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Workplace Report January 2014
Shift patterns - The varying shift patterns that the four million-plus shift workers have to work are the subject of a Workplace Report survey; Euro-bargaining - Last year saw a real pay recovery across Europe, but not in the UK; Latest case law on contracts of employment and tribunals
Pay and prices
The gap between inflation and settlement levels narrowed slightly in at the end of last year. (256 words)
The gap between inflation and settlement levels narrowed slightly in at the end of last year. ...
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 2013 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (152 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
Other pay analysts (23 words)
... Open access
Prices (76 words)
1 Retail prices index, Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (34 words)
Fourth quarter 2014 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Can we look forward to a pay recovery in 2014? (825 words)
Pay settlements have perked up this month after a sluggish second half in 2013. But can this trend continue? ... Subscribers only
Community and employers put best foot forward (428 words)
Matters of “mutual interest” between the British Footwear Association (BFA) and the Community trade union, including training and development, ... Subscribers only
More employers commit to the Living Wage (318 words)
More employers have agreed to use the Living Wage or London Living Wage as a benchmark for their lowest salaries. ... Subscribers only
House of Commons staff owed £6 million (190 words)
Unions representing staff who work in the House of Commons are taking legal action to obtain lost pay. ... Open access
Nissan success (118 words)
General union Unite called for a boost to pay and conditions to recognise the huge contribution workers have made to the success of the Nissan brand, ... Open access
Construction industry agreement gives workers 3% rise from June (350 words)
Progress on pay in the construction industry was confirmed this month with members of the UCATT building workers’ union and the GMB and Unite ... Subscribers only
Rogue employers to be hit (340 words)
From next month the maximum penalty for employers who break the law on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will increase fourfold from £5,000 to £20,000 ... Subscribers only
Fears over performance management scheme (137 words)
Prospect members in the civil service are facing a new performance management process, with line managers under pressure to deliver a “forced ... Open access
High cost of pay divide (134 words)
The huge pay gap in Britain’s companies is highlighted in a High Pay Centre report. ... Open access
Equality news
Working grandparents taking strain on childcare (537 words)
Nearly seven million grandparents provide regular childcare for their grandchildren, aged under 16, primarily to allow the child’s parents to work, ... Subscribers only
Women face pension gap (213 words)
Women’s expectations of their financial wellbeing in retirement fall significantly short of what they think they will need to provide a comfortable ... Open access
Pregnancy discrimination on the rise (316 words)
The number of women forced out of their jobs because they are either pregnant or on maternity leave has more than doubled in the past decade, ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
TUC welcomes reform of funding for training (320 words)
The coalition government’s Autumn Statement in December 2013 contained a number of policy changes relating to apprenticeships and other learning ... Subscribers only
Loan scheme scrapped (107 words)
A much-criticised student loan scheme for older apprentices has been scrapped by the government after it failed to attract anywhere near the number ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
PDA union moves closer to achieving its claim (290 words)
An independent union representing around 2,300 Boots pharmacists, which has been fighting a long and arduous recognition battle with the chemists’ ... Subscribers only
Screen win (114 words)
Entertainment union BECTU and Curzon Cinemas have finally signed a voluntary recognition agreement on behalf of 150 staff covering negotiation and ... Open access
European news
German meat processing agreement to end ‘scandalously low wages’ (454 words)
The German food and hospitality union NGG and the employers’ association for the food industry have reached agreement on minimum rates in the meat ... Subscribers only
Italian tourism industry concord signed, but not by all (327 words)
Three Italian unions — FILCAMS, FISASCAT and UILTUCS, which in turn belong to the union confederations CGIL, CISL and UIL — have signed a new ... Subscribers only
Deadline extended on part-time hours in France (173 words)
The French government has put back to 30 June the date by which unions and employers at industry level must have reached agreement on part-time ... Open access
Spanish government freezes minimum wage (134 words)
Mariano Rajoy’s right-wing government in Spain has decided to freeze the national wage at its current level of €645.30 a month for 2014. This ... Open access
Law - Contracts
Contracts - the law (457 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions between an ... Subscribers only
Holiday pay should take account of commission (452 words)
The Advocate-General (AG) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has published an encouraging opinion in a case supported by the public services ... Subscribers only
Minimum wage is payable for travel time and overnight stays (634 words)
Mrs Whittlestone was employed by BJP to provide home-based care services. ... Subscribers only
Express deductions term will be unenforceable if it’s a penalty (473 words)
Ms Bryla, a Polish national, came to work here as a live-in care worker. Her contract included a term that allowed her employer to make deductions ... Subscribers only
No protection for agency workers with permanent contracts (406 words)
In a worrying development, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld the judgment of an employment tribunal that agency workers employed by the ... Subscribers only
Contracted scaffolder was a worker entitled to holiday pay (469 words)
This case involved a claim for holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations (WTR). ... Subscribers only
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals - the law (335 words)
Nearly all tribunal claims must be lodged within three months of the matter complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in an unfair dismissal ... Subscribers only
New tribunal confirms worker’s right to choose companion (525 words)
Mr Roberts, brought a tribunal claim for compensation of up to two weeks’ wages for breach of his right under section 10 of the Employment ... Subscribers only
Use of confidential documents in tribunal proceedings (496 words)
Mr White wanted copies of various documents to support his unfair dismissal claim. However, disclosure was resisted by the employer on the basis of ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Government’s sop to mesothelioma sufferers (322 words)
Earlier this month, the Mesothelioma Bill completed its passage through Parliament and became law, which will mean victims of this aggressive and ... Subscribers only
Hotline to aid victimised worker’s fight for justice (386 words)
At the end of last year, the data watchdog, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), began sending out the first batch of 1,200 letters to people ... Subscribers only
Five corporate killing convictions in five years (301 words)
Life is cheap and justice slow it appears, as only the fifth conviction under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act was secured ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Coalition wants HSE reforms despite positive report (523 words)
There is a “continuing need for the functions that the HSE delivers” . This was one of the positive conclusions of the government’s triennial ... Subscribers only
Slips and trips a problem in waste management (192 words)
Well over a third of major injuries in the waste management and recycling industries resulted from a slip or a trip, according to the HSE. ... Open access
Asbestos - killer dust guidance (253 words)
Following a public consultation, the HSE has published a new combined Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) on asbestos. ... Subscribers only
Features
The different types of shifts faced by four million-plus workers (3,457 words)
Long hours of shift work can be unhealthy and shift arrangements can be as tricky to negotiate as shift pay. In a follow up to last month’s survey ... Subscribers only
UK one of two EU states where real pay falls as economy grows (1,968 words)
After three years of pay lagging behind prices in most countries of the European Union, 2013 saw something of a real pay recovery. In 17 out of 27 ... Open access