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Workplace Report June 2020
Lessons from the crisis - In the second part of our survey of union reps during the coronavirus epidemic, we look beyond the “crisis issues” they have faced; Working from home - The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions to temporarily work from home, but is it the start of a new approach to work, or a slippery slope?; When you have to say ‘no’ - Your legal right to refuse to work because of serious and imminent danger
Pay and prices
Public sector sees sole rise in crisis (120 words)
Our data shows pay settlements stayed steady in May, but this is unlikely to reflect a true picture. The coronavirus crisis means some bargaining has ...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (222 words)
The figures show median (midpoint) pay settlements among all the agreements monitored through LRD’s Payline database. The weighted median (by ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (242 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (39 words)
ASHE 2019 median uprated by AWE. ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to May 2020 ... Open access
Prices (77 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2020 forecasts (40 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Jobs and incomes at risk in the post-furlough economy (843 words)
The government is proceeding more cautiously than many feared in winding down the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but it ends in November. With the ...
Subscribers only
Disabled workers win update (254 words)
UNISON has successfully taken up the cause of workers, who are “extremely vulnerable” in the coronavirus pandemic but who previously had been ... Subscribers only
Workers want HSE spot checks (107 words)
The vast majority of UK workers want the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out physical spot inspections to check employers are sticking to ... Open access
Keyworkers take strike action (351 words)
Medical couriers who transport Covid-19 samples have taken strike action over union-busting redundancies and a failure to address health and safety ... Subscribers only
Pay awards delayed by pandemic and show all to play for... (230 words)
During “normal times”, three quarters of pay awards are implemented in the first few months of the year. This year, the Labour Research ... Open access
Unite unveils BA leverage campaign (466 words)
This month general union Unite launched BA Betrayal against British Airways (BA), a ‘crisis leverage’ campaign. Its aim is to push back against ... Subscribers only
Unions flag public transport safety worries (427 words)
As lockdown eases and people are encouraged to travel, transport unions the RMT and Unite have flagged up safety concerns. ... Subscribers only
Self-isolating workers must get decent pay say unions (259 words)
As the government introduces its much-delayed NHS Test and Trace system to monitor and curb the spread of coronavirus, unions are calling for workers ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Majority of trade unionists are women (343 words)
Women have now fully established themselves as the backbone of the UK trade union movement, the latest official figures on union membership show. ... Subscribers only
UNISON proposes domestic abuse bill amends (463 words)
Workplace-related amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill suggested by the UNISON public services union will be put forward by the Labour Party. The ... Subscribers only
Pregnancy discrimination (136 words)
A survey by the TUC has found that a quarter of pregnant women have faced discrimination at work during the Covid-19 crisis. ... Open access
Black Lives Matter: UCU (141 words)
There is “very much to do to show that Black staff matter”, said the University College London (UCL) branch of the UCU lecturers’ union this ... Open access
Learning and training news
Government ‘has failed’ on social mobility (300 words)
The Social Mobility Commission has slammed the government’s record on social mobility, including its failure to ensure that poorer adults receive ... Subscribers only
Crisis hitting apprenticeships hard (155 words)
Apprenticeships have been massively disrupted during the coronavirus outbreak, and apprentices have lost out on work experience and off-the-job ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Union membership rises for third year (444 words)
Trade union membership among employees grew for the third year in succession in 2019, according to figures published by the Office for National ... Subscribers only
European news
Impact of Covid-19 lessens on the French workplace (461 words)
More and more French companies are back in operation and more employees are back at work as the health effects of the coronavirus pandemic subside in ... Subscribers only
Negotiating tempo slows (374 words)
There are signs that the coronavirus pandemic may have led to delays in negotiating and signing new agreements in some countries, as attention ... Subscribers only
Explanations offered for EU’s biggest gender pay gap (175 words)
Estonia is the member state with the largest gender pay gap in the EU, with a 22.7% difference between the hourly earnings of men and women. In a ... Open access
Law - Other Law News
When you have to say ‘no’ (2,285 words)
Your legal right to refuse to work because of serious and imminent danger ... Subscribers only
Law - TUPE
When you have to say ‘no’ (184 words)
f The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer ... Open access
Beneficial contract variations due to TUPE transfer are void (937 words)
The claimants were directors and shareholders of a company called Lancer Property Asset Management Limited, as well as employees of Lancer. Lancer ... Subscribers only
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal – the law (295 words)
f Employees who are dismissed unfairly can go to an employment tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of ... Subscribers only
‘Unofficial’ work on site did not count towards continuous service (802 words)
Mr O’Sullivan worked as a demolition safety supervisor until his dismissal on 21 October 2017. He brought a claim for unfair dismissal. ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Need for ‘right to disconnect’ (331 words)
The European trade union confederation (ETUC) has called on governments to follow the examples of France, Italy and Spain and introduce a legal right ... Subscribers only
Campaign against closure of health and safety unit (149 words)
Campaigners are calling on trade unionists to express their opposition to Blackburn College’s plans to close its long-established TUC trade union ... Open access
Telefonica wins praise for reopening consultation (245 words)
Mobile giant Telefonica “is a good example of a company working responsibly with a recognised trade union” to reduce the risk of Covid ... Open access
Scottish civil service unions secure safe return to work agreement (161 words)
Civil service unions have agreed minimum steps every employer across the Scottish government sector should follow before reopening workplaces or ... Open access
Call for respect for staff (109 words)
Retail union Usdaw called on customers to respect staff as shops are allowed to open. Its plea followed research showing that abuse of shopworkers ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Unite: rescind inspections ban (503 words)
The general Unite union has called on the government to cancel the ban on unannounced health and safety inspections in sectors most at risk of Covid-1 ... Subscribers only
Unions report firms over alleged Covid breaches (364 words)
Public services union UNISON and the general GMB union have reported national academy chain the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) to the HSE. They ... Subscribers only
Unions oppose relaxation of Sunday trading rules (168 words)
Unions representing shop workers have condemned reports that the government is planning to completely deregulate Sunday trading laws. Responding to ... Open access
Call for Welsh enforcement forum (114 words)
Last month the Wales TUC called for a new national enforcement forum to coordinate workplace health and safety compliance and enforcement activity ... Open access
Features
Lessons from the crisis: union reps in the time of coronavirus (3,144 words)
In the second of our features based on our survey of union reps during the coronavirus epidemic, the LRD goes beyond the “crisis issues” reps ... Open access
Working from home in the Covid-19 crisis (2,050 words)
The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions to temporarily work from home, but is it the start of a new and more flexible approach to work, or a ... Subscribers only