Features

Key economic indicators (314 words)

KEY INDICATORS ...

Employers' deadline for stakeholder nears (697 words)

From next month employers who currently don't make any pension arrangements for their employees and fail to offer a stakeholder scheme could be liable ...

Employers ill-informed on mental health issues (417 words)

Workers with mental health problems face severe discrimination and stigma from ill-informed managers and colleagues at work, according to a recent report by the ...

HIV and social exclusion (122 words)

A new report revealing the links between HIV and social exclusion, including exclusion from employment, has been published by the HIV and Aids charity ...

Working parents expect more (108 words)

Parents' expectations of what their employers can do to help them balance work and family life have grown over the last two years, a ...

Race Relations Act anniversary events get under way in Scotland (169 words)

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in Scotland will this month mark the 25th anniversary of the passage of the 1976 Race Relations Act ...

Employers fail to block recognition (887 words)

The law on trade union recognition has been in operation for more than a year now. Back-up looks at some of the key decisions. ...

TUC attacks plans for tribunal charges (460 words)

In a move described by TUC general secretary John Monks as a "major cause for alarm" the government is proposing to charge individuals around ...

Adjourning tribunals (88 words)

Tribunals have the power to refuse to proceed with cases where they believe that the applicant has been frivolous or vexatious, for example by ...

Taxable income (67 words)

A negotiated settlement for an employee to leave work can be fully liable for tax. Unlike redundancy pay, this is not tax-free for the ...

Fair employment clause (88 words)

Following a legal opinion from a top lawyer, London major Ken Livingstone has confirmed that contractors bidding for contracts with the Greater London Authority ...

Government advisor will push for compulsory equal pay audits (166 words)

Government advisor Denise Kingsmill is expected to recommend that companies should be legally obliged to publish pay information in their annual reports. ...

Most unions report positive financial results (381 words)

Union finances overall had another healthy year, according to the certification officer's 2000-2001 annual report, which covers union accounting periods ending between October 1999 ...

Director/worker pay gap widens (1798 words)

The big earners in the boardroom's of stock exchange companies saw their pay rise by almost a fifth, with a 25% jump in the ...

Unions make net gains in learning and links (2017 words)

Trade unions are making inventive use of the internet. Labour Research focuses on the discussion around new concepts such as e-unions and virtual branches ...

Who's next to manufacture a merger? (1693 words)

The merger of the AEEU engineering and electrical union and manufacturing and finance union MSF is the biggest for several years. Labour Research looks ...

Training is crucial in tackling violence (819 words)

Workers in England and Wales experienced 1.3 million violent incidents in 1999 according to the latest figures from the British Crime Survey (BCS)1. Back-up ...

Unions work hard to revitalise safety reps (2004 words)

The government has acknowledged the important role that union safety representatives play in improving health and safety in the workplace. Labour Research looks at ...

Industrial action remains low (162 words)

The latest TUC report on ballots and industrial action, based on research carried out by the Labour Research Department, shows that while industrial action ...

New helplines for employers (86 words)

The Race Relations Employment Advisory Service, which provides free and confidential strategic advice to employers, and Equality Direct, including a telephone helpline for employers ...

Manufacturing sees no let up in jobs crisis (358 words)

With more manufacturing job losses announced in the last month, the CBI employers' body is pessimistic about the outcome for the current quarter. ...

Minimum wage repayments top £4 million in two years (254 words)

Nearly £3 million in wage arrears was recouped by minimum wage compliance officers in the 12 months to March 2001. ...

TUC report shows how temps lose out (438 words)

Temporary workers could miss out on equal rights to pay and pensions if the government waters down the implementation of the European Fixed-Term Contracts ...

Unions' election-period donations approach £3.5 million (216 words)

Seventeen trade unions provided £3.48 million of funding to the Labour Party centrally in the second half of the year, according to figures from ...

Union movement mourns Jimmy Knapp (138 words)

RMT transport union leader Jimmy Knapp died last month after a long fight against cancer. ...

Safety week focuses on accidents (148 words)

Employers do not have adequate procedures for assessing the causes of workplace accidents according to research just published by the Health and Safety Executive ...

Deaths at work show unprecented rise (375 words)

Cormack Nordon a 44-year-old electrical subcontractor died on Wednesday 1 August after he was crushed and decapitated at a Canary Wharf site in east ...

Harassment help for teachers (104 words)

Teachers' unions are tackling harassment and bullying in schools by the publication of new guidance. The NUT has just published new guidelines on harassment ...

Health and safety role for directors (138 words)

Company directors and the board members of public sector and voluntary bodies should accept their role in providing health and safety leadership in their ...

Dutch union membership rises (104 words)

The FNV, the Netherlands' largest trade union confederation, reported an increase in members last month. By 1 July 2001 membership had climbed to 1,229,400 ...

Irish call for immigration changes (137 words)

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called for new rights for those with work permits. After six months it wants the work ...

Agreement in sight on VW plan (238 words)

The German car group Volkswagen is looks set to get agreement to a controversial plan which would create 5,000 new jobs but at lower ...

Austrian unions plan for national ballot (240 words)

Later this month all members of the OGB, Austria's trade union confederation, will be asked to vote on what action to take in response ...

Study reveals women's role in French works councils (197 words)

Figures from IRES, the French trade union research organisation, show that while women seem well represented in key positions in French works councils, their ...

Unions step up their public service campaigning (470 words)

Government promises of more private sector involvement in the delivery of public services have pushed several unions in the sector into major campaigns on ...

Certification officer ends MSF enquiry (128 words)

The trade union watchdog the Certification Officer decided at the beginning of last month that the MSF science and finance union and its general ...

Jobless rate falls for ninth month running (223 words)

UK unemployment, at its lowest level for 25 years, continued to fall in July with the numbers claiming benefit shrinking by 12,800 to 950,300. ...

Holidays buck falling price trend (58 words)

The underlying rate of inflation, excluding mortgage interest payments, fell to 2.2% in July from 2.4% the previous month. The headline rate also fell ...

New Labour and Thatcherism - Political changes in Britain (162 words)

Richard Heffernan, Palgrave, 234 pages, paperback, £14.99 ...

Trade unions of the world (113 words)

Harper Publishing, 410 pages, paperback, £63.00 ...

Events (297 words)

September ...

Merseyside firefighters may strike again (223 words)

The Merseyside firefighters dispute (see August Labour Research) was settled soon after a second eight-day strike began. The dispute, which arose over the local ...

e-views (250 words)

The new Labour Research Department (LRD) website will be launched at the TUC conference later this month. ...

Law Queries

Law Queries (791 words)

* One of my members has been off sick for over a year and has now volunteered for redundancy. She was receiving occupational sick ...