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Workplace Report April 2018
Gender pay gap - questions are being raised about the gender pay gap in some of the 10,000 or so organisations required to report; Health and safety sentencing - ten years ago a law on corporate manslaughter was introduced, but is the law fit for purpose or are employers still getting away with murder?; Latest case law on dismissal, transfers and redundancy
Pay and prices
Deals stick at 3.0% (101 words)
Crunching the numbers on LRD Payline database shows that over the past year collectively agreed deals peaked at 3.2% in December and since then the ...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (225 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (245 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases
... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (42 words)
ASHE 2017 median uprated by AWE. ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to March 2018 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2018 forecasts (39 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
National Trust deal heralds prospect of new approach to pay (848 words)
The National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, together with its recognised trade union Prospect, will be embarking on a new approach to ...
Subscribers only
University strikes suspended to allow panel to examine pensions (397 words)
Further industrial action over changes the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension scheme has been suspended after agreement was reached on ... Subscribers only
Unions consult members over multi-year NHS England deal (311 words)
NHS trade unions are consulting on a three-year pay offer to apply to all NHS employers in England.
... Subscribers only
Auto-enrolment pensions (146 words)
Minimum contribution amounts payable into auto-enrolment pensions are required to gradually increase at set times.
... Open access
Injury to feelings (161 words)
Part of the compensation that can be awarded by tribunals for unlawful discrimination are awards for “injury to feelings”.
... Open access
Drop in inflation doesn’t affect water pay deals (451 words)
The fall in rates of inflation came too late to undermine April pay settlements, where the median pay increase recorded on the LRD Payline database ... Subscribers only
An end to pay cap for school teachers in Scotland and Northern Ireland? (281 words)
School teachers in Scotland and Northern Ireland are pushing for pay settlements that go beyond the old 1% pay cap.
... Subscribers only
SSE settlement ‘a good deal’ for members (267 words)
A negotiated “alternative solution to performance pay” is at the heart of a one-year pay deal agreed at energy giant SSE at the start of the ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Commission wants end to sexual harassment at work (377 words)
Corrosive working cultures have silenced the voices of victims and normalised sexual harassment, said the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ... Subscribers only
Pay penalty greatest for women in their 50s (329 words)
Women earn less than men at every stage of their career with the gender pay gap at its widest when women hit 50, finds new analysis by the TUC.
... Subscribers only
Cost of living a deterrent to London move (293 words)
The massive pay premium for moving to the capital has grown over the last decade, but this is not enough to entice more people to London most likely ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Unite calls for training overhaul (351 words)
General union Unite is calling for a radical overhaul of how construction training is undertaken, after a freedom of information (FoI) request to the ... Subscribers only
Recruitment and organisation news
Unions gain bargaining rights by various routes (409 words)
Bakers and food union BFAWU has won a union recognition ballot in convincing style at food wholesaler Wealmore. The union will be entitled to ... Subscribers only
SNP council’s U-turn on facility time cut (156 words)
The SNP-led West Dunbartonshire Council has performed a dramatic U-turn on its decision to slash trade union facility time. A week after gaining the ... Open access
European news
Inflation-busting deal in German public sector agreement (340 words)
Unions and employers have reached agreement on a pay deal for the 2.3 million employees in Germany’s central and local government, which provides ... Subscribers only
Cleaners in Danish gig economy firm mop up new deal (409 words)
Denmark’s largest union, 3F, has signed a collective agreement with Hilfr.dk, a Danish start-up company providing cleaning services through an ... Subscribers only
Škoda — 12% rise (80 words)
Czech metalworking union OS KOVO has accepted the latest pay offer from the car maker Škoda, part of the Volkswagen group, which will result in pay ... Open access
Settlements in Spain (138 words)
Official data on pay settlements in Spain show pay increases this year are running at a slightly higher level than a year ago, but the pick-up has ... Open access
Dutch construction deal (98 words)
Unions and employers in the Netherlands have signed a new agreement for the construction industry. The deal runs for 21 months from 1 April 2018 ... Open access
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal - the law (774 words)
f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of dismissal do not ... Subscribers only
Dismissal was unfair over failure to offer medic alternative post (681 words)
Dr Drzymala began working for the Trust as a locum consultant in the oncology department at Royal Surrey County Hospital in November 2011. She was ... Subscribers only
Decision to dismiss didn’t have to be reviewed after pregnancy news (730 words)
Ms Thompson was employed by Really Easy Car Credit Ltd (RECC), a small second hand car vendor, as a telesales operator in June 2016.
... Subscribers only
Head teacher failed to reveal personal relationship (801 words)
Ms Reilly commenced employment as a head teacher of a primary school in September 2009.
... Subscribers only
Law - TUPE
Transfers - the law (218 words)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ... Open access
Fragmentation of services and TUPE case goes to new tribunal (718 words)
Sevacare provided residential care services for the London Borough of Haringey from 2004. ... Subscribers only
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy - the law (192 words)
A redundancy situation exists where an employer closes or intends to close the workplace or reduce the number of employees doing a particular kind of ... Open access
Kids charity failed on redundancy consultation obligations (354 words)
Keeping Kids Company (KKC), a charity for disadvantaged children, met serious financial difficulties and sought government assistance on 12 June 2015. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Workloads are taking their toll on teachers (261 words)
Four out of five teachers (81%) have considered leaving teaching in the last year due to workloads, according to the latest NEU teaching union’s ... Subscribers only
Unions welcome Royal Mail support for women through the menopause (206 words)
The CWU communication workers’ union has welcomed the first ever Royal Mail Group menopause guide for managers.
... Open access
Crumbling state of schools (145 words)
A significant increase in pupil numbers is adding extra strain on damp and crumbling school buildings, according to a new survey which paints a ... Open access
Rise in small claims limit for whiplash injuries (137 words)
Unions are opposing the Civil Liability Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords last month.
... Open access
Campaigner launches safety videos on blog (135 words)
Scottish Hazards and Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) campaigner Louise Taggart is urging people to mark International Workers’ Memorial ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Poor management of killer dust in academies (285 words)
The HSE has only issued improvement or prohibition notices in relation to asbestos management to five multi-academy trusts (MATs) despite at least 54 ... Subscribers only
Fine over Royal Mail yard accident (201 words)
Communication workers’ union, the CWU, has called on Royal Mail to work with its safety reps after the company was hit by its biggest ever safety ... Open access
New manual handling guidance up on web (154 words)
Employers should reorganise and redesign working practices to avoid and reduce manual handling risks, says the HSE.
... Open access
Southern Health Trust failures attract £2 million fine (280 words)
Last month, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust was fined a total of £2 million after pleading guilty to safety breaches which resulted in the ... Subscribers only
Features
So Mr Chief Executive, why do you pay women less than men? (3,385 words)
Gender pay gap reporting may not be the last word in equality legislation, but it is giving union reps in thousands of workplaces across the UK a new ... Open access
Higher penalties still don’t deliver justice for safety offences (2,183 words)
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMHA) aimed to reform the law so companies, particularly large organisations, could be ... Subscribers only