![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/WR201205.jpg)
![[PDF]](images/pdf.gif)
Workplace Report May 2012
Mental ill health - Discrimination against people with mental ill health is still a problem. What makes a "good" workplace policy to help prevent it:?; Adult learners - Union education is helping older workers make up for lost opportunities in learning; Latest case law on contracts and employment tribunals
Pay and prices
2012 deals still rising at 3% (265 words)
Settlements from the LRD Payline database of collective agreements show a midpoint (median) rise of 3.0% in the three months to April; the same rise ...
Subscribers only
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (223 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered). ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
Source: ASHE 2011 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (151 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual ... 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
Workers vote for deal to end drivers’ dispute (750 words)
The dispute involving tanker drivers working for seven major oil distribution firms has been settled. The drivers, members of general union Unite, ... Subscribers only
RPI inflation-linked deals help keep pay on the rails (393 words)
Existing inflation-linked long term pay deals tend to be at the upper end of the settlements recorded on the LRD’s database of collective ... Subscribers only
Unions win right to ballot oil rig catering staff on pay (351 words)
Employers have failed to prevent catering staff working on North Sea oil rigs from being balloted over industrial action. ... Subscribers only
Employers confused on cost of Living Wage (266 words)
In What price a Living Wage?, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Resolution Foundation think tanks examine how much it would cost ... Subscribers only
Some win, some lose over Diamond Jubilee holiday (454 words)
The government moved the Spring bank holiday back a week to 4 June and declared a special bank holiday on 5 June to create a long weekend marking ... Subscribers only
Deal guarantees Ellesmere Port plant’s future (271 words)
Workers at car maker Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant have overwhelmingly backed a new pay agreement that is likely to guarantee jobs at the ... Subscribers only
Time for fair pay in Scottish local government (203 words)
Local government unions in Scotland are calling for a Living Wage of £7.20 an hour in all councils across the country as well as a £1,000 ... Open access
Construction deals (86 words)
The construction industry remains mired in the recession, but some settlements are bucking the trend. While the industry-wide Building and Allied ... Open access
Equality news
Reduced maternity leave will hit poorer mothers (419 words)
Plans to cut maternity leave to 18 weeks have been condemned by unions and family campaign groups. The proposals announced in the Queen’s ... Subscribers only
Rise pushes involuntary part-timers to record high (321 words)
Twice as many men are now working part-time work compared to four years ago because they can’t find full-time work, according to the TUC. ... Subscribers only
Equality information is available as eNotes (148 words)
The TUC has launched an Equality Act 2010 eNote – an online e-learning module to provide key information about the legislation for union reps. ... Open access
Gender diversity awards (109 words)
Telecoms giant BT was among the UK organisations to be commended at an awards ceremony organised by the gender campaigning group Opportunity Now, ... Open access
Learning and training news
Adult learners drop off in studying over three years (320 words)
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) annual survey, which examines the extent of adult participation in learning, reveals ... Subscribers only
Apprentice minimum wage rate should double (97 words)
Employers support an increase in the national minimum wage for apprentices to £5.00 an hour, nearly double the current rate of £2.60, to ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Public sector jobs cuts impact on union membership (359 words)
The proportion of employees who are union members — “union density” — fell from 26.6% to 26.0% last year according to ... Subscribers only
Return to Wapping (81 words)
The NUJ journalists’ union has established its first chapel (workplace branch) within News International’s Wapping offices in east ... Open access
Scilly recognition (56 words)
The non-TUC Independent Pilots Association has gained collective bargaining rights for pilots employed by the Isles of Scilly Skybus, part of the ... Open access
European news
Above inflation pay settlements in Germany (424 words)
Negotiators at the German services union Verdi have accepted an arbitration award that increases pay at the telecommunications company Telekom ... Subscribers only
‘Modest’ pay deal agreed in Dutch local government (375 words)
The local government employers in the Netherlands have decided to reject a call from the Dutch minister of the interior to withdraw an agreed pay ... Subscribers only
Pay cuts as agreements run out in Greece? (91 words)
From the middle of this month it has become easier for Greek employers to reduce pay when collective agreements expire. ... Open access
ŠKODA workers win 5% (94 words)
Workers at ŠKODA AUTO, part of the VW group, are to receive a 5% pay increase this year. ... Open access
Swedish local goverment rise beats inflation (97 words)
The Swedish union Kommunal has signed an agreement covering 350,000 manual workers in local and regional government under which pay goes up twice as ... Open access
Law - Contracts
Contracts - the law (373 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions ... Subscribers only
Domestic loses out over illegal employment contract (269 words)
The claimant, an Indonesian national, colluded with her prospective employer to enter the UK illegally, using a false identity. She had been ... Subscribers only
Staff worked longer but were not entitlement to overtime pay (285 words)
A group of room attendants worked for a cleaning business, Hotel Solutions, contracted to clean rooms for the Sheraton Hotel. ... Subscribers only
Stringfellows lap dancer was an employee of nightclub (474 words)
The claimant, a lap dancer at London nightclub Stringfellows, brought a claim for unfair dismissal. The club argued that she was not an employee and ... Subscribers only
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals - the law (409 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 ... Subscribers only
Claimant is usually entitled to adjournment to get fair trial (245 words)
Mr Hibbert, brought an unfair dismissal claim against Apple Europe. It had been adjourned five times for reasons connected to one or other of the ... Open access
Termination date cannot be changed after contract ended (652 words)
Ms Horwood resigned as a practice manager for Lincolnshire County Council with immediate effect by letter dated 28 January 2010. The letter was ... Subscribers only
Tribunal should have queried claimant’s ability to pay costs (349 words)
Ms Doyle brought unsuccessful claims against an NHS Trust for breach of contract, race discrimination and victimisation. ... Subscribers only
More scope for time extension in discrimination cases (403 words)
Following a period of maternity leave, the claimant, Ms Little, resigned her position as a sales executive with Richmond Pharmacology on 19 July ... Subscribers only
All income counts in assessing size of deposit order (294 words)
The claimant, a university student, brought claims for discrimination and whistle-blowing. The tribunal decided that her claims were unlikely to ... Subscribers only
Employers must warn on costs (277 words)
Mr Rogers, a school caretaker, lived in on-site housing. He brought a claim against his employer because he was upset about changes to the water ... Subscribers only
‘Exceptional circumstances’ needed for ‘strike-out’ order (349 words)
The claimant applied for a maternity cover post, but the offer was withdrawn very soon after a telephone call by the prospective new employer, an ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Call centre staff get vocal over no voice training (370 words)
A lack of voice training sees one in four call centre workers suffer voice problems because managers are failing to properly protect their health, a ... Subscribers only
Women face breast cancer risk working night shifts (310 words)
A link between cancer and long-term night shift work has been found in an investigation carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO). ... Subscribers only
Olympic shopping hours (189 words)
The continuing campaign by the retail union Usdaw against extended Sunday shopping during the Olympics and Paralympics, has gained the support of ... Open access
Dangerous dogs proposals (84 words)
The government has announced a consultation on tackling dangerous dogs. ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Europe agrees Seveso III chemical plant rules (214 words)
Stricter rules on companies involved in dangerous chemical products have been agreed, but are only expected to come into force in three ... Open access
Advice on asthma and work (212 words)
Doctors should take into account the role of an individual’s work when examining patients suffering from asthma, according to the Royal ... Open access
Worker owed duty of care by parent company (234 words)
A parent company was liable when a subsidiary failed in its duty of care to an employee, the Court of Appeal has ruled. ... Open access
Workers exposed to asbestos more likely to suffer heart disease (288 words)
Workers who have been exposed to asbestos are significantly more likely to suffer heart disease or have a stroke. ... Subscribers only
Features
A need to negotiate over growing problem of mental health at work (3,110 words)
The TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference later this month will note that “discrimination against people with mental health impairments is ... Open access
Union route helps adults who are missing out on learning (1,777 words)
Adult Learners’ Week reached its 21st year this May. But, while its longevity can be celebrated, the figures on adult learning don’t ... Subscribers only