Pay and prices

Analysts find pay deals steady at around 3% (193 words)

The latest figures from the LRD PayLine database show that settlements for the three months to January 2004 have a median (midpoint) level of ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (219 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) ...

Other pay analysts (30 words)

Confederation of British Industry (manufacturing, three months to Nov 2003) 3.2% ...

Average earnings indices (155 words)

Oct 02 (r) 109.0 3.7 3.9 3.7 3.6 4.2 ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £486.30 ...

Inflation forecasts (32 words)

RPI forecasts (and underlying inflation - excluding mortgage interest payments) ...

Prices (60 words)

December 02 178.5 2.9 2.7 ...

Bargaining news

Female finance staff aren't in the money (258 words)

Unions are working with the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to reduce the massive gender pay gap in the financial services sector. ...

Adoption leave improvements (185 words)

General improvements in leave for working parents have brought changes for adoptive parents too. The October pay deal at Devonport Royal Dockyard brought enhancements ...

Pay Review Bodies recommend limited rises (343 words)

Four Pay Review Bodies published their recommendations earlier this month, and in every case they come forward with proposals below or very close to ...

"0%" pay rise provokes NI civil service strike action (369 words)

A pay dispute over "cost-of-living" rises and salary increments has led to strike action in the Northern Ireland civil service, affecting up to 20,000 ...

Higher pay and reduced hours for lorry drivers (144 words)

Hourly pay rates for lorry drivers at AF Blakemore rose by around 27% this month, as the March 2005 deadline for implementing the Road ...

Lump sum plus 5% pay rise at Scottish Water (93 words)

Employees at Scottish Water have agreed a new package developed with the GMB, TGWU, UNISON and Amicus unions. ...

Unions urge councils to set £6 minimum wage (360 words)

Unions representing 1.2 million workers in local authorities across England and Wales are calling for a pay rise of 4% plus £200, with a ...

Pensions Bill concerns (375 words)

The Pensions Bill published this month provides new safeguards for employees whose companies go bust from now on. But it does nothing for those ...

Survey to probe British employment relations and practices (202 words)

Over the next seven months, the National Centre for Social Research will be contacting managers, employees and union/employee representatives to encourage participation in the ...

Equality news

Employers wary of recruiting and retaining disabled workers (508 words)

Nearly all employers in a recent survey by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said that they always seek to recruit the best ...

Local authorities slow to tackle gender pay inequality (188 words)

The GMB general union has published research showing that fewer than one in five local authorities has implemented provisions in the single status agreement ...

Council women win right to bonuses and allowances (221 words)

Women council workers have won an equal pay case that could cost their employer more than £30 million. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Recruitment campaign wins full collective bargaining rights (343 words)

Workers at cabin-making firm Omar Woodbury near Sheffield now have full collective bargaining rights for their union, after a recruitment campaign took union density ...

Learning and training news

Crime survey reveals lack of training to deal with retail sector violence (305 words)

Two-thirds of British workers whose job involves contact with the public have not received any form of training in how to deal with violent ...

English for speakers of other languages (145 words)

The TUC is running a workshop on 5 March aiming to raise awareness of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). ...

European news

Late increases squeeze through Dutch pay freeze (456 words)

Two major multinationals, the electronics company Philips and the oil giant Shell, have just agreed increases for their Dutch workforces, despite the pay freeze ...

Spanish bank agreement finally signed (267 words)

The banking sections of Spain's two main union confederations, CCOO and UGT, have finally reached agreement on pay increases in the private banking sector. ...

German metalworkers settle (257 words)

IG Metall, the German metalworkers union, has gained above-inflation pay increases for around 3.4 million employees in the metalworking and electrical industry but has ...

Law - Dismissal

Dismissal and redundancy law (518 words)

This month Workplace Report updates readers on key developments in unfair dismissal and redundancy law. Key cases focus on sickness and dismissal and the ...

Dismissed for taking a holiday (149 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Dismissed for leaving a train (110 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Demotion did not terminate original contract (90 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Length of service (144 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Dismissal for using bad language (147 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Sickness absence and dismissal (99 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Reasonable employer test (167 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Reasonable investigation (142 words)

Case 8: The facts ...

Contractual notice (99 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Midwives are the most abused workers in NHS (249 words)

Midwives report more incidents of harassment than any other group of workers in the NHS, according to a report by the Institute of Employment ...

Amicus wins tribunal case for safety rep to attend advanced TUC training (117 words)

Amicus manufacturing and services union has won an employment tribunal case for a safety rep to attend an advanced TUC course. ...

ISTC resources (81 words)

Community union ISTC has produced some new resources to help its members with safety at work. ...

Bus driver fights for toilets (100 words)

A former bus driver whose health was ruined by the lack of toilets on routes is launching legal action against bus company First Bus. ...

Union condemns "appalling" death rate (92 words)

Construction union UCATT has condemned an "appalling" upturn in the number of sites deaths. Since last April at least 53 construction workers have been ...

Features

Disability law (331 words)

* The refusal to extend the sick pay entitlement of a disabled employee can amount to less favourable treatment under disability discrimination law (case ...

Constructive dismissal (270 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Defining disability (125 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Duty on employer (186 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Requirement for adjustments (247 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Test for justification (196 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Holiday pay (349 words)

Where a worker is on a series of fixed-term contracts, even with a break between them, statutory holidays and holiday pay is based on ...

Industrial action (164 words)

Workers have a legal right to take industrial action over terms and conditions, even if they are not their own. ...

Establishing European works councils (156 words)

The European Court of Justice has ruled on which body has responsibility for the establishment of the EWC. ...

Don't be a mucus trooper, says TUC (253 words)

Three out of four workers have been to work when they are ill, according to a TUC poll published last month. ...

Select committee will investigate HSE and HSC (196 words)

The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has launched an inquiry into the HSC and HSE. ...

HSE to blitz construction site over manual handling (204 words)

HSE inspectors will carry out an inspection blitz of construction sites in London and the South East during March, as part of a new ...

Rail safety watchdog "must be independent" (163 words)

Rail safety must be independent, according to Bill Callaghan, chair of the HSE, after the government announced a fundamental review of rail regulation in ...

Construction firm fined £1 million (111 words)

Nishimatsu Construction Company Ltd has been fined £700,000 and ordered to pay costs of £145,000 following a tunnel blow-out during construction of the Lewisham ...

HSE materials on falls from height in schools (98 words)

The HSE and three local education authorities have produced a poster and leaflet on falls from height in schools. Teachers and classroom assistants from ...

Travel allowances survey finds bicycle benefits on increase (2958 words)

It is 10 years since we last looked at travel allowances and there have been several changes and some new developments. Many employers have ...

Pre-retirement schemes must offer employees more choice (2266 words)

Many employers now offer "pre-retirement" or "run-down" schemes to help older employees prepare themselves for the transition from work. Workplace Report describes some of ...