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Workplace Report June 2019
Regional allowances – Workplace Report surveys the latest regional allowances paid in London and the South East as well the remoter corners of the UK; Pensions - Union reps have set out the many issues facing them over the various types of occupational pension and the State Pension. Workplace Report provides some of the answers; Latest case law on tribunal procedures and contracts
Pay and prices
No change on 2.8% increase (111 words)
Taking into account revisions to earlier months, settlements have seen no change in 2019.
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Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (236 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (253 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases
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Subscribers only
Full-time weekly average earnings (40 words)
All workers £587.80 Male £629.10 Female £525.90 Managers £862.70 Professionals £769.70 Assoc professional £640.70 Admin & secretarial £461. ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to May 2019 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2019 forecasts (39 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Staff turnover a problem in parts of public sector (825 words)
Pay may be loosening up after years of restraint, but does the public sector still have a staff retention problem?
... Subscribers only
Judges rule employer can bypass union negotiations (481 words)
In a judgment described by the Unite general union as bitterly disappointing, the Court of Appeal (CA) has overturned a ruling that goes to the heart ... Subscribers only
Northumbria jumps from NEST to NHS pension (255 words)
Public services union UNISON has launched a consultative ballot of members working for the subsidiary company of a north east NHS trust over pension ... Subscribers only
Campaign on precarious work (244 words)
A new campaign to tackle widespread insecurity over hours and provide workers with some control over their lives has been launched by the Living Wage ... Open access
Add-ons make 3% deal for Scottish civil servants worth 4% (400 words)
Members of the Prospect, PCS and FDA unions representing staff working at the Scottish Government have voted to accept a pay offer which offers a ... Subscribers only
Tax-hike compensation for armed forces in Scotland (268 words)
Over 7,000 soldiers, sailors and Royal Air Force personnel who were adversely affected by the Scottish Government’s tax hikes last year will ... Subscribers only
Heathrow baggage staff check-in with 9.1% rise (137 words)
Baggage handlers and check-in staff employed by GH London at Heathrow Airport have secured a 9.1% pay increase after workers overwhelmingly backed ... Open access
An end to unfair two-tier workforce at Argos site (161 words)
Argos warehouse workers employed by Wincanton in Kettering, Northamptonshire are getting a 19% pay increase in a move to equalise pay among staff.
... Open access
Equality news
A quarter of new fathers miss out on paternity pay (407 words)
One in four men who became fathers in the last year didn’t qualify for paternity pay, according to a TUC analysis for Fathers’ Day.
... Subscribers only
Women under-represented in construction industry (304 words)
It will take nearly 200 years to achieve gender equality in the construction industry according to analysis by the GMB general union.
... Subscribers only
Employees are worried about age bias (275 words)
More than half of workers aged over 60 say they are not ready to retire, but, according to research by insurance company Aviva, more than a third of ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Young aren’t getting right skills (397 words)
Ministers are failing to address intergenerational unfairness and the government needs to do more for younger people by improving their employment ... Subscribers only
Recruitment and organisation news
Increase in membership numbers but young recruits needed (393 words)
union membership rose in 2018 for the second year in a row, according to the official Trade union membership: statistical bulletin, while the ... Subscribers only
Boos for Boohoo over union voice (134 words)
Retail union Usdaw is continuing its campaign for recognition at online clothes retailer Boohoo, despite intimidatory tactics by the employer.
... Open access
European news
Sweden's gender pay gap closes again (370 words)
The gender pay gap, the percentage difference between men’s and women’s earnings, has fallen again in Sweden. The national figures, which have ... Subscribers only
EU go-ahead for work-life balance directive (295 words)
The Council of the European Union, which is composed of ministers from all EU member states, has formally approved two new directives, concluding the ... Subscribers only
Failure to agree on pay in Czech Republic (165 words)
Unions, employers and the government in the Czech Republic have failed to reach agreement on a budget for 2020, with public sector pay rises a key ... Open access
Italian unions sign deal with Amazon (124 words)
Transport unions from all the main Italian confederations have signed an agreement with e-commerce giant Amazon covering employees delivering its ... Open access
Law - Tribunal procedures
Employment tribunals - the law (545 words)
Nearly all tribunal claims must be brought within three months less one day of the matter complained of. Tribunals can extend the time limit in an ... Subscribers only
Chef couldn’t afford tribunal fee so missed out on claim (556 words)
This case examines the tribunal’s discretion to extend time to claim unfair dismissal where the deadline was missed because the claimant could not ... Subscribers only
Employer missed deadline but did provide written statement (222 words)
Mr Denton worked for Govdata, a specialist adviser to businesses on government procurement.
... Open access
How to support claimants with mental ill health in hearings (619 words)
Ms Anderson succeeded in her claim for sex discrimination against her former employer, Turning Point EESPRO, a social care charity. Subsequently, she ... Subscribers only
Law - Contracts
Contracts - the law (396 words)
Employment rights depend, as a minimum, on the presence of an “employment relationship”. There are important legal distinctions between an ... Subscribers only
Right to guaranteed overtime fell outside collective agreement (647 words)
Mr Lozaique worked for Tesco as a store security man until 2005 when he was offered a new job at another store as a CCTV operator, where he still ... Subscribers only
Personal liablility of directors over payment of minimum wage (465 words)
A group of Lithuanian nationals worked for a chicken catching business, DJ Houghton Catching Services Limited. Their job was to catch chickens, ready ... Subscribers only
Ambulance drivers’ holiday pay must include voluntary overtime (861 words)
The claimants were ambulance drivers who brought a tribunal claim for unlawful deductions from their holiday pay.
... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Teachers want answers over safety at schools (346 words)
Education unions are demanding urgent action and answers to questions about “significant concerns over the health and safety of pupils and staff” ... Subscribers only
Safety week’s message is wear seat belts in vehicles (278 words)
Wear your seat belt at all times when driving was the key message from the CWU communication workers’ union and Royal Mail during Road Safety Week ... Subscribers only
Climate-proof our work day of action (259 words)
Union reps were urged to join a global day of action on 26 June and demand their employer “climate proofs” their work.
... Subscribers only
Unions demand action on suicides (71 words)
Coroners should treat deaths caused by incidents at work as work-related fatalities, says train drivers’ union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan. ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Action needed on fire and building safety system (447 words)
The FBU firefighters’ union is calling for urgent action on fire and building safety as it launches a joint campaign with the Daily Mirror ... Subscribers only
Is there breast cancer link to shift work ? (305 words)
There are conflicting opinions about the possible link between shift work and breast cancer.
... Subscribers only
Vitamin D supplements (111 words)
Delegates at the GMB general union’s annual congress have backed a call for employers to provide free vitamin D supplements to workers at greatest ... Open access
Two new union HSE board members (78 words)
Claire Sullivan, director of employment relations and union services at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, and Ged Nichols, general secretary ... Open access
£5 million fine over deaths (90 words)
Oil refinery owner Valero Energy UK has been handed the joint third highest fine — £5 million with £1 million in costs— after it pleaded guilty ... Open access
Features
Unions in constant battle to win or uprate allowances (2,456 words)
Inflation may be an ever present, but for some workers the London Weighting allowance, which is supposed to compensate workers for the higher cost of ... Subscribers only
Many pitfalls faced by workers before they get a pension (2,212 words)
The need to improve defined contribution pensions is a high priority, but so too is protecting “quality” defined benefit schemes, and access to ... Subscribers only