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Workplace Report November 2013
NHS pay - Ahead of the NHS pay review body’s recommendations, what’s been happening to pay and conditions in the health service; Severe weather - Do employers expect staff to tramp through snowdrifts to work? Workplace Report examines adverse weather policies; Latest case law on discrimination
Pay and prices
Inflation eats away at pay (268 words)
The inflation rate has fallen, but with the average figure for settlements down there was still a fall in living standards. ...
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 2012 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (149 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual ... Open access
Other pay analysts (25 words)
... Open access
Prices (75 words)
1 Retail prices index, Jan ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (33 words)
Fourth quarter 2014 ... Open access
Bargaining news
NHS tripartite review sets out facts of longer working life (785 words)
The State Pension Age is rising over a period to 68, while employers are raising the pension age in workplace schemes tied to it. But what will this ... Subscribers only
Two high street giants take different approaches to pay (457 words)
Well-known high street retailers Argos and Morrison’s raised their adult lowest basic pay rates by the same amount last month, 2.6%, but while the ... Subscribers only
That’s not entertainment (295 words)
A worryingly high level of bullying, harassment and discrimination in theatres, TV, film and media production has been revealed in a new survey by ... Subscribers only
Tasty package deal at Kettle Produce (145 words)
Vegetable Supplier Kettle Produce has introduced a package of changes and is to review its distribution wage structure. ... Open access
Measure of job quality (152 words)
The TUC has introduced a Jobs Quality Index to measure the effects of real wage levels and under-employment, such as working part-time when a ... Open access
Public sector pay agenda dominated by 1% rise and the Living Wage (479 words)
A range of possible outcomes has come to dominate the pay agenda for millions of public sector workers. ... Subscribers only
EIS survey flags up wide use of zero-hours contracts (275 words)
All higher education institutions in Scotland use zero-hours contracts to some degree, but there is a wide variation in the approach taken, a survey ... Subscribers only
Almost half graduates now in non-graduate jobs (273 words)
The percentage of graduates in non-graduate jobs has risen, particularly since the 2008-09 recession, official figures show. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Spotlight on employment practices in cleaning (266 words)
The equality watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has called for evidence in order to “shine a spotlight” on equality and ... Subscribers only
Maternity discrimination at work (78 words)
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is also carrying out research into the scale of pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work. It says ... Open access
Employers must recognise older parents’ caring role (288 words)
A TUC survey of older workers has found that two in five women over the age of 50 are also the mothers of school-age children. ... Subscribers only
Sexist clichés still rife in the workplace (176 words)
Working women are still subjected to sexist attitudes at work, according to a poll of more than 1,000 women by the employment law firm Slater & ... Open access
Women not optimistic about retirement (112 words)
The number of women putting enough into their pension pot has reached a new low, according to a survey by the Scottish Widows financial services ... Open access
Learning and training news
TUC and Show Racism sign landmark agreement (164 words)
The TUC’s learning and skills organisation Unionlearn and anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card have signed a Memorandum of ... Open access
A day becomes a week (76 words)
The lifelong learning organisation, Campaign for Learning (CfL), has announced that in 2014 its annual Learning at Work Day is becoming Learning at ... Open access
Skills count for more (91 words)
Employers are increasingly placing greater value on vocational skills than academic qualifications, according to the Edge Foundation and City & ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Membership drives (207 words)
The first two weeks of public services union UNISON’s latest recruitment drive saw over 9,000 members join the union, its national executive ... Open access
UCATT recognition at Norse (95 words)
Construction union UCATT has signed a national recognition agreement with Norse Commercial Services. The company employs over 8,300 staff in ... Open access
Curzon boycott (138 words)
Staff at Curzon Cinemas fighting for union recognition and a Living Wage have been buoyed by support from a film producer who has decided to boycott ... Open access
European news
Inflation-busting deals in Austria (519 words)
Unions in Austria have concluded the key negotiations in the private sector and as in previous years the settlements are running well above inflation. ... Subscribers only
Redundancy threat passes for Spanish street cleaners (297 words)
A strike by street cleaners in Madrid, which lasted for 13 days, has ended after the threat of compulsory redundancies was withdrawn, with the ... Subscribers only
German deal cuts out ‘rotten agreement’ (138 words)
The German services union Verdi and employers representing secure cash delivery firms have reached an agreement covering the 11,000 employees in the ... Open access
Finnish national deal (151 words)
The national pay agreement in Finland, agreed in principle at the end of August, has received sufficient backing to come into effect. The unions and ... Open access
Law - Discrimination
Discrimination - the law (1,003 words)
Since 1 October 2010, discrimination law has been contained in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010). With a few notable exceptions, the laws in the EA ... Subscribers only
Paying for private counselling was reasonable adjustment (614 words)
Mrs Butcher had worked for a veterinary practice for 16 years. She started as a receptionist but as the practice expanded, her job grew until ... Subscribers only
Return-to-work policies and reasonable adjustments (799 words)
Mr Higgins had worked as a part-time administrative officer for Jobcentre Plus since 1979. In 2009, he went on long-term sickness absence because of ... Subscribers only
Voluntary severance package and age discrimination (611 words)
Ms Lockwood accepted a voluntary severance package from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS). ... Subscribers only
Appeal decision ‘cured’ indirect discrimination in flexi case (381 words)
Ms Little was on maternity leave from her role as a sales executive for Pharmacology Limited, a clinical research organisation. ... Subscribers only
No breach of EU law in denying male partner maternity rights (480 words)
Mr Montull was a Spanish employee whose wife was self-employed. Under Spanish (and European) law, self-employed workers have no right to statutory ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Worry over shopworkers ‘suffering in silence’ (411 words)
The Usdaw shopworkers’ union has revealed the latest disturbing findings from its annual survey on the abuse staff in the retail sector face at ... Subscribers only
Violence main reason why many NHS staff think of leaving (281 words)
Unions representing NHS staff are ramping up their campaign against NHS cuts and their effects. ... Subscribers only
Builder blocks union access to death site (167 words)
The Unite general union has called on building firm Laing O’Rourke and its subsidiary Crown House to allow access to a construction site where a ... Open access
Failures over asbestos in academy school (98 words)
A Birmingham academy and a glass firm have been fined for safety failings after a job exposed workers to asbestos. The Health and Safety Executive ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Headline data on deaths don’t give the full picture (519 words)
The annual statistics on health and safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) seemingly show a positive picture. However, critics said the ... Subscribers only
Construction safety blitz (185 words)
During September 2013, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out spot check inspections which revealed significant safety failings on ... Open access
HSE consults over ending ban on paint strippers (211 words)
There is currently an EU ban on the use of DCM (dichloromethane), a hazardous chemical used in some types of paint strippers. ... Open access
Young people and risks (57 words)
An appreciation of workplace risk and how to deal with it can be one of the biggest benefits offered by a work placement. ... Open access
Features
NHS unions don’t want poisoned pill from pay review body (3,479 words)
Agenda for Change, the national agreement for those NHS staff covered by the NHS Pay Review Body is almost 10-years old. Under the coalition ... Open access
Is your employer’s bad weather policy deep and crisp and even? (2,267 words)
As the winter months loom, severe weather conditions, such as heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, may make it sometimes difficult for staff to ... Subscribers only