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Workplace Report February 2014
Bereavement leave - Entitlements negotiated around time off when a close relative dies are detailed in the latest Workplace Report survey; Apprentices - Numbers are on the rise, but what’s the going rate for these new workers; Latest case law on discrimination
Pay and prices
Inflation pay gap closes (261 words)
Yet another month has passed with inflation outstripping pay settlements, cutting workers’ living standards, but the gap has closed. ...
Subscribers only
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 2013 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (152 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases. ... Open access
Other pay analysts (24 words)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecasts-for-the-uk-economy-february-2014 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail prices index, Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (34 words)
Fourth quarter 2014 ... Open access
Bargaining news
Number enrolled in pensions rises but what about quality? (693 words)
The pace of auto-enrolment into pensions is picking up as smaller employers join the scheme. And the increasing numbers increase the need for strong ... Subscribers only
One in the eye for Gove over hours and holidays (398 words)
Education secretary Michael Gove has suffered a rebuff in his attempt to bring in a longer school day and shorter holidays after the teachers’ pay ... Subscribers only
Threat to sack and re-engage staff at Medway Council (317 words)
A dispute is looming at Medway Council in Kent over a threat from the Conservative-controlled council to dismiss and re-engage all 3,000 staff ... Subscribers only
Another Living Wage uni (115 words)
Teesside University has become the latest university to become a Living Wage employer. ... Open access
ITV unions accept offer (71 words)
Members of the broadcasting union BECTU have voted 3:1 to accept ITV’s 2014 pay offer. All three unions have now accepted. ... Open access
Lloyd’s insult to staff (126 words)
Underlying profits for the Lloyds Banking Group, where the taxpayer is a 32.7% minority shareholder, more than doubled to £6.2 billion in 2013. ... Open access
Show swamped staff some consideration, says TUC (395 words)
Employers should show some sympathy to the problems faced by staff whose homes have been flooded or face flooding, according to new TUC guidance. ... Subscribers only
Inquiry told of zero-hours contract abuse (358 words)
Companies are using “zero-hours” contracts when there is not a justifiable business need, leading to unnecessary insecurity, lack of opportunity ... Subscribers only
Delay to extension of flexible working (177 words)
The proposed extension to the right for employees to request flexible working will not now come into force on 6 April 2014 as planned, according to ... Open access
Barclays fat cat bonuses (93 words)
Barclays has announced that it has increased its bonus pool for 2013 by 9% to almost £2.4 billion from £2.2 billion in 2012. At the same time, it ... Open access
Equality news
Austerity hits disabled workers' job prospects (203 words)
There is a large employment gap to the tune of 30% between the proportion of disabled people in work and the proportion on non-disabled, according to ... Open access
Scheme to encourage women into engineering and manufacturing (280 words)
A new initiative to encourage the next generation of women to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing is the brainchild of an employers’ ... Subscribers only
Childcare costs barrier for return to work (198 words)
Spiralling childcare costs are preventing parents from returning to work, with one in four saying they would like a job but cannot afford it, a study ... Open access
Gay-friendly employers feted (284 words)
Housing solutions provider Gentoo has been named as 2014’s top gay-friendly employer by Stonewall in its Top 100 employers 2014, showcasing ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Skills shortages could hit economic recovery (276 words)
A new report from the government’s skills organisation, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), reveals a sharp rise in skills ... Subscribers only
Aid to adult maths skills (82 words)
The TUC’s learning and skills organisation, Unionlearn, is supporting the National Numeracy Challenge and inviting union learning reps and maths ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
NUT strike wins U-turn after U-turn (392 words)
Teachers at a London free school took successful strike action earlier this month, with management appearing to back down over union recognition. ... Subscribers only
Recognition success at WH Smith (131 words)
The GMB general union has won recognition on behalf of 163 workers at WH Smith’s Birmingham distribution centre. ... Open access
European news
