Fact Service October 2016
Issue 43 (27/10/2016) - Investigation into grey area of self-employment ; Government U-turn on safety appointment; Low pay in the UK; Self-employment or precarious work? ; Bullying a worrying problem in NHS ; It may not be marriage guidance but it's helpful; Pay protection a reasonable adjustment
Issue 42 (20/10/2016) - Weak average weekly earnings growth; Low pay in government; Jobless numbers on the rise in summer ; Safety and health at work week ; Pricier fuel and clothing pushes inflation higher
Issue 41 (13/10/2016 - Shift workers more prone to disease; Lucky 13 in boardroom ; Manufacturing output still weak ; Firms sign Dying to Work charter ; Perils of hard Brexit for UK car industry ; UK's record deficit in trade in goods
Issue 40 (06/10/2016) - Majority ignored on public sector exit pay; Long wait for gender pay gap to close ; Sick leave benefits across Europe; How to shrink the great divide in UK; Women's mental health needs ignored ; How to claim benefits for industrial injuries
Issue 43
Investigation into grey area of self-employment (212 words)
News of an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into pay rates for delivery drivers at courier company Hermes means a spotlight will be ...
Open access
Government U-turn on safety appointment (256 words)
The government will be advertising a new seat for a worker’s representative on the Health and Safety Executive board, says TUC health and safety ...
Subscribers only
Low pay in the UK 2016 (366 words)
There were an estimated 362,000 jobs with pay of less than the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW) held by employees aged 16 ...
Subscribers only
Self-employment or precarious work? (419 words)
The typical earnings of the average self-employed person are lower than 20 years ago, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
...
Subscribers only
Bullying a worrying problem in NHS (358 words)
Bullying is a pernicious problem in the NHS. That’s the stark finding of research by the Guardian.
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Subscribers only
It may not be marriage guidance but it’s helpful (469 words)
Employment relations service Acas has produced useful guidance on marriage and civil partnerships and the workplace.
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Subscribers only
Pay protection a reasonable adjustment (161 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled, in the case of G4S Cash Solutions vs Powell, that pay protection could be counted as a reasonable ...
Open access
Issue 42
Weak average weekly earnings growth (552 words)
Pay growth has weakened, official figures show. In August, growth in average weekly earnings was down to 2.0% from the previous month’s revised ...
Subscribers only
Low pay in government (165 words)
Thousands of workers across central government are paid less than the voluntary Living Wage, new figures have revealed in responses to an MP's ...
Open access
Jobless numbers on the rise in summer (630 words)
Blips or not, unemployment on both of the main official counts posted increases, the latest official figures show.
...
Subscribers only
Safety and health at work week (146 words)
Healthy workplaces for all ages is the central theme of the 2016 European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which takes place from 24 to 28 October. ...
Open access
Pricier fuel and clothing pushes inflation higher (403 words)
Retail price inflation rose in September on the back of dearer fuel and clothing, Office for National Statistics figures show.
...
Subscribers only
Issue 41
Shift workers more prone to disease (239 words)
Workers are more susceptible to infection at certain times of the day as the body clock affects the ability of viruses to replicate and spread ...
Open access
Lucky 13 in boardroom (354 words)
The company reporting season has all but come to an end, so the latest list of £1 million earners at FTSE 350 companies numbers only 13.
...
Subscribers only
Manufacturing output still weak (223 words)
The latest data shows factory output contracted in the three months to August.
...
Open access
Firms sign Dying to Work charter (267 words)
Santander bank is the latest high-profile employer to sign up to the Dying to Work Voluntary Charter, following in the footsteps of companies such as ...
Subscribers only
Perils of hard Brexit for UK car industry (449 words)
Investment decisions by major carmakers on the production of up to 15 new models in the UK are “hanging by a thread” unless the government ...
Subscribers only
Commission and holiday pay ruling (233 words)
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that holiday pay calculations should include a representative amount of commission-based pay.
...
Open access
UK's record deficit in trade in goods (366 words)
The UK’s trading position with the rest of the world in goods reached a record deficit of £34.7 billion in the second quarter of the year.
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Subscribers only
Issue 40
Majority ignored on public sector exit pay (451 words)
The government has published its response to the consultation about reforms to public sector exit payments, which will see the lowest paid hit ...
Subscribers only
Long wait for gender pay gap to close (363 words)
The gender pay gap in the UK will not close until 2069 based on current salary progression, research suggests.
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Subscribers only
Sick leave benefits across Europe (393 words)
The United Kingdom and Ireland offer far worse sickness benefits than most other European nations.
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Subscribers only
How to shrink the great divide in UK (621 words)
The great divide between the haves and have-nots in the UK is set out in a media briefing by Oxfam.
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Subscribers only
Women's mental health needs ignored (413 words)
Mental health services across England are not adequately considering the needs of female mental health patients, according to the charity Agenda, ...
Subscribers only
How to claim benefits for industrial injuries (94 words)
The TUC has produced a useful short guide to the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) Scheme.
...
Open access