Pay and prices

Prices inch up as settlements slow down