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Fact Service August 2013
Issue 34 (29/08/2013) - Economy in slightly better shape, but...; Naming and shaming minimum wage cheats; Big losers in coalition's pension reforms; Bakers take action over zero hours; Working mothers face discrimination; Remploy to close three furniture factories
Issue 33 (22/08/2013) - Some more highly paid charity workers; Unite to launch credit union network; Equality in pay and benefits; Zero-hours contract guidance from Acas; Outlook for economy; Increase in bonus payments in 2012-13
Issue 32 (15/08/2013) - Average weekly earnings in slump; Small fall in unemployment; Government blocks Wales over farm wage; Dip in inflation; Northern Ireland employment law
Issue 31 (08/08/2013) - More workers on zero-hours contracts; No interest rate rises until joblessness falls; New mums go back to flexi- or part-time work; More employment law misery from Tories; Rise in factory output; Apprenticeship scheme's inequalities; Managing for health and safety advice
Issue 30 (01/08/2013) - Tribunal fees challenge; Youth scheme failing; Settlements up to 2.7%; Minimum wage no longer fit for purpose; Cable may appeal over consultation ruling; Zero-hours contracts; Bedroom tax challenge; Myth of compensation culture dispelled
Issue 34
Economy in slightly better shape, but … (276 words)
The economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), performed a little better than initially thought in the second quarter of 2013. ...
Subscribers only
Naming and shaming minimum wage cheats (350 words)
Employers who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will be publicly named and shamed under revamped government plans to make it easier to ... Subscribers only
Big losers in coalition's pension reforms (844 words)
The vast majority of people currently entitled to the state second pension will get less when they retire as a result of the scheme being replaced ... Subscribers only
Bakers take action over zero hours (375 words)
Workers at a Hovis bakery in Wigan, owned by Premier Foods, are taking strike action over the introduction of agency staff on zero-hours contracts ... Subscribers only
Working mothers face discrimination (269 words)
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has accused the coalition government of making it easier for employers to discriminate against working mothers ... Subscribers only
Remploy to close three furniture factories (208 words)
Three Remploy furniture factories in the North West and Wales are to close, putting 160 disabled workers on the jobs scrapheap. ...
Open access
Issue 33
Some more highly paid charity workers (594 words)
The pay of top executives of development charities, such as Save the Children, has come under attack in the Daily Telegraph and from the chair of ... Open access
Unite to launch credit union network (279 words)
Plans for a new credit union network have been announced by the general union Unite, in a bid to encourage union members to save, to take on payday ... Subscribers only
Equality in pay and benefits (221 words)
The public sector wins hands down when it comes to equal benefits, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ... Open access
Zero-hours contracts guidance from Acas (376 words)
Recent research revealed that there could be more than a million UK workers on zero-hours contracts, four times more than official figures show. The ... Subscribers only
Outlook for economy (249 words)
Confidence about the economy has grown just a tad, according to the latest forecast from around 40 City and institutional forecasts for the economy, ... Open access
Increase in bonus payments in 2012-13 (584 words)
Total bonus payments received across the whole economy during the financial year ending March 2013 were £36.9 billion, an increase of 1% compared ... Subscribers only
Issue 32
Average weekly earnings in slump (591 words)
The latest average weekly earnings figures show the third lowest increase over the last 18 months, according to the Office for National Statistics. ... Subscribers only
Small fall in unemployment (610 words)
The number of unemployed people fell but the unemployment rate remains stubbornly at 7.8%, according to latest data from the Office for National ... Subscribers only
Government blocks Wales over farm wage (262 words)
An arrogant UK government has blocked plans to protect the wages of more than 13,000 farm workers in Wales. ... Subscribers only
Dip in inflation (611 words)
The rate of inflation fell, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. The annual rate of inflation — as measured by ... Subscribers only
Northern Ireland employment law (198 words)
Most employment law in Northern Ireland mirrors that in Great Britain, but the coalition’s dilution of employment rights over the last couple of ... Open access
Issue 31
More workers on zero-hours contracts (460 words)
Four times as many people than previously thought are working on zero-hours contracts, research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and ... Subscribers only
No interest rate rises until joblessness falls (297 words)
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will not consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate has fallen to 7% or ... Subscribers only
New mums go back to flexi- or part-time work (347 words)
The vast majority of women employees move into part-time and/or flexible working roles on their return from maternity leave, according to a survey ... Subscribers only
More employment law misery from Tories (453 words)
The Conservative Party chair Grant Shapps has said a Conservative government would make it easier for firms to sack underperforming workers and said ... Subscribers only
Rise in factory output (205 words)
Manufacturing output posted a quarter-on-quarter increase, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. ... Open access
Apprenticeship scheme’s inequalities (290 words)
The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in Scotland has published a report into inequalities in accessing Modern Apprenticeships, the ... Subscribers only
Managing for health and safety advice (210 words)
The comprehensively revised Managing for Health and Safety guidance (also known as HSG65), has been published online by the Health and Safety ... Open access
Issue 30
Tribunal fees challenge (261 words)
On 29 July, the day tribunal fees were introduced, the public sector union UNISON won permission for a Judicial Review hearing over their ... Subscribers only
Youth scheme failing (154 words)
A government scheme aimed at helping 160,000 18-24-year-olds find work has so far reached only 4,690 young people. ... Open access
Settlements up to 2.7% (106 words)
Pay rises sourced from the Labour Research Department’s Payline database of collective agreements were averaging (median) 2.7% in June — up from 2 ... Open access
Minimum wage no longer fit for purpose (458 words)
One of the architects of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), introduced by Labour 15 years ago, has said changes are needed as it is no longer fit for ... Subscribers only
Cable may appeal over consultation ruling (298 words)
The recent ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that collective redundancies do not need to be “at one establishment” may be appealed ... Subscribers only
Zero-hours contracts (138 words)
The 20,000 part-time workers at Sports Direct, the retailer controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, are employed — or more correctly ... Open access
Bedroom tax challenge (503 words)
A group of disabled people, supported by the housing charity Shelter, are to appeal after they lost a court challenge to cuts in social housing ... Subscribers only
Myth of compensation culture dispelled (403 words)
The government has been accused of being dishonest about the UK’s “compensation culture” in order to justify cutting basic health and safety ... Subscribers only