News

Councils oppose ID card use (253 words)

The city councils of Oxford, Norwich and York have all passed motions against the introduction of identity (ID) cards, saying they will not use ...

Boost for low-paid at end of key civil service dispute (316 words)

Last month employees at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new three-year pay deal, bringing to an ...

Tribunal upholds sacking of BNP bus driver (183 words)

The UNISON public services union has welcomed an employment tribunal decision that a bus driver was lawfully sacked for being a member of the ...

Watchdog warns on PFI profits (98 words)

A report last month from the public finance watchdog the National Audit Office reveals the scale of profits made by companies in one of ...

Rallies build support for public sector pensions strike action (405 words)

Last month thousands of public sector workers around the country joined rallies opposing government plans for cut to public sector pensions. ...

Union attacks poverty pay of Parliament's cleaners (135 words)

The Transport and General Workers' Union has mounted a campaign against the "poverty pay" of Parliament's contract cleaners. ...

Housing and health bosses enjoy pay surge (141 words)

Last year, chief executives in the NHS and housing associations saw their pay rises outstrip those of their employees. ...

Inflation rate dips (67 words)

Cheaper clothing and footwear along with falling transport costs helped cut inflation in January. The Retail Prices Index rose by 3.2% compared to 3.5% ...

Jobless total edges upwards (200 words)

Unemployment under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count rose by 32,000 to 1.4 million in the three months to December 2004 compared with the ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (319 words)

December 2003 3.5 3.3 3.5 3.2 4.3 3.3 ...

Union news

Three-way mega-merger talks still on the cards (547 words)

Formation of a giant 2.6 million-member union was in the balance last month after the GMB general union kept open the option of joining ...

Two top posts go to local activists (228 words)

Two recent elections for union deputy and assistant general secretaries have seen local activists beat national officers. ...

European news

Commission sets out social plans (217 words)

The European Commission last month published its five-year social agenda. This sets out what it plans to do in a range of employment and ...

French unions resist government on 35 hours (264 words)

The French government is pressing ahead with its proposals to reduce the impact of the 35-hour limit to the working week despite massive protests ...

ETUC welcomes decision to revise services directive (328 words)

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has welcomed the European Commission's decision to take a new approach to the services directive. ...

Features

How to bridge the gender pay gap (1429 words)

Unions are marking the 35th anniversary of the introduction of equal pay and sex discrimination legislation by demanding urgent action to address what education ...

Women could plug building skills gap (1488 words)

According to the official Labour Force Survey 2003, there are 198,800 women working in construction, which seems rather impressive until you discover that the ...

Making race and gender safety issues (1680 words)

We simply don't know enough about the health and safety of minority ethnic women at work - but what we do know is that ...

Labour still fails means test (1402 words)

Next month millions of pensioners, low-paid workers, the unemployed and people with disabilities will see their state benefits and tax credits rise. Over the ...

Law Matters

TUC warns employers against "love contracts" (319 words)

Employers are increasingly trying to restrict or control relationships between their staff by introducing policies governing workplace romances, the TUC says. ...

"No redundancy" agreements were not legally binding (317 words)

An employer's agreement not to impose compulsory redundancies did not amount to a contractual term, the Court of Appeal has held. ...

Big equal pay win for UNISON (97 words)

Public services union UNISON says it is on the verge of settling one of the biggest-ever equal value pay claims, on behalf of workers ...

First successful case under sexual orientation law (135 words)

A manager has been awarded compensation of more than £35,000 for constructive dismissal and discrimination following persistent harassment by senior management and other members ...

Law Queries

Access to personnel records (139 words)

Q. Please can you advise me regarding the general rules on whether or not an employee can access his/her own personnel file? ...

Paternity leave (105 words)

Q. Are there particular provisions that apply to paternity leave for a second child? ...

Sickness absence (350 words)

Q. A member has had persistent sickness absences over the past 12 months, consisting of odd days here and there - these have totalled ...

Pregnancy-related illness (162 words)

Q. Is our employer allowed to implement the sickness absence policy for a pregnant employee? One of our members has had a number of ...

Law Back-up

EAT issues guidance on rolled-up holiday pay (933 words)

The Working Time Regulations were brought in to implement the European Working Time Directive (WTD). This states that every worker is entitled to at ...

Health & Safety Matters

Most of us are sick of work (97 words)

More than half of workers believe they suffer ill health due to work, according to researchers from the Work Life Balance Centre. ...

Passive smoking risks confirmed (77 words)

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has confirmed that passive smoking at work is associated with respiratory conditions and lung cancer. ...

Good job, good health (82 words)

Job satisfaction has an important effect on workers' health, according to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). ...

Benefit plans "will push sick people back to work" (367 words)

Incapacity benefit for new claimants will be cut unless they attend interviews designed to make them fit for work, under proposals published last month ...

Campaigners secure changes to employee liability clause (214 words)

Concerns about employee liability for accidents at work will require changes to health and safety regulations, according to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC). ...

Health & Safety Back-up

PMS is a workplace issue, say campaigners (826 words)

Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) can be very debilitating, with some women unable to work normally for days during their cycle. Women may experience extreme emotions ...

Equality news

Pregnancy discrimination is rife (105 words)

Around 30,000 women are sacked, made redundant or leave their jobs because of pregnancy discrimination every year, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has revealed. ...

New advice for employers of Jews (131 words)

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has published a new pamphlet giving guidance on the legal framework and workplace arrangements affecting the employment ...

Employers receive advice on transsexual workers (290 words)

The government's Women and Equality Unit has produced a guide for employers on gender reassignment, covering the relevant UK law and the issues that ...

Flexible working can reduce stigma of part-timers, says EOC (358 words)

Flexible working practices need to be opened up at all levels of the economy if the disadvantage and stigma faced by part-time workers is ...

Workplace Back-up

TUC urges caution over LGBT monitoring (881 words)

Since December 2003, workers have been protected against discrimination in employment and training on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The Employment Equality (Sexual ...

News from LRD

Labour Research - change of editor (76 words)

Clare Ruhemann is taking a break from editing Labour Research. Over the next 12 months she will be concentrating more on research work and ...

Contracts booklet (105 words)

Contracts of employment - a legal guide is LRD's latest booklet covering a key area of employment law. Despite the increase in statutory employment ...

LRD AGM (47 words)

The 2005 Labour Research Department annual general meeting will be held on Monday 18 April from 2.00pm at the Association of London Government, 591/2 ...

Reviews

Green alternatives to globalisation: a manifesto (150 words)

Michael Woodin and Caroline Lucas, Pluto Press, 256 pages, paperback, £11.99 ...

Working time and workers' preferences in industrialised countries (162 words)

Jon Messenger ed, Routledge, 256 pages, hardback, £75 ...

Globalising resistance - the state of struggle (143 words)

Francois Polet and Cetri, Pluto Press, 328 pages, paperback, £16.99 ...

E-views

e-views (319 words)

Health and safety is a field which can produce a lot of breaking news. Unfortunately this is often missed by union websites whose health ...