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Labour Research July 2022
Court rulings on worker status in the gig economy UK courts have often ruled in favour of of gig economy workers’ entitlement to certain rights. But has this led to signifi cant change? Schools Bill: a lesson in failure? The government’s Schools Bill promises to shake up education for the better. Education unions, however, are unimpressed. The pandemic and the global response How does the UK government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic compare with that of other countries?
News
Strike-breaking agency workers plan condemned (307 words)
Unions have hit back at government plans to allow employers to bring in agency workers to fill in for striking workers.
...
Subscribers only
Company profits responsible for almost 60% of inflation (285 words)
It’s time to demand profit restraint, not wage restraint, said Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite general union last month.
... Subscribers only
DWP job losses avoidable (237 words)
The PCS civil service union has demanded the government allow civil servants to work from home rather than lose their jobs when 43 Department for ...
Open access
Social work crisis intensifies (307 words)
The crisis in social work has intensified, with social workers at breaking point, thanks to excessive workloads, high stress levels and low morale, ... Subscribers only
Workers forced to borrow money to make ends meet (213 words)
Four in 10 workers have been forced to borrow money from banks, payday lenders or family and friends to make ends meet during the past six months, ... Open access
Meals funding slammed (241 words)
Education unions have criticised the 7p per pupil increase for infant free school meals as inadequate.
... Open access
Little relief over inflation (77 words)
There will be little relief at the very slight pause in the upward path of inflation in the year to May. Last month’s official figures saw Retail ... Open access
Jobholders up but pay erratic (207 words)
The number of payrolled employees continues to increase and there have been falls in the unemployment and economic inactivity rates.
... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (410 words)
Inflation +8.2%, Average earnings +4.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Proportion of those who are union members fell in 2021 (383 words)
The proportion of employees who are union members — “union density” — slipped back from 23.7% to 23.1% in 2021, following a small increase ... Subscribers only
‘Get active’ says new leader (245 words)
Andrea Bradley, the recently elected leader of the EIS Scottish teaching union, has urged her members to “get active” in the union’s campaign ... Open access
European news
EU minimum wage rates up, but face real-terms decline (446 words)
A new study by Eurofound, the EU research agency on living and working conditions, has found that minimum wage rates went up in all but one of the EU ... Subscribers only
Main German union body wants equal status for all refugees (214 words)
The DGB main German union confederation has called for all those seeking sanctuary in Germany to have the same rights as those fleeing the war in ... Open access
Netherlands : Deliveroo case (96 words)
FNV, the largest union group in the Netherlands, has been supported by an opinion of the Dutch advocate general in its long-running case to prove ... Open access
Pay rise rejected (87 words)
Polish unions representing workers across the public sector have expressed their shock at a proposed government pay increase of 7.8% for the around ... Open access
Pensions reform (53 words)
France’s CFDT union confederation, which generally takes more moderate political positions, has toughened its line on pensions reform.
... Open access
Features
Gauging the impact of gig economy judgments (2,105 words)
Have legal cases won by gig economy workers made it any easier to challenge ‘bogus self-employment’? asks Jason Moyer-Lee.
... Subscribers only
Low marks for Schools Bill (2,706 words)
At the end of March 2022, the government published its Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All: Strong Schools with Great Teachers for your Child, ... Subscribers only
Why is UK death toll so bad? (2,181 words)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently named the UK as one of the 20 countries with the highest levels of “excess mortality” — deaths ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Adjustments failure did not make dismissal unfair (349 words)
An employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee during a dismissal process did not make the dismissal unfair, the ... Subscribers only
Covid-19: dismissal over refusal to attend work (294 words)
In the first case to reach the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considering the fairness of a dismissal where an employee raised concerns about ... Subscribers only
Guide helps in tackling sexual harassment (223 words)
The EHRC equality watchdog has published a checklist and action plan to assist employers in the hospitality industry tackle sexual harassment against ... Open access
Law Queries
Flexible working request (398 words)
n I worked from home during the pandemic. Our employer now has us all back in the office. I’d like to return to home working — I’ve asked ... Subscribers only
Redundancy payment (394 words)
n I have a member who’s been told he’s shortly being made redundant. He might have an offer of another job and wants to know if he can leave ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
What does legislation say about menopause and work? (901 words)
This is a commonly asked, and very sensible, question. The answer, though, is not easy because there is no specific legislation dealing with ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Safety jeopardised if agency ban repealed (236 words)
Lifting the ban on agency workers during strikes would be reckless and would endanger public safety, said TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak ... Open access
Union fury over partygate (280 words)
Unions have reacted angrily to the findings of the Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties held during lockdown restrictions.
... Subscribers only
PPE mismanagement (134 words)
A report by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has revealed that £4 billion of unusable personal protective equipment (PPE), bought during the ... Open access
Migrant fishers (117 words)
Migrant fishers are being subject to “systematic labour exploitation” because of loopholes in UK immigration rules the government is refusing to ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Controlling exposure risks to monkeypox (885 words)
All doctors in England must notify their local council or health protection team if they suspect a patient has monkeypox. And laboratories must ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Women of colour face racism at all job stages (375 words)
A study by gender equality campaign the Fawcett Society and the race equality think tank, the Runnymede Trust, finds that institutional racism and ... Subscribers only
TUC warns over bumper executive city bonuses (267 words)
The TUC is warning that City executives’ bumper bonuses of the pre-financial crash era are back and at a record high, rising six times faster than ... Subscribers only
Employers fail on part-time social work roles (228 words)
New research by the Social Workers Union (SWU) reports that employers are failing to advertise part-time and flexible working roles to social ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Who are the members of uk trade unions? (752 words)
The latest bulletin of official data on trade union membership in the UK estimates that the total number of union members in 2021 was 6.44 million ... Subscribers only