Danes to get more parental leave and new training rights (455 words)
Unions in Denmark have signed three key deals with the employers which provide for limited pay increases, but deliver significant conditions ... Subscribers only
German chemicals union agrees ‘notable’ rise (291 words)
The IGBCE union and the employers in the German chemical industry have agreed a new pay deal which provides a 3.7% increase at a time when inflation ... Subscribers only
Italians cement a deal (215 words)
The agreement for the 11,000 employees in the bricks and cement sector in Italy, signed last month, includes a number of measures aimed at reducing ... Open access
Dutch 3% in plastics (83 words)
Around 170 workers at the plastics extrusion company Essentra in the Netherlands have won a 3.0% increase over 14 months as well as additional ... Open access
Law - Discrimination
Discrmination - the law (901 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 2010 ... Subscribers only
Disabled employee should have been allowed companion (654 words)
Mr O’Doherty was a Royal Bank of Scotland branch manager. He was diagnosed with depression after his marriage broke down. ... Subscribers only
Whether employee is disabled is judgment for employer alone (341 words)
Mr Gallop suffered from work-related stress and anxiety over a number of years, resulting in periods of absence and several referrals to an external ... Subscribers only
Home Office failed in duty to make reasonable adjustment (590 words)
This case involved an allegation of misconduct, against a backdrop of allegations of management bullying and workplace stress. ... Subscribers only
Christian care worker fails in bid to make Sunday special (456 words)
Ms Mba brought a claim for unfair dismissal and indirect religious discrimination after her employer enforced a contract term requiring her to work ... Subscribers only
Lower pay for Muslim chaplains not religious discrimination (337 words)
Mr Naeem had been a Muslim chaplain in the prison service since 2004. Muslim chaplains have only been employed by the Prison Service since 2002. As ... Subscribers only
Discrimination for scheme to pay less in redundancy to over 60s ... (425 words)
Ms Heron was made compulsorily redundant by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council. ... Subscribers only
... as other claimants challenge civil service redundancy scheme (496 words)
The claimants, all aged over 60, took voluntary redundancy under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme 2010 (CSCS). Their lump sum ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Concern for train drivers forced to attend inquests (269 words)
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has asked the chief coroner of England and Wales whether train drivers should be compelled to attend and give evidence ... Subscribers only
UCATT - Don’t work if dangerous (269 words)
Construction union UCATT has urged workers to always consider their safety and refuse to work in dangerous conditions. ... Subscribers only
Action over shift patterns (169 words)
Unite members at the Yorkshire Service Ambulance Trust took strike action earlier this month over changes to their working conditions. And further ... Open access
Time for action on directors’ duties (188 words)
A new general duty on directors, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act, backed up with an Approved Code of Practice which spells out exactly ... Open access
Nosmo King reigns (91 words)
The GMB general union has successfully campaigned against smoking school chimneys at Bexhill Academy. ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
PM’s dangerous sniping at health and safety law (326 words)
Prime minister David Cameron has once again been touting his anti-health and safety views, including those on ladders, to small business recently. ... Subscribers only
Working at height (135 words)
The HSE has reviewed its guidance on working at height. Falls from height were responsible for 13% of major accidents at work, according to HSE ... Open access
New advice for first aiders (225 words)
Since 1 October 2013, the HSE has stopped approving first aid training and qualifications. The changes in the rules mean that employers can now ... Open access
Increase in safety fines (271 words)
Tougher penalties are being handed out to employers who breach health and safety laws following a change in approach to prosecutions, according to a ... Subscribers only
Features
Should there be a legal right to bereavement leave? (2,971 words)
The issue of bereavement leave has been in the news of late, with renewed calls for the introduction of a statutory right to time off in the event of ... Open access
No sorcery — the reality facing new apprentices in 2014 (1,753 words)
More young people than ever are taking up an apprenticeship to get the skills required for their working life, with over half a million starting one ... Subscribers only