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Workplace Report September 2013
Auto-enrolment in pensions - The face of workplace pensions is changing with auto-enrolment encouraging workers to save for retirement; Capability procedures - What elements go to make up a procedure on long-term sickness and a return to work? Latest case law on dismissal, redundancy and TUPE transfers
Pay and prices
Price rises eat away pay rises (246 words)
The inflation rate, as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI), went up, but as pay settlements remained steady, living standards have been hit ...
Open access
Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (224 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered). ... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)
Source: ASHE 2012 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (150 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases. ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
... Open access
Prices (76 words)
1 Retail prices index (RPI), Jan ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (33 words)
Fourth quarter 2013 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Cable consults over casualisation of work (757 words)
The government is to launch a consultation on zero-hours contracts, which don’t guarantee any income for the workers employed, amid a growing ...
Subscribers only
Most staff feel the power in 2013 pay settlements (549 words)
The energy sector has maintained its edge over the broader private sector in the most recently settled pay deals, but not without difficulty in some ... Subscribers only
Living Wage is the target in academy schools (255 words)
A Living Wage claim is to be submitted by the public services union UNISON to all academy school chains where it has national recognition. ... Subscribers only
More generous minimum wage a possibility (147 words)
Business secretary Vince Cable has asked the Low Pay Commission to consider how the National Minimum Wage may be able to rise faster than current ... Open access
Replacement Agricultural Wages Board for Wales (140 words)
Plans by the Welsh Assembly to create a Welsh Agricultural Wages Board have been blocked by the UK government. ... Open access
Fujitsu budgets 2.5% for pay increases and minimum hourly pay of £7.45 (413 words)
This year’s budget for pay increases at Fujitsu Services’ Manchester bargaining unit was 2.5%, implemented from 1 August. However it also ... Subscribers only
Tighter check on DC pension schemes (318 words)
A recent announcement by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) means that defined contribution (DC) workplace pension schemes are going to come under ... Subscribers only
Pay progress at RBS amid union concerns (279 words)
A deal negotiated by the Unite general union at the nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) guarantees half of the bargaining unit a pay rise of 2% ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Changes in family means more women breadwinners (464 words)
More than 2.2 million working mothers are now the main breadwinners in their families, according to a report from by the left-of-centre think tank, ... Subscribers only
Fat cats’ large pension pots (272 words)
The average pension pot for a FTSE 100 director increased by £400,000 last year to £4.73 million. One director alone amassed a pension pot worth £2 ... Subscribers only
Pay divide in beautiful game (288 words)
General union Unite has slammed the glaring pay inequality at Britain’s top football clubs. It has said it is a scandal that millionaire players ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Lower paid staff are target in NHS partnership’s learning campaign (383 words)
A major campaign to increase workplace learning in the NHS was launched over the summer with the support of unions and employers. ... Subscribers only
Recruitment and organisation news
Two out of five recognition agreements voluntary (220 words)
The statutory recognition process has resulted in a significant number of voluntary recognition agreements, according to the Central Arbitration ... Open access
British Airways voluntary deal (91 words)
Some 2,000 British Airways cabin crew operating out of Heathrow airport will benefit from a major new voluntary recognition deal between the company ... Open access
UNISON looks to get stronger (131 words)
Public services union UNISON embarks on its third national recruitment drive of the year this month. Following what it sees as successful campaigns ... Open access
European news
Finnish framework deal sets out ‘restrained’ pay rises (510 words)
Finnish unions and employers have agreed a national deal which will keep pay rises low over the next two years. ... Subscribers only
Deadline looms for “generational contract” deals in France (271 words)
Larger French employers have just a few weeks to make progress on plans aimed at helping both younger and older people in their workforce. ... Subscribers only
Only half of Dutch agreements signed so far (264 words)
Figures from the Dutch employers’ association, AWVN, indicate that exactly 50% of the collective agreements which expire in 2013 have been renewed ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal - the law (522 words)
f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of dismissal do not ... Subscribers only
Surveillance in public is not a breach of worker’s privacy (461 words)
Mr Gayle, a council employee, was spotted by a work colleague playing squash during work hours. Following the tip off, the council engaged private ... Subscribers only
Bookie’s failure to view all of CCTV footage was unfair (449 words)
Miss Miller worked as a cashier for bookmakers William Hill. A routine branch security audit threw up questions concerning four bets taken by her ... Subscribers only
Re-engagement can be refused if working relationship harmed (248 words)
Mr Wolff was unfairly dismissed from his position as a teacher at an academy school owned by academy chain Oasis Community Group. He applied for ... Open access
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy - the law (246 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
New guidance on contractual redundancy payments (573 words)
Employees at the Oldham factory of Park Cakes claimed enhanced contractual redundancy pay based on custom and practice. The factory was originally ... Subscribers only
Has Usdaw won change in law on collective consultation? (361 words)
To the anger of the shopworkers’ union Usdaw, the government has been granted leave to appeal against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s landmark ... Subscribers only
European ruling on parental leave and redundancy (296 words)
Ms Reizniece, a Latvian public sector worker, took 18 months of parental leave, between November 2007 and May 2009. ... Subscribers only
Law - TUPE
Transfers - the law (268 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
European Court ruling backs employer over TUPE (364 words)
In an unexpected and disappointing decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees whose contract terms are governed by ... Subscribers only
Liability for dismissal does not transfer despite pending appeal (342 words)
Ms Bangura was dismissed by her employer, a care home run by Southern Cross, for gross misconduct. She lodged an appeal. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Unions says Maritime Labour Convention needs rigorous policing (258 words)
Unions have welcomed the government’s ratification of the International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). However there ... Subscribers only
NHS guide a ‘welcome tool’ (159 words)
The NHS staff council has published the revised Workplace health and safety standards guide to support NHS organisations in meeting their legal ... Open access
Domestic abuse advice (228 words)
New domestic abuse guidance from the Santander UK bank has been welcomed by the CWU communication workers’ union. The union has been pressing ... Open access
How to combat violence in retail sector (116 words)
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has produced a new health and safety guide Preventing violence to retail staff. ... Open access
Blacklisted Crossrail worker reinstated (140 words)
Frank Morris, an electrician on London’s Crossrail project who said he was blacklisted for raising health and safety concerns, has been reinstated ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
HSE tills ringing as firms pay for safety failures (335 words)
Nearly £2.7 million has been raised in revenues by the HSE through its Fees for Intervention (FFI) scheme in its first six months of operation. ... Subscribers only
Changes to reporting of injuries (74 words)
From 1 October, the HSE is due to introduce changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). The ... Open access
Priority needs to be given to work-related ill health (268 words)
There is an urgent need for the HSE to reassess and rebalance its priorities and resources to begin to address the enormous challenge of tackling ... Subscribers only
First aid from 1 October (176 words)
New guidance has been published by the HSE to help businesses put in place appropriate arrangements for the provision of first aid. ... Open access
Construction site blitz (88 words)
Poor standards and working practices on building sites have been targeted during September, as part of a nationwide drive by the HSE aimed at ... Open access
Features
Auto-enrolment: the story so far and what the future may hold (3,265 words)
In the last few years, the number of people judged to be not saving enough for retirement has risen from nine to 11 million, so the statutory duty ... Open access
Procedures for coping with staff absent with a long-term illness (2,139 words)
When an employee is off work with long-term sickness, an employer usually looks to formal procedures — an absence management policy or ... Subscribers only