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Labour Research March 2025
Mind the pay gap for freelance women There is still huge inequality between the pay of men and women. And the gap is even greater for freelance and self-emloyed women
Unions respond to Labour’s NHS plan Labour’s Elective Reform Plan for the NHS has come under the union spotlight. What does the plan mean for health workers?
The long reach of long Covid Many of those with long Covid symptoms are the very key workers who kept the country going during national lockdowns
News
Dire conditions for care workers (225 words)
Migrant workers in adult social care face dire conditions, according to a new study by the UNISON public services union. ...
Open access
Higher education staff continue to push back against job cuts (316 words)
Staff at Newcastle University overwhelmingly backed industrial action in February to defend jobs. ...
Subscribers only
Fire and rescue services face new round of austerity, says union (299 words)
The government is “imposing a new round of austerity on fire and rescue”, according to the FBU firefighters’ union. ... Subscribers only
UK unions demand government action over Trump tariffs on imports (332 words)
Unions are demanding action from the government after US president Donald Trump introduced a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium into ... Subscribers only
New union plan for steel works (228 words)
Steel unions GMB, Community and Unite have put forward a new plan to keep the blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, open while the site ... Open access
Fruit pickers’ protest (236 words)
Fruit and vegetable pickers, mainly from Latin America, protested outside the Home Office last month. The workers have come to the UK on the Seasonal ... Open access
Inflation still rising (78 words)
Inflation rose unexpectedly in the 12 months to January. RPI inflation (the preferred measure of union negotiators) is now at 3.6% (up from 3.5%), ... Open access
Labour market indicators (215 words)
Earnings growth over the whole economy in the three months to December 2024 was 5.9%, up from 5.6% previously. This healthy above-inflation growth ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (420 words)
Inflation (RPI) +3.6%, Average earnings +5.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Community union partners with Google in AI skills pilot project (222 words)
Earnings growth over the whole economy in the three months to December 2024 was 5.9%, up from 5.6% previously. This healthy above-inflation growth ... Open access
Labour government has seen a ‘bumpy start’ says UNISON leader (341 words)
The Labour government has seen a “bumpy start” according to the general secretary of the country’s largest union. ... Subscribers only
Union first at US banking giant (219 words)
In an unheard-of move in the United States financial sector, employees at the JPMorgan Chase multinational services firm — and America’s biggest ... Open access
European news
Referendum campaign launched (165 words)
CGIL, Italy’s largest union confederation, last month formally launched its campaign for a yes vote in five separate referendums. The referendum ... Open access
Swedish unions grow (71 words)
The number of members in unions belonging to Sweden’s three union confederations grew in 2024, but the balance between them has shifted. ... Open access
Prime minister reopens talks on contested pension rules changes (384 words)
Unions and employers in France are revisiting discussions on pension rules changes, initially pushed through by the government in 2023 despite union ... Subscribers only
Social legislation absent from Commission’s work programme (230 words)
The 2025 work programme of the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, fails to include new social legislation — legislation that brings ... Open access
Features
Tackling the gender pay gap for freelance workers (2,129 words)
It is now more than 50 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force. But as Scotland’s Close the Gap policy body points out — one of many ... Subscribers only
Do Labour’s plans go far enough? (2,085 words)
When the Tories left office in 2024, the waiting list for National Health Service hospital treatment had soared to 7.5 million cases in England alone ... Subscribers only
The long reach of long Covid (2,162 words)
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the first UK national lockdown in response to the Covid crisis. Five years on, campaigners ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Tribunal erred in claim concerning jurisdiction (307 words)
The Employment Tribunal (ET) had jurisdiction to hear claims brought, despite there being no Acas Early Conciliation (EC). ... Subscribers only
Blacklisting case sees ruling in favour of pilots (326 words)
The Court of Appeal (CA) has held that the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, which make it unlawful to compile or use a ... Subscribers only
Protection for sponsored workers (103 words)
The Home Office has amended its guidance on the sponsorship of skilled workers and temporary workers. ... Open access
Legal Officers’ tribunal functions (129 words)
As reported in Labour Research (February 2025, page 19), new rules authorise Legal Officers to carry out various employment tribunal (ET) functions ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (779 words)
Parental leave ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Delivering on neonatal leave for working parents (890 words)
From 6 April 2025, parents of babies who are born on or after that date and admitted into neonatal care — the specialised medical attention for ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
End bus driver fatigue and stress, says unite (246 words)
Hundreds of bus drivers and their supporters last month marched through central London to protest against driver fatigue and unsafe working ... Open access
Festival workforce endures grim reality (330 words)
With the UK’s annual festival season soon to get underway, new research by the Bectu entertainment section of the Prospect specialists’ union has ... Subscribers only
Union calls for urgent action on prison violence (176 words)
The POA prison officers’ union is calling for urgent action by the prison and probation services and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to reduce ... Open access
Thumbs up for investment plans — but more is needed (419 words)
There has been a qualified welcome from unions to Labour’s infrastructure investment commitments and its plans for nuclear expansion — but they ... Subscribers only
Ban 'forever chemicals' (189 words)
The French CGT union federation has called for a ban on PFAS perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. ... Open access
‘Skills passports’ endorsed (230 words)
Unions have endorsed the UK and Scottish governments’ plans for regional skills investments and “skills passports” to help workers move between ... Open access
Equality news
Gender critical belief (119 words)
Former civil servant Eleanor Frances has secured a £116,749 settlement in a landmark employment tribunal case following allegations against her of ... Open access
Wealth inequality (98 words)
The Fairness Foundation think tank has warned that growing wealth inequality is a threat to collective wellbeing following an expert roundtable of 25 ... Open access
Widespread ageist myths prevail at work (366 words)
New research has revealed widespread ageist myths about older workers’ competency, adaptability and value in the workplace. ... Subscribers only
New advice and guidance on neurodiversity issued (228 words)
The Acas advisory, conciliation and arbitration service has published new advice and guidance on neurodiversity and the workplace. ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Ensuring remuneration for standby and callout (911 words)
Many employers require workers to be available for work callouts during specified time periods, known as being on standby. ... Subscribers only