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Workplace Report January 2022
In the mood for action - A new wave of strike action is sweeping the country. We look at what kind of actions are happening, what’s behind them and where they are taking place; The year ahead: the economy - Alongside Omicron, the cost of living will be a big challenge for workers and unions this year, but what else should we be looking for? Workplace Report examines the data; Latest case law on dismissal
Pay and prices
Inflation soars (117 words)
The main story this month is skyrocketing inflation. RPI is at 7.1%, with pay rises struggling to keep up. AWE show 3.8% growth in regular pay for ...
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) (237 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 November 2021 ... Open access
Prices (76 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2022 forecasts (40 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Survey respondents anticipate bumpy 2022 (799 words)
A huge survey of members’ views the Unite general union carried out in May and June last year points to a sharpening industrial situation ahead ...
Subscribers only
Civil service union to ballot all members (322 words)
In December, the Public and Commercial Services Union’s (PCS’s) national executive committee voted to ballot all members on pay, pensions and ... Subscribers only
Barts workers ready to strike (275 words)
Hundreds of key NHS workers across three London hospitals have returned a 97% “yes” vote in favour of industrial action and are due to strike in ... Subscribers only
Bank workers push for four day week (170 words)
Staff at Lloyds Bank are pushing the UK mortgage and banking giant to implement a four day working week with no reduction in pay. ... Open access
Consultation over Land Registry changes (273 words)
PCS members at HM Land Registry were balloted last month about an updated business strategy agreement and improved protections over the use of data. ... Subscribers only
Tesco distribution workers consider new deal (300 words)
Planned Christmas walkouts in 13 of retail giant Tesco’s distribution centres have been narrowly avoided after the company tabled a new pay deal. ... Subscribers only
Fire and rehire battle continues (206 words)
The fight against fire and rehire continues into 2022. In December, more than 1,500 workers at construction materials firm Marshalls were handed ... Open access
Members challenge plan to alter Aston Martin pension scheme (199 words)
Plans to close a defined benefit (DB, career average) pension scheme at Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd are being challenged by Unite, which says the move ... Open access
Plan B reignites DWP working from home row (295 words)
Plans to bring more Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff back into the office were thrown into reverse last month by the new Omicron wave of ... Subscribers only
Equality news
‘Striking’ rise in mothers joining workforce (578 words)
The pandemic has pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market but there has been a striking rise in the participation of mothers with ... Subscribers only
Up to 60% would change job for better parental leave (183 words)
Up to 60% of parents or expectant parents would switch jobs for better parental leave, a survey by financial services company Virgin Money has found. ... Open access
Young women’s gender pay gap expected to rise (331 words)
Equal Pay Day fell on 18 November last year, according to women’s rights campaigning group The Fawcett Society. The day marks the point in the year ... Subscribers only
Learning and training news
Ofsted lays out damage Covid has done to learning (395 words)
Further evidence of the Covid pandemic’s damaging effect on apprenticeships and other skills learning has come in the recently published Ofsted ... Subscribers only
Green skills needed (126 words)
Seafarers’ union Nautilus International has called on maritime employers and government to fund the retraining of Merchant Navy officers in the use ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
New disputes unit reinforces ‘back to workplace’ push (398 words)
General union Unite has set up a dedicated “disputes unit” to help ensure “every step is taken to win disputes for our workers,” says general ... Subscribers only
Stobart warehouse workers gain recognition (115 words)
The United Road Transport Union (URTU) has won union statutory recognition on behalf of 51 Eddie Stobart warehouse operatives employed at Kilsby in ... Open access
European news
EU bodies accept need for minimum wage legislation (498 words)
Both the directly elected European Parliament and the Council of the EU, made up of representatives of national governments, have agreed that EU-wide ... Subscribers only
German health workers’ pay to rise (269 words)
Ver.di, the German services union, has agreed a new settlement with employers in regional government, which provides significant pay improvements for ... Subscribers only
Italian deal halts ‘Black Friday’ strike (112 words)
An agreement signed by the Italian transport unions and the employers’ association for the delivery sector on 25 November 2021 has resulted in a ... Open access
French minister pressures low-paying industries (102 words)
Since the start of December, the French minister of labour Élisabeth Borne has been calling in unions and employers in low-paying industries and ... Open access
Average 3% increase for Austria’s public sector (60 words)
Following the 3.55% increase in the metalworking industry, unions covering the public sector in Austria have signed an agreement providing an average ... Open access
Law - Dismissal
Dismissal - the law (385 words)
The law on unfair dismissal is contained in Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 96). ... Subscribers only
Reckless breach of policy justified dismissal (1,876 words)
Mr Thompson was employed as a vice-president UK & Ireland by Informatica Software Ltd (IS Ltd). IS Ltd enters into data management contracts with ... Subscribers only
Employer should have investigated cause of behaviour (659 words)
Mr Daley worked as a warehouse supervisor for Vodafone in Burnley from 6 November 2014. On 4 October 2018 he had an argument with another employee, ... Subscribers only
Tribunal wrong to find dismissal for failed drugs test unfair (1,020 words)
Carl Pamment was employed by waste management company Renewi from 2010, when his employment was transferred under the Transfer of Undertakings ... Subscribers only
Tribunal’s dismissal of automatically unfair dismissal claim was perverse (871 words)
John Stone started work as a scaffolder’s labourer on 31 October 2017. He worked on different sites and was paid fluctuating amounts, though often ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Unions call for better Plan B (335 words)
The Unite general union called on the government to introduce effective measures to protect those who cannot work from home after it announced Covid-1 ... Subscribers only
TUC launches sexual harassment toolkit (241 words)
A new TUC toolkit aims to help workplace reps prevent sexual harassment before it happens. It sets out five equally important and interlinked steps ... Open access
Employers ‘should fund night-time facilities’ (172 words)
One in nine people in the UK now work at night, the highest proportion of the workforce since ONS office for national statistics records began in 2005 ... Open access
Education unions want dedicated Plan B for schools and colleges (267 words)
Following the government’s Plan B announcement, the NEU education union said it had made no mention of schools and called for an immediate Plan B ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
HSE confirms under-reporting of work-related Covid cases (390 words)
New Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics reveal a “substantial fall” in enforcement activity, with the number of cases prosecuted – or ... Subscribers only
Pregnant women ‘unsafe and unsupported’ during pandemic (354 words)
More than a third (36%) of pregnant women fear losing their jobs over Covid safety concerns, according to a new survey by the Maternity Action ... Subscribers only
HSE updates advice for employers on suicide (273 words)
The HSE’s redesigned and updated work-related stress and mental health web pages now include guidance for employers on suicide prevention. Safety ... Subscribers only
Features
In the mood for action (2,490 words)
A new wave of strike action is sweeping the country as growing numbers of workers feel they have no choice but to take collective industrial action. ... Subscribers only
The year ahead: the economy (2,350 words)
Alongside Omicron, the cost of living will be a big challenge for workers and unions this year, but what else should we all be watching out for? ... Open access