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Workplace Report March 2020
Bereavement leave - From April working parents will have the right to two weeks’ leave if they lose a child; Wales - Unions are backing the Welsh Government’s idea of 'social partnership'. It’s just private sector employers that need convincing.Latest case law on dismissal and whistleblowing
Pay and prices
February pay rises down (95 words)
Pay settlements edged down in February and worse is almost certain to come with the coronavirus effect.
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Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (228 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (258 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases
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Subscribers only
Full-time weekly average earnings (40 words)
ASHE 2019 median uprated by AWE. ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to February 2020 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2020 forecasts (39 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Coronavirus - help for able and sick workers during crisis (794 words)
Prime minister Boris Johnson issued his firmest COVID-19 instruction yet on 23 March, telling us: “You must stay at home”. Many welcomed the ... Subscribers only
Government wants to ditch RPI measure (403 words)
The future of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation is once again under threat.
... Subscribers only
Coronavirus - confused guidance on who can go out to work (287 words)
There has been a lot of confusion over who should and should not be going out to work in the wake of the prime minister’s call to “stay at ... Open access
Victories over low pay (201 words)
Rail union RMT has secured a massive victory against low pay and exploitative conditions on Britain’s railways.
... Open access
Firefighters in Scotland reject pay offer (85 words)
As recommended by the FBU’s executive council and Scottish regional committee, firefighters and control staff in Scotland have rejected a pay offer ... Open access
Coronavirus - workers win over sick pay, pay and hygiene (418 words)
A number of groups of workers have had success over sick pay and working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.
... Subscribers only
Universities rattled by reputational damage over casualisation (292 words)
Leaked notes from a recent meeting of the elite Russell Group of universities reveal that industrial action taken by UCU members over the issue of ... Subscribers only
Success for ISS staff at Homerton Hospital (185 words)
GMB members, who are low paid ISS staff at Homerton Hospital in London, have used the coronavirus crisis to force an acknowledgement from the ... Open access
Homeworking during coronavirus crisis (110 words)
Millions of people are currently expected to work from home where possible during the COVID-19 crisis under government guidance.
... Open access
Equality news
The impact of degrees on gender lifetime earnings (436 words)
Men with higher education qualifications earn more than women with the same level of qualification, research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies ... Subscribers only
Changes at work needed to keep hold of working mums (276 words)
A quarter of working mothers are driven out of their jobs due to dated working practices, according to research by recruitment consultants Robert ... Subscribers only
Ban salary queries from hiring process (272 words)
Companies should be banned from asking candidates’ existing salaries in the recruitment process in order to help close the gender pay gap, ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
UNISON provides online learning (420 words)
Public services union UNISON is ensuring that its members continue to have access to training during the current coronavirus crisis.
... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Nautilus signs landmark deal with Saga Cruises (227 words)
Seafarers’ union Nautilus International has achieved what it calls a “landmark” collective bargaining deal with Saga Cruises — the ... Open access
Union recognition at Wellingborough School (116 words)
Three education unions have jointly won a statutory recognition deal with the independent Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire. The school was ... Open access
UNISON adds more members (117 words)
Membership of public services union UNISON has grown for the second year running, the union has announced.
... Open access
European news
Germany loosens financial rules for supporting laid-off staff (416 words)
As part of its response to the coronavirus, the German government has agreed to loosen the rules for financial support for those temporarily laid off. ... Subscribers only
Partially unemployed to get 84% of net pay in France (287 words)
Since the announcement of stricter coronavirus measures in France on 16 March, requiring individuals to stay at home unless they have a justified ... Subscribers only
Easier access to Italian national wage guarantee fund (284 words)
In Italy, the European country hardest hit by coronavirus, the government has extended the reach and eased the conditions for access to the national ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal - the law (637 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 ... Open access
Network manager manipulated investigation of GMB safety rep (1,464 words)
Case 1: The facts
... Subscribers only
Not always unfair to dismiss without investigation meeting (765 words)
Case 2: The facts
... Subscribers only
Investigator’s failure to share info made dismissal unfair (482 words)
Case 3: The facts
... Subscribers only
Law - Other Law News
Whistleblowing (289 words)
Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), employees and workers who disclose information about alleged wrongdoing at work ... Subscribers only
Motivation of devious manager could be attributed to employer (823 words)
Case 4: The facts
... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Workplace issues around coronavirus — TUC guidance (253 words)
The TUC has issued guidance for trade union reps on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
... Subscribers only
Strictly basic minimum standards of care agreed for commercial dancers (185 words)
Leading dance agencies will ask clients to agree to a basic minimum standard of care when booking commercial dancers, the actors’ union Equity ... Open access
Life expectancy falls for poorest women (174 words)
Poor quality and stressful work has contributed to widening health inequalities over the last decade, according to new research.
... Open access
Health and safety risks of outsourcing work (134 words)
A study commissioned by safety professionals’ body IOSH reveals the workplace health and safety challenges from outsourcing.
... Open access
Small claims limits (106 words)
A broad coalition of legal, safety and trade union organisations has called on the government to step back from pushing more workplace injury cases ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Justice delayed is justice denied, says campaign (286 words)
Safety campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) is calling for more resources to prevent delays to justice after a company was fined ... Subscribers only
Parliamentary group calls for action on silica (256 words)
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Respiratory Health says the government must take action on silica to prevent the “next asbestos” ... Subscribers only
GMB calls on Uber to end legal challenge (172 words)
The GMB general union has called on the taxi hire firm Uber to recognise a ruling on the employment status of its drivers in France’s highest court ... Open access
Post-Brexit protections (110 words)
The Trade Justice Movement, an alliance of 15 trade unions, environmental organisations and health and human rights groups has called for an EU-UK ... Open access
HSE warning on welding fume inspections (116 words)
The HSE has warned employers it will use enforcement to bring about improvements where employers fail to control the health risks from welding fume. ... Open access
Features
New right gives parents time to grieve over loss of a child (2,665 words)
The new entitlement, nicknamed Jack’s Law after Jack Herd, the 23-month old boy whose mother Lucy has been campaigning on the issue since he ... Open access
Social partnership approach is way forward in Wales (2,315 words)
The devolved Welsh Government, working closely with the Wales TUC/TUC Cymru, has developed a social partnership approach that is starting to really ... Subscribers only