — the basic legal rules (185 words)

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

Employment tribunals — the key developments (85 words)

f A solicitor can be compelled to give evidence of the legal advice given to a client where the client waives their right to ...

Waiver of privilege (578 words)

This case concerns the rules relating to “legal professional privilege” which protect communications between a party and their solicitor. “Privileged” communications (for example legal ...

Cost orders (305 words)

Mrs Yerrakalva brought a claim against Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council alleging race and disability discrimination, which she later withdrew. ...

Health & safety news

MPs slam HSE budget cut as “false economy” (266 words)

An influential cross-party group of MPs has demolished the case for the 35% cut to the HSE’s budget. It condemns it as a “false ...

Worker left paralysed in third identical incident (247 words)

The paltry nature of fines for serious safety breaches was exemplified earlier this month when a firm responsible for three almost identical serious incidents ...

HSE rejects union plans to save North West offices (244 words)

The 35% cut in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) budget is starting to bite, with the HSE’s decision to close its offices in ...

Bullying of BA staff rife, says union (150 words)

Bullying of cabin crew staff by management at British Airways (BA) is rife, according to a survey of 1,905 BA staff conducted by general ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Agency worker killed by glass on first day in job (366 words)

A Lithuanian agency worker was crushed to death by falling glass on his first day at work after a horrific catalogue of botched planning ...

Illegal migrant workers at risk (368 words)

Illegal migrant workers in the UK workplace face increased risks to their health and safety at work because they are far less likely than ...

Cleaners cheated (184 words)

Some private contractors providing cleaning and catering staff to schools and hospitals are cheating staff out of sick pay, according to public services union ...

Occupational health service launched (87 words)

A scheme which will establish national standards for occupational heath services and accredit providers against those standards was launched last month. It will apply ...

Features

Union reps sceptical about pay and a private sector-led recovery (2967 words)

It took four walkouts by members of general union Unite at the Heinz food manufacturing plant at Kitt Green near Wigan before a pay ...

Real pay levels slump as Europe’s governments slash deficits (1906 words)

With inflation rising and many countries still struggling to recover from the recession of 2008-2009, last year proved to be a very difficult period ...