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Workplace Report June 2011
Redundancy policies - Union reps stress that policies should cover high levels of union involvement at an early stage when job losses are looming. Also key is setting out very detailed steps for avoiding compulsory redundancies.
Latest case law on transfers, redundancies and dismissals
Pay and prices
Private sector deals edge up (251 words)
The latest figures from the LRD Payline database of collective agreements show a small rise in the median (mid-point) for pay increases. The median ...
Subscribers only
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (225 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered). ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
All workers £610.30 All male £666.40 All female £523.40 Managers £894.00 Professionals £809.80 Associate professional £6 ... Open access
Annual increase in average weekly earnings (AWE) including bonuses (147 words)
1 The latest three-month average. ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end May 2011) 2.0% Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end April 2011) 2.5% ... Open access
Prices (72 words)
... Open access
Inflation forecasts (31 words)
Fourth quarter 2011 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Rail managers consider action for above-RPI rise (789 words)
The TSSA rail staff union will be balloting its Network Rail management members on possible industrial action unless the company makes an improved ... Subscribers only
Pay standstill returns to parts of private sector (357 words)
Public sector pay freezes are beginning to make their mark on overall pay trends this month, as the dip in the overall settlement level reported ... Subscribers only
Pru deal sets benchmark (389 words)
Finance and insurance group Prudential has agreed a groundbreaking pay and benefits deal by implementing recommended minimum pay levels and doubling ... Subscribers only
Settlement gap widens further (303 words)
The spread of settlements continued to widen in the three months from March to May. ... Subscribers only
Southampton escalates national freeze on pay (388 words)
Industrial action by workers in Southampton could spread to other councils attempting to cut pay and challenge the local authorities national ... Subscribers only
National Grid retains RPI (406 words)
A newly accepted three-year pay deal for 5,000 National Grid staff means a 2012 pay rise based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rather than the ... Subscribers only
Pay to be more differentiated (302 words)
Employers are making more “strategic” choices on pay in these post-recessionary times, suggests a Reward Management survey from the ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Age bias ‘most common form of discrimination’ (492 words)
Age is the most widely experienced form of discrimination in Europe, according to research commissioned by charity Age UK. Nearly two thirds (64%) ... Subscribers only
Happy dads work flexibly (328 words)
Fathers who work flexibly are happier, healthier and more committed to their employer, according to the Working for fathers report by charity ... Subscribers only
Life expectancy gap widening (192 words)
Althoughlife expectancy in the UK is improving, wide variations between areas persist and the gap between the areas with the highest and lowest life ... Open access
College ‘will entrench inequality’ (160 words)
The launch of the New College of Humanities, which plans to charge £18,000 annual fees, has been described by the University and College Union ... Open access
Learning and training news
Working adults get help for degree-level learning (255 words)
A website to help working adults discover opportunities for degree-level learning has been launched by the TUC’s learning and skills ... Subscribers only
Co-op apprentice academy launched (92 words)
The USDAW retail and wholesale union has welcomed the Co-operative Group’s launch of a £9 million Apprenticeship Academy aimed at ... Open access
Learning at Work Day (72 words)
Learning at Work Day saw learning reps from the USDAW and Unite unions organise a day of learning-related activities in their canteen, on the theme ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Honda unions link up to prevent union-busting (301 words)
Unite the union is to strengthen links with its counterparts in Japan to benefit workers in Japanese-owned companies following an attempt to ... Subscribers only
Members fight activist sackings (116 words)
Two unions are being forced down the industrial action route in defence of activists they feel are being victimised. ... Open access
European news
Both sides condemn new bargaining structure in Spain (514 words)
Plans for a new structure for collective bargaining in Spain, which the government has just introduced, have run into opposition from both the ... Subscribers only
Italian graphical workers accept delayed three-stage pay deal (185 words)
Unions have reached a settlement on pay increases for the around 150,000 employees in the Italian graphical industry after months of negotiations. ... Open access
German shopworkers get more than inflation (292 words)
German union Verdi has reached a deal for retail employees in South West Germany which provides them with a 3.0% increase this year, at a time when ... Subscribers only
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy — the law (238 words)
A redundancy situation exists where an employer closes or intends to close the workplace or reduce the number of employees doing a particular kind ... Open access
Tribunals will rarely scrutinise redundancy scores (770 words)
The claimant, Mr Dabson, was a manager for David Cover and Sons Ltd (DCS), a transport business. ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissals — the law (432 words)
Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least a year, though some types of dismissal do not require ... Subscribers only
‘Lewd’ comment was not a fair reason for dismissal (887 words)
Laura Bowater was employed as a senior staff nurse by the Northwest London Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust) until 1 December 2006 when she was ... Subscribers only
Employer implied contractual right to compromise agreement (693 words)
When making staff redundant, Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) paid the affected individuals redundancy pay in excess of that required by statute. ... Subscribers only
Law - TUPE
Transfers — the law (336 words)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ... Subscribers only
Redundancies were fair after ‘softer skills’ assessment (890 words)
First Scottish Searching Services Ltd (FSSS) produces title searches for use in property sales. In September 2009, FSSS acquired another search ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
‘Behavioural safety’ idea blames workers for injury (384 words)
Employers are pedalling the concept of “behavioural safety” in an effort to pass responsibility for injuries at work onto employees. ... Subscribers only
‘Phoenix’ firms evade fines (352 words)
Better regulation is needed to tackle companies that go into administration (and re-emerge as similar entities) in order to avoid paying health and ... Subscribers only
Mobile phones may cause cancer (142 words)
A United Nations agency has concluded that using a mobile phone may cause brain cancer. ... Open access
Coalition fails domestic workers (132 words)
The UK government has declined to join other countries in taking action to stop exploitation of domestic workers. ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Expert smashes attempt to soften asbestos law (357 words)
An attempt by the government to downgrade the threat level posed by white asbestos (chrysotile) has failed. ... Subscribers only
New recruits are more likely to be injured (328 words)
Workers are particularly vulnerable to suffering injuries shortly after starting a new job, says the Health and Safety Executive. ... Subscribers only
Deregulation undermining safety — ILO (244 words)
The provision of decent employment and safety standards at work are being undermined by government programmes focused on spending cuts and ... Open access
Features
Redundancy policies - early consultation and steps to avoid job losses are key (5,148 words)
In bad times, when redundancies are looming, it is something of a relief to unions and employers to have good redundancy policies to draw on. Indeed ... Open access