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Workplace Report March 2012
Collective bargaining - A TUC report maps out a future for collective bargaining in the UK; What apprentices can earn - Some apprentice pay rates are well ahead of the National Minimum Wage's apprentice rate with help from unions; Latest case law on discrimination
Pay and prices
Settlements steady at 3% (272 words)
The latest figures from the Labour Research Department’s Payline database show pay settlements averaging 3.0% in the three months to February ...
Subscribers only
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (223 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
Source: ASHE 2011 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Annual increase in average weekly earnings (AWE) including bonuses (151 words)
1 The latest three-month ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
... Open access
Prices (74 words)
1 Jan ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (31 words)
Fourth quarter 2012 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Government accepts pay bodies’ recommendations (756 words)
Pay review bodies (PRB) covering prison officers, most NHS staff and the armed forces have delivered their recommendations on how the public sector ... Subscribers only
Pay standstill as council staff face another freeze (441 words)
Local authorities risk becoming a “last choice” option in the labour market if they press ahead with another year of pay freeze in ... Subscribers only
BA (Hons) in low-skilled jobs (340 words)
Recently qualified graduates are ending up in lower-skilled jobs in increasing numbers, while around one in five new graduates available for work is ... Subscribers only
Police ‘cannot take any more’ (250 words)
The second part of Tom Winsor’s review of police pay and conditions, published on 15 March, proposes long-term changes in addition to the ... Subscribers only
BAE workers opt to save jobs by taking pay cut (349 words)
Workers at defence contractor BAE Systems sites in Lancashire have overwhelmingly voted to take a pay cut in order to save 150 jobs. ... Subscribers only
Success for some, but other journalists face pay freeze (393 words)
There have been mixed fortunes over pay for journalists on national and regional newspapers with a pay rise won, an argument over a how much a deal ... Subscribers only
Acas gives performance management advice (141 words)
Getting a performance management and appraisal process wrong can lead to a “less engaged and committed workforce” which in turn could ... Open access
Settlement puts career progression back on rails (113 words)
The RMT rail union has reached a settlement in a long-running dispute with Network Rail over career progression at the West of Scotland signalling ... Open access
Equality news
Remploy closures: ‘attack on most vulnerable’ (358 words)
Unions have condemned as “barbaric” government plans to close two-thirds of Remploy factories across the UK resulting in 1,752 ... Subscribers only
UCATT highlights problems faced by women on site (352 words)
Just over half (51%) of the women working in construction believe they are treated unfairly at work because of their gender, according to a survey ... Subscribers only
Bank offers flexi-options (162 words)
Banking giant HSBC is to guarantee part-time work at current title and salary grade for all parents returning from maternity and paternity leave. ... Open access
Cutbacks warning (131 words)
The TUC is warning that there could be serious repercussions for the victims of discrimination as a result of the cutbacks to the Equality and Human ... Open access
Learning and training news
Supermarket giant boosts apprenticeship numbers (278 words)
Retail giant Tesco announced this month that it will provide 10,000 apprenticeship places in total over the next two years and the programme will be ... Subscribers only
Bargaining guide for learning reps (79 words)
The TUC’s education arm, Unionlearn, has produced a guide for union negotiators on engaging employers in bargaining for skills. The guide is ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Fight is on to keep 100% paid facility time for reps (409 words)
Public services union UNISON has pledged to fight a local, regional and national campaign to fight the closure by Swindon Council of the local ... Subscribers only
QinetiQ to end recognition (121 words)
Four unions are vowing to fight the decision by defence contractor QinetiQ to end union recognition at the end of this month. ... Open access
European news
German minister agrees pay rises should beat price rises (508 words)
Pay negotiations are currently underway for two of Germany’s largest collective agreements, with negotiations for a third starting next month. ... Subscribers only
Day’s sacrifice to create jobs in Italian banking (295 words)
The Italian unions in the banking sector have agreed to sacrifice time off in order to create more jobs. The deal is part of a wide ranging ... Subscribers only
Oils well in Poland (146 words)
PKN Orlen, Poland’s largest oil refinery employing 4,500 people, has reached agreement with the 10 of the 11 unions active in the company on ... Open access
French steel industry deal matches inflation (140 words)
Unions and employers in the French steel industry have agreed a 2.3% increase in pay in 2012. However, the deal, signed on 1 March, only matches ... Open access
Law - Discrimination
Discrimination — the law (539 words)
Since 1 October 2010, discrimination law is contained in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010). With a few notable exceptions, the laws in EA 2010 broadly ... Subscribers only
Aggravated damages are meant to compensate, not punish (495 words)
This case looks at aggravated damages. Although the context of the case is whistleblowing, the compensation rules in whistleblowing cases are the ... Subscribers only
Selection for redundancy based on cost can be justified (1,017 words)
The Land Registry lost £80 million in 2008-09 due to the property slump. It needed to cut costs, especially staffing costs, urgently, so it ... Subscribers only
Former NHS manager wins almost £1 million in race case (383 words)
Elliot Browne, former divisional director at Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, was awarded compensation of £933,115 for direct race ... Subscribers only
Paid work experience demand was discriminatory (283 words)
Ms Crilly had been out of paid work for six years looking after her children. Over this period, she was involved in extensive high-level voluntary ... Subscribers only
Harsh test for disability ignores deterioration after dismissal (413 words)
Mr Haggart fell down the stairs and suffered concussion but no obvious brain damage. He went off sick with symptoms including headaches, nausea and ... Subscribers only
No discrimination in holding disciplinary during maternity (338 words)
Ms Haque was dismissed for misconduct by the police. The disciplinary process was conducted while she was on maternity leave. Haque’s request ... Subscribers only
Cursory review of grievance suggests discrimination (367 words)
Mr Bennett, an openly gay solicitor, came across an offensive memo tucked inside an old archived file. Written by a colleague some two years ... Subscribers only
‘Hot-desking’ was disadvantage (273 words)
Mr Roberts worked for the ambulance service call routing centre. He suffered from Social Anxiety Disorder. The ambulance service had a policy of ... Subscribers only
Culture of racial harassment condoned by employer (289 words)
Mr Morgan, a black delivery and warehouse operative, resigned from his employer and brought a claim for constructive dismissal and direct race ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Regular night shifts put workers’ health at risk (345 words)
People who frequently work nights are putting their health at risk, including a higher risk of cancer, and are more likely to perform their work ... Subscribers only
Long hours at work doubles possibility of depression (336 words)
Working long hours increases the likelihood of suffering from depression, a new study has ... Subscribers only
Phoenix firms are targeted (293 words)
A Bill designed to combat the rising problem of phoenix firms is passing through Parliament. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
TUC guides raise awareness of workplace cancers (339 words)
Two new briefings from the TUC provide important data and guidance about the most common causes of workplace cancer. ... Subscribers only
Union calls for introduction of roving reps in agriculture (348 words)
Roving farm reps have been proposed by the Unite general union in the light of new figures confirming the high mortality rate in agriculture. ... Subscribers only
Manual handling made more user-friendly (93 words)
Guidance on manual handling in the printing industry has been made more user-friendly by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). ... Open access
HSE site visits focus on building repairs sector (173 words)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently focused on the safety of workers in the refurbishment and repairs sector. ... Open access
Features
New route aims to keep collective bargaining on labour market map (2,849 words)
Collective bargaining has been fragmenting since the days of the Thatcher-led Conservative administration and new attacks are coming under the ... Subscribers only
Pay rates for apprentices show benefits of union effect (2,009 words)
In a period of record youth unemployment, apprenticeships are seen as one route into work for young people. They provide paid training for the young ... Subscribers only