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Labour Research September 2021
Should we have a legal right to 'disconnect'? - the increasing blurring of boundaries between work and home life for remote workers is leading to calls for legislation to counter this; Statutory union recognition procedure - unions continue to have serious reservations about the statutory recognition procedure; UK’s post-Brexit state aid regime - a new Bill sets out the government’s proposals for state subsidies post-Brexit
News
UK must have permanent short-time working scheme (411 words)
The TUC is pressing for the furlough scheme to be replaced with a permanent short-time work scheme as unions representing the airline industry warn ...
Subscribers only
Civil service union warns over wages cuts for homeworkers (175 words)
The PCS civil service union has warned of possible action if ministers try to cut the pay of civil servants over office openings. ...
Open access
Investment needed in prisons (225 words)
Urgent investment in the prison service is needed to overcome rising suicide rates the POA prison officers’ union has warned. ... Open access
Unions demand first minister gives commitment to rail (210 words)
Transport unions in Scotland are calling on first minister Nicola Sturgeon to commit to rail after revelations that an internal report by the ... Open access
TUC presses for an end to reign of umbrella companies (240 words)
The TUC is calling for a ban on umbrella companies on the grounds that they are used to exploit workers. ... Open access
State acquires Forgemasters (118 words)
The nationalisation of defence manufacturer Sheffield Forgemasters has been welcomed in steel communities. ... Open access
NHS job protection agreement (104 words)
The UNISON health union has secured a job protection agreement for over 10,000 NHS staff after its campaign received the backing of the new ... Open access
Inflation gap widens (74 words)
Pay bargaining may be affected by a widening gap between the union-preferred RPI measure of inflation and the CPI measure including a housing element. ... Open access
Employment outlook remains uncertain (201 words)
Falling inflation and a rising number of employees on the payroll do not necessarily add up to a certain economic recovery. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (412 words)
Inflation +3.8%, average earnings +8.7% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Women now run two largest trade unions in the country (220 words)
Women now run both of the largest two trade unions in the country, following the stunning victory by Sharon Graham in the election to lead general ... Open access
PFA has new leader (123 words)
The Professional Footballers Association (PFA), a TUC affiliate union, has its first new leader in 40 years, as Maheta Molango replaces long-term ... Open access
European news
Irish government issues new code on employment status (335 words)
The Irish government has published a new code on employment status — and plans to give it statutory backing, with legislation introduced later this ... Subscribers only
Women’s progress threatened by pandemic (302 words)
The pandemic threatens to reverse recent progress on gender equality, with women “disproportionately exposed to the economic turmoil created by ... Subscribers only
Polish unions criticise pay increases for leaders (95 words)
Poland’s three main union confederations, — NSZZ Solidarnosc, OPZZ and FZZ — have criticised a decision by the country’s parliament to award ... Open access
Concerns about French Covid passes (94 words)
Several French union confederations, including the CGT, FO and CFE-CGC, have expressed their concern at new rules which extend the requirement to ... Open access
Spanish delivery workers (61 words)
Spanish legislation giving employee status to delivery workers, working through platforms such as Uber Eats (see Labour Research, April 2021, page 8) ... Open access
Features
Homeworkers need the ‘right to disconnect’ (2,069 words)
The benefits of working from home need to be weighed against pressures on employees to be ‘always available’ — leading to demands for ... Open access
Lack of recognition? (2,468 words)
Has the statutory union recognition procedure delivered ‘fairness not favours’ as promised by the Labour government that enacted it? ... Subscribers only
State aid after Brexit (1,815 words)
The government’s proposals for new post-Brexit rules applying to the award of public subsidies to businesses fall well short of union demands for a ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Failure to consider furlough meant redundancy was unfair (379 words)
A care assistant was unfairly dismissed because her employer had failed to consider whether she should have been furloughed, according to an ... Subscribers only
Decision not to cast pregnant actor in role was pregnancy discrimination (500 words)
A film production company’s decision not to cast an actor in a new series because she was pregnant was pregnancy discrimination, an employment ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Changes after TUPE (423 words)
Q. Two years ago, several employees transferred to the council from a private firm. Some of them have discovered they would be better off under the ... Subscribers only
Adjustments for interview (309 words)
Q. My manager has told me that the company is getting rid of the late shift that I currently work and has asked me to attend an interview for an ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Combining onsite working with working remotely (912 words)
This month, Back-up looks at issues around hybrid working. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
New duty will tackle sexual harassment (229 words)
Unions have welcomed news that the government will introduce a new duty on employers to protect staff from sexual harassment at work, with explicit ... Open access
Unions take stand against abuse of health workers (251 words)
Health unions have joined forces to stand up against the abuse NHS workers have faced during the pandemic. ... Subscribers only
Health and safety ‘a fundamental right’ (219 words)
Occupational health and safety must be recognised as a fundamental right, the ITUC international trade union confederation general secretary Sharan ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Ventilation can help prevent Covid spread (928 words)
Following the government’s lifting of its working from home instruction, Back-up looks at new official guidance on the ventilation of workplaces. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Disabled women report work sexual harassment (392 words)
Up to seven in 10 disabled women report being sexually harassed at work, according to a TUC poll. ... Subscribers only
Covid undermines career opportunities for young (235 words)
Up to 43% of young people feel the pandemic has harmed their long-term career prospects says research by HR professionals’ organisation, the CIPD. ... Open access
FTSE firms stall on diversity in top roles (224 words)
FTSE 100 boards have been accused of making “embarrassingly little progress” on increasing their ethnic diversity, according to the latest report ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
The future of work: what does it look like? (856 words)
Forecasts about how work will look in the years ahead are always in demand. But predictions can easily be derailed by unexpected changes or ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (447 words)
The latest evolution in workplace technology has been the move to cloud computing. It has changed the fundamentals of IT infrastructure, removing the ... Subscribers only