Pay and prices

Inflation catches up with pay rises (220 words)

The end of the current pay round saw a slight slowing in the rate of pay increases, according to the LRD PayLine database of ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (216 words)

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

Other pay analysts (23 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end June 2004) 3.0% ...

Average earnings indices (154 words)

Apr 03 (r) 110.7 2.5 2.7 2.6 1.8 5.2 ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £500.50 ...

Prices (59 words)

June 03 181.3 2.9 2.8 ...

Inflation forecasts (29 words)

Fourth quarter 2004 ...

Bargaining news

New pay deal fails to avert BA disruption (506 words)

A pay agreement at British Airways (BA) has averted strike action by check-in staff and baggage handlers - but the airline has still suffered ...

Change of contractors leads to Wembley dispute (232 words)

A dispute has flared up at the new Wembley stadium after one of the contractors sacked over 200 building workers. ...

Turner & Newall pension scheme faces collapse (176 words)

The US owners of car parts manufacturer Turner & Newall, which employs 4,000 people in 11 plants across the UK, have failed to improve ...

Eurostar fails to shine (220 words)

Following strike action by about 160 Eurostar customer services and platform staff at Waterloo and Ashford stations over the bank holiday weekend, the RMT ...

One million workers delay retirement (286 words)

While business leaders continue to call for the state pension age (SPA) to be raised, over a million workers in the UK are already ...

Firefighters' dispute ends with double pay rise (425 words)

Fire service employers finally agreed on 26 August to release outstanding pay rises, due under the June 2003 pay settlement that ended the last ...

Two-day strike at prisons (150 words)

Maintenance staff in the Amicus, T&G, GMB and UCATT unions have held a 48-hour walkout at more than 130 prisons in England and Wales. ...

Late-night workers gain in BBC deal (94 words)

Members of the BECTU, NUJ and Amicus unions at the BBC and BBC Broadcast Ltd have accepted a 2.9% pay increase. ...

Equality news

Poll shows demand for improved parental leave (354 words)

The majority of people would like to see working parents given more paid time off, according to an opinion poll for the Guardian newspaper. ...

Employers unaware of pregnant workers' rights (357 words)

Research by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has uncovered a lack of understanding among employers, particularly in smaller workplaces, of their duties to pregnant ...

Prison staff are freed from inequality (257 words)

An employment tribunal has ruled in favour of 1,957 equal pay cases in the Prison Service. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

T&G campaign proves a success (226 words)

More than 200 workplace campaigns are now running across the UK as part of the T&G general union's "100% membership campaign", and a new ...

Turn on and tune in to UNISON (194 words)

The 1.3 million-strong public services union UNISON is calling on its activists to make use of its "biggest-ever recruitment campaign" - which is to ...

Learning and training news

The fruits of learning (290 words)

Employees at dried fruit company Sundora Foods will soon be able to make use of learning opportunities at their workplace. ...

Reps' course goes online (100 words)

An updated version of the TUC's Union Learning Representative (ULR) course is now available as both a five-day "classroom" programme and a 30-hour online ...

European news

Spain moves up EU minimum wage league (614 words)

Both France and Spain increased their minimum wage levels in July, but only in Spain does this affect its position relative to other European ...

Foreign retail workers can accumulate leave (80 words)

Immigrant workers in Italy can now accumulate their holiday entitlement for up to two years, making it easier for them to visit their countries ...

Dutch workers get €500 for not being sick (98 words)

Some 5,200 Heineken brewery employees in the Netherlands are to get a one-off payment of €500 next January, if the level of sickness absence ...

Employers reject change to EWC rules (127 words)

The European employers' association UNICE has come out against any changes in the directive on European works councils (EWCs). It only wants non-binding, best-practice ...

Law - Dismissal

Dismissal law (647 words)

This month's key unfair dismissal cases focus on the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the date when a resignation takes effect. ...

Human rights/dismissal rights (201 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

"Last straw" (235 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Delayed resignation (183 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Actions prior to dismissal (214 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Conduct dismissal (128 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Resignation by fax (155 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Dismissal/resignation dates (251 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Procedural errors (111 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Disciplinary appeals (199 words)

Case 11: The facts ...

Injury to feelings (106 words)

Case 12: The facts ...

Calculating compensation (95 words)

Case 13: The facts ...

Looking for other work (99 words)

Case 14: The facts ...

Purpose of compensation (175 words)

Case 15: The facts ...

Law - Redundancy

Redundancy law (426 words)

Recent rulings on redundancy consider redundancy pay rights and whether a reorganisation can amount to a redundancy. ...

Time limits (121 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Duty to consult (160 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Test for redundancy (127 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Termination date (103 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Entitlement to enhanced pay (110 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Job security is crucial to reducing ill health (392 words)

Jobs should be made as secure as possible to reduce the burden of ill health in the workforce and reduce health service use, according ...

Amicus seeks Canadian-style law on bullying (236 words)

A new law on "psychological harassment at work" in the Canadian province of Quebec shows that bullying can be regulated, claims the skilled and ...

CWU slams Royal Mail sickness gimmick (106 words)

Communications union CWU has condemned Royal Mail plans to create a prize draw for workers who are not ill over the next six months. ...

You bet your life? (85 words)

Betting-shop employers should not gamble with their workers' safety, warns new union Community. ...

The union effect (79 words)

The best tool to ensure good health and safety at work is trade unions, the TUC has long argued. And to help reps make ...

Features

Deduction from compensation (211 words)

Case 10: The facts ...

Select committee report vindicates unions (217 words)

Union concerns about the role of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) have been vindicated by a House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee ...

HSE staff burn payslips in protest at enforced deal (217 words)

Workers at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have undertaken a series of protests across the country following a decision by management to impose ...

Unions express anger at rail safety switch (164 words)

Unions have warned that rail safety could suffer when the government switches responsibility from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to the Office of ...

Corporate manslaughter law slips again (114 words)

The government now says the draft corporate manslaughter law will not appear until late this year. ...

Local authority inspections down again (72 words)

There has been another fall in the number of health and safety inspections and prosecutions by local authorities. ...

New guidance on accident investigation (77 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a new guide to investigating accidents and incidents, including near misses. ...

Another year of living dangerously (3273 words)

The past year has seen significant advances in health and safety law, particularly in relation to civil liability, work-related driving, working time and asbestos ...

Pay restructuring helps maintain rise in public sector earnings (2235 words)

Despite a stormy industrial relations climate in parts of the public sector, earnings are continuing to rise more rapidly than in the private sector ...

London weighting at Royal Mail (145 words)

The feature on London weighting in July's Workplace Report accidentally omitted the agreement reached at Royal Mail UK on 3 November 2003. ...