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Workplace Report February 2015
Agency workers - Agency workers have become part of the work scene, but employers are trying to skirt around the law to deny them their rights; Pay progression - What’s happening across the public sector over coalition’s attack on progression?; Latest cases involving contracts of employment and tribunals
Pay and prices
Settlements flatten out (261 words)
It was as you were at the start of 2015. The latest figures from LRD’s Payline database show an overall median increase of 2.5% in the three months ...
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 2014 uprated by AWE. ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (153 words)
Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
Other pay analysts (23 words)
... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail prices index, Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
Inflation forecasts (35 words)
Fourth quarter 2015 ... Open access
Bargaining news
NHS unions ballot members in England and Northern Ireland (690 words)
Members of NHS health unions in both England and Northern Ireland are being balloted over their pay and conditions. ... Subscribers only
More action in Northern Ireland (124 words)
On 13 March, action is planned in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the education sector and public transport —publicly-owned Translink covers ... Open access
Thumbs down for new system of teacher appraisal (446 words)
Changes to the pay system for school teachers in England and Wales that have opened the door to performance-related pay (PRP) have not gone down well ... Subscribers only
Prospects for new type of pension chewed over (238 words)
The Pension schemes Bill, which is completing its progress through Parliament, will open the door to pensions that offer different levels of ... Open access
Police staff in England and Wales get 2.2% (136 words)
After rejecting a 1% pay offer and planning strike action, police staff in England and Wales have now secured a deal which pays 2.2% or £400 ... Open access
Public/private pay divide (172 words)
In their latest Labour Market Outlook, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 54% of public sector employers froze pay in ... Open access
Employers fall into line after overtime ruling (555 words)
An Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling last November that regular overtime must be included when calculating holiday pay is already having an impact in ... Subscribers only
Failure to agree changes (202 words)
After employers in the North Sea oil industry proposed to change shift patterns and cut pensions, the union representing the workers, Unite, recorded ... Open access
Time to make up lost ground (280 words)
Will there be strong pay growth in 2015 or is there a “soft underbelly” that could hold things back? At this month’s IDS & TUC pay forum, ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Campaign to get young to vote for end to raw deal (417 words)
Young people, who are currently the least likely to vote, are getting an especially rough deal on pay and job security, the TUC says. ... Subscribers only
More help needed for parents of disabled childen to work (357 words)
Nine out of 10 unemployed parents of disabled children have a strong desire to return to work, according to the Working Families charity. ... Subscribers only
Pay gap for gay and lesbians (237 words)
Gay men receive lower earnings than heterosexual men of comparable education, skills and work experience, an international research project carried ... Open access
Learning and training news
Fair deal for young workers (283 words)
A TUC briefing looks at some of the main issues facing young people at work and in the wider community and how to get them a fair deal. ... Subscribers only
Tackling disadvantage (113 words)
A new unionlearn report shows the impact of unions in widening opportunities to take up learning and skills by tackling disadvantage, identifying and ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
GMB union wins bargaining rights for M&S agency staff (326 words)
The GMB general union has won a significant ballot for recognition on behalf of 569 agency workers at Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) Swindon ... Subscribers only
New investment brings CWU recognition call at Virgin Media (138 words)
The CWU communications union has called on Virgin Media to recognise it for collective bargaining after the company announced it will be creating 6,00 ... Open access
Unite rerecognised (36 words)
General union Unite has been re-recognised by Yorkshire Ambulance Service, following a two-year dispute. Both sides said they were “resolved to ... Open access
European news
No increase in 2015 and just 0.5% the year after for Belgium's private sector (413 words)
Unions and employers have reached agreement on a pay settlement for the next two years in Belgium. However, the deal, which only provides for pay ... Subscribers only
Agreement over sexual harassment and bullying for Italian woodworkers (334 words)
New procedures to tackle sexual harassment and bullying in the Italian woodworking industry have been reached by unions and employers. ... Subscribers only
German security staff secure 7.6% rise (153 words)
Around 34,000 security staff working in the North-Rhine Westphalia region, which includes Düsseldorf and Cologne, have won a pay increase of between ... Open access
Polish miners force concessions after strike (133 words)
Miners at the state-owned coalmining JSW company have returned to work after a strike which lasted more than two weeks. They were protesting against ... Open access
Law - Contracts
Contracts - the law (402 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions between an ... Subscribers only
Absence management procedure was contractual (651 words)
This important case was supported by three civil service unions: the Public and Commercial Services Union, Prospect and the FDA. ... Subscribers only
Important ruling on affirmation while on sick leave (548 words)
Ms Colomar Mari worked as a systems support analyst for international news agency Reuters. She was absent from work for 22 months with stress, ... Subscribers only
New contract was accepted even though unsigned (734 words)
Ms Wess worked as a senior curator at the Science Museum for 33 years before being made redundant in 2012. Wess was initially employed on civil ... Subscribers only
Plumber was a worker but not an employee (940 words)
A plumbing operative, Mr Smith, working for the London firm Pimlico Plumbers Limited (Pimlico) brought claims for unfair and wrongful dismissal and ... Subscribers only
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals - the law (568 words)
Nearly all tribunal claims must be brought within three months of the matter complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in an unfair ... Subscribers only
Tribunal’s first ruling on Acas Early Conciliation process (532 words)
For the first time, an employment tribunal has ruled on the legal effect of issuing proceedings in the employment tribunal without first embarking on ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Fourteen firefighter deaths and cuts could lead to more (447 words)
The background to the deaths of firefighters, countrywide, over 10 years has been analysed in new research, commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union ... Subscribers only
Dumped on in Scotland (255 words)
Waste management and recycling ranks among the Britain’s most hazardous occupations, yet a workforce under pressure, facing increasing targets and ... Subscribers only
TUC survey on hazardous substances at work (175 words)
The TUC wants to hear from workers about their experiences of being exposed to hazardous substances in the workplace. ... Open access
Offshore safety concerns (112 words)
General union Unite has urged the UK government to step in with support as oil companies are expected to reduce spending on investment and ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
HSE spend on research expected to be £27m (324 words)
In the 2014-15 financial year, the HSE budget for commissioned research and technical support will be around £27 million, according the HSE’s 2015 ... Subscribers only
Improved recipe for health and safety in the food and drink industry (251 words)
A new, revised guide for the food and drink industry has been published by the HSE. ... Subscribers only
April heralds new mines law (240 words)
The 2014 Mines Regulations will come into effect on 6 April 2015, subject to Parliamentary approval, replacing all current health and safety mining ... Open access
Features
Agency workers want umbrella pulled from above them (3,316 words)
The number of agency workers has been on the increase, but legislation covering them has been accompanied by many employers seeking to skirt around ... Open access
Public sector pay progression hit by coalition interference (2,218 words)
Pay systems in the public sector that allow for a controlled rise in employee earnings, have come under pressure from the coalition government at a ... Subscribers only