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Workplace Report December 2021
The deals that dealt with the impact of Covid - During the pandemic the government dodged calls to improve Statutory Sick Pay, leaving it to employers and unions to fill the gaps. We look at the policies and changes which were negotiated in response to the effects of Covid-19; What unions won - In the last issue we showed the range of deals achieved in the 2020-21 pay around. Now we showcase some of the other gains won by unions; Latest case law on whistleblowing and redundancies
Pay and prices
Increases not yet definite (111 words)
There is some evidence of an upturn in settlements in our three-monthly pay medians this month (see table). That’s something we might expect given ...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline database (222 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) ... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (222 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases ... Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (33 words)
... Open access
XpertHR (21 words)
Median increases for three months to end of October 2021 ... Open access
Prices (76 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2021 forecasts (40 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Inflation surge collides with pay bargaining (648 words)
Prices are rising dramatically, putting pay negotiations under pressure, not least in the huge local government sector. The retail prices index (RPI) ...
Subscribers only
Industrial action could deliver Christmas disruption (503 words)
Warehouse workers at two of supermarket Morrisons’ northern distribution centres are currently balloting for strike action because of a below ... Subscribers only
Real Living Wage rises (299 words)
The real Living Wage set by the Living Wage Foundation has increased to £9.90, and the London Living Wage to £11.05. The new rates compare with the ... Subscribers only
National strike movement begins in universities (276 words)
The anticipated wave of university strikes is beginning, with walk-outs over three days by UCU members. The action follows separate ballots on ... Subscribers only
Bus drivers win on pay (250 words)
Bus drivers at Stagecoach in South Wales have won better pay after a 17 day long strike which caused disruption to more than 50 routes. ... Subscribers only
Scottish strike suspended (276 words)
A strike called by school cleaners, caterers, janitorial staff, refuse workers, carers, fleet maintenance workers and other local government ... Subscribers only
Action announced at hospitals (234 words)
Workers involved in recently-privatised housekeeping, cleaning, catering and car parking services at four Berkshire hospitals are ready to strike. ... Open access
Imperial Logistics pay deal (212 words)
A stunning 27% rise on the basic pay rate over two years has been agreed for lorry drivers employed by Imperial Logistics to deliver components to ... Open access
Strikes avoided at COP26 (98 words)
As unions and union confederations were preparing to take part in last month’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, an RMT pay deal with ScotRail ... Open access
Equality news
Disabled workers ‘hit hardest’ by Covid (314 words)
Disabled workers have been “hit hardest” in the wallet by Covid-19 and have faced financial hardship, increased debt and have been forced to use ... Subscribers only
Gender pay gap present in most common job roles (416 words)
Up to eight out of 10 of the UK’s most common job roles, classified as those employing 100,000 people or more, have a gender pay gap in favour of ... Subscribers only
Budget ‘papered over the cracks’ says women’s group (364 words)
In response to the 2021 spending review and autumn budget, the Women’s Budget Group (WBG), which represents academic researchers, policy experts ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Numeracy skills scheme gets guarded welcome (572 words)
Two cheers have been raised in response to the government’s announcement of a £560 million programme to support up to 500,000 adults with low ... Subscribers only
Toolkit aids apprenticeship diversity (161 words)
A toolkit to help employers and others improve the diversity of apprentices has been produced by the Social Mobility Commission. ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Union launches dedicated tech sector (240 words)
The Prospect science and specialists’ union has launched an Information Technology and Telecoms sector to help increase union organisation among ... Open access
Recognition wins (85 words)
The Unite general union has won the right to collectively bargain on behalf of security officers employed by Kingdom Services Group Limited based at ... Open access
European news
Agreements close East-West gap in Germany (581 words)
New agreements in the construction and motor industries have taken further steps to close the gap in pay and conditions between the east and the west ... Subscribers only
Digital study raises issues on the use of data (275 words)
A new study on the impact of digitalisation on work and employment has found that, in the areas examined, the overall impact was positive in terms of ... Subscribers only
Austrian metalworkers sign above-inflation deal (134 words)
The two Austrian unions representing metalworkers – PRO-GE for manual and GPA for non-manual employees – have reached agreement on pay increases ... Open access
Dutch local government reaches deal (148 words)
Unions and employers in local government in the Netherlands have reached agreement on a two-year pay settlement. ... Open access
Law - Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing (protected disclosures) — the law (417 words)
The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) protects employees and workers who disclose information about certain types of alleged wrongdoing at work ... Subscribers only
Tribunal must follow structured analysis (1,045 words)
Ayodele Martin was employed as a teacher at Evelina Hospital School. He was concerned that he and other teachers were working in excess of ... Subscribers only
Tribunal must make finding of fact before carrying out analysis (599 words)
Mr Lumb worked as an investigative support officer (ISO) within the Firearms Licensing Unit of Greater Manchester Police. ... Subscribers only
Tribunal took wrong approach on reason for dismissal (977 words)
Mr Mott was employed from 6 July to 13 November 2018 as a logistics manager by Secure Care UK Ltd, which provided transport services to NHS Trusts ... Subscribers only
Law - Redundancy
Redundancy - the law (276 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 ... Subscribers only
Enhanced redundancy payments (1,089 words)
In case 4, the EAT looks at the principles a tribunal must take into account when establishing whether there is an implied contractual term that ... Subscribers only
Collective redundancy consultation (428 words)
The Carillion group was facing serious financial difficulties from at least July 2017 and went into liquidation on 15 January 2018, making huge scale ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Unions reject compulsory jabs (283 words)
The government’s “sledgehammer approach” to Covid jabs in the NHS risks doing more harm than good, the UNISON public services union has stated. ... Subscribers only
Third of women journalists feel unsafe (202 words)
Over a third of women respondents do not feel safe operating as a journalist in the UK, according to the findings of a Home Office and DCMS digital, ... Open access
Safety concerns prompt strikes (292 words)
Unions organising across a range of sectors have reported a wave of strike action and ballots for action prompted by health and safety concerns. ... Subscribers only
Focus needed on working conditions ‘not yoga and fruit bowls’ (271 words)
Employers should avoid “lip-service, token gimmicks” like yoga and fruit bowls for all and prioritise better working conditions to improve mental ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
HSE warns mental health issues will cause health and safety crisis (342 words)
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chief executive Sarah Albon has warned of a looming health and safety crisis if employers fail to act on mental ill ... Subscribers only
Musculoskeletal disorder assessment tool (92 words)
The HSE has launched a new all-in-one digital musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) assessment tool on its website that combines the manual handling ... Open access
Safety and environmental crime penalties lag far behind other offences (309 words)
Fines for breaches of safety and environmental penalties lag far behind those for competition and financial offences, a new enforcement action ... Subscribers only
Parliamentary group calls for robust proposals on AI (276 words)
There is a growing body of evidence pointing to artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) “significant negative impacts on conditions and quality of ... Subscribers only
Features
The deals that dealt with the impact of Covid (3,223 words)
The pandemic severely tested provision for sickness-related time off work, yet the government dodged calls to improve Statutory Sick Pay, leaving it ... Subscribers only
What unions won (2,205 words)
In the last issue we showed the wide range of deals achieved by negotiators during the 2020-21 pay round. This month we showcase some of the other ... Subscribers only