Fact Service July 2012

Issue 30 (26/07/2012) UK’s double dip recession continues; Help improve childcare; Wales to take action on dangerous dogs; Short-termism in the City attacked; Cost of regional pay to local economy; Tax avoidance systemic; Young unemployed

Issue 29 (19/07/2012 No joy as earnings growth is down; PFI time bomb; Fall for inflation; Employment tribunal fees set for next year; UK jobless total down; Maternity rights guide

Issue 28 (12/07/2012) Third firm guilty of corporate manslaughter; Manufacturing still struggling; Minimum family income required; Bozo Johnson's view on homeworking; Underhill review of employment tribunals; Recognition claims back to 2010 levels; TUC chooses new general secretary; Trade unions' political spend rockets

Issue 27 (05/07/2012) Survey higlights benefits of facility time; Pay audits to follow discrimination claims; Tribunal claims fall; Apprenticeships rise, NEETs hit record high; Taxpayers take strain of rail privatisation; Union reps are greening workplaces; Firms will have to detail directors' pay

Issue 30

UK’s double dip recession continues (464 words)

The UK economy contracted for a third quarter in a row, according to preliminary official data, taking it into a deeper double-dip recession. ...
Subscribers only

Help improve childcare (168 words)

Parents, early years professionals and others with an interest in childcare are being urged to come forward with their ideas to help improve the ...
Open access

Wales to take action on dangerous dogs (151 words)

The Welsh government has said that it will bring forward domestic legislation to tackle the growing problem of dangerous dogs. ...
Open access

Short-termism in the City attacked (263 words)

A report commissioned by the government has proposed the realignment of company incentives by better relating directors’ remuneration to ...
Subscribers only

Cost of regional pay to local economy (336 words)

There is no evidence that the pay of teachers, nurses and dinner ladies is preventing local firms from hiring staff, and government plans to ...
Subscribers only

68 is too late (197 words)

A campaign launched by three unions to fight government plans to increase the state pension age is gaining momentum. ...
Open access

Tax avoidance systemic (368 words)

Forget about paying plumbers cash in hand. Forget shaming individuals like Jimmy Carr. Tax avoidance is systemic says Lydia Prieg writing in the ...
Subscribers only

Young unemployed (407 words)

The government is to pay training providers to make “alarm calls” to wake up unemployed teenagers as part of efforts to get them into ...
Subscribers only

Issue 29

No joy as earnings growth is down (548 words)

Average earnings growth dipped, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics., as the City bonus season ended. ...
Subscribers only

PFI time bomb (170 words)

The cost of Britain’s controversial private finance initiative (PFI) will continue to soar for another five years and end up costing ...
Open access

Fall for inflation (426 words)

Inflation fell sharply on both main measures in June, according to the Office for National Statistics. ...
Subscribers only

Employment tribunal fees set for next year (297 words)

The government has confirmed the level of fees that claimants will have to pay from next year to bring an employment tribunal case. ...
Subscribers only

UK jobless total down (675 words)

The main unemployment figure showed a fall in May, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. ...
Subscribers only

Maternity rights guide (159 words)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission and conciliation service Acas have published a new guide to the rights of women who are pregnant or on ...
Open access

Issue 28

Third firm guilty of corporate manslaughter (251 words)

A Cheshire-based storage manufacturer has become the third company in the UK to be convicted of corporate manslaughter. ...
Subscribers only

Manufacturing still struggling (194 words)

Factory output has continued in the doldrums, the latest official figures show. ...
Open access

Minimum family income required (372 words)

A couple with two children needs nearly £37,000 a year to live comfortably, according to a report into living standards from the poverty ...
Subscribers only

Bozo Johnson's views on homeworking (292 words)

Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s comments against working from home during the Olympic Games have been described as “disappointing and ...
Subscribers only

Underhill review of employment tribunals (341 words)

Justice Underhill, the former president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, has presented his findings from his review of the employment tribunal ...
Subscribers only

Recognition claims back to 2010 levels (196 words)

The number of applications for statutory recognition rose from 28 to 43, thus returning to the level of two years ago, according to the latest ...
Open access

TUC chooses new general secretary (152 words)

Frances O’Grady is to take over from Brendan Barber as TUC general secretary when he retires at the end of the year. O’Grady will be ...
Open access

Trade unions’ political spend rockets (221 words)

The 28 unions with political funds spent £26.5 million in 2010-11 — a 49% rise on the previous year when 29 unions spent £17.8 ...
Open access

Issue 27

Survey highlights benefits of facility time (288 words)

The practice of facility time for union reps, particularly in the public sector, has come under attack from the right wing of the Conservative Party ...
Subscribers only

Pay audits to follow discrimination claims (245 words)

Businesses that lose an employment tribunal on equal pay grounds will be required to carry out compulsory pay audits under plans unveiled by the ...
Open access

Tribunal claims fall (294 words)

There was a 15% fall in the overall number of claims received by employment tribunals, according to the 2011-12 Tribunals Service annual report. ...
Subscribers only

Apprenticeships rise, NEETs hit record high (160 words)

The number of people starting apprenticeships has continued to rise, with particularly strong growth in advanced and higher level qualifications, ...
Open access

Taxpayers take strain of rail privatisation (401 words)

A major report published for the UK’s four leading rail unions has found that £1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money is lost every year ...
Subscribers only

Union reps are greening workplaces (462 words)

The presence of green union reps is having a significant impact upon UK workplaces — encouraging a growing number of employers to adopt ...
Subscribers only

Firms will have to detail directors' pay (483 words)

The government has published draft regulations determining what companies must disclose in directors' pay reports. ...
Subscribers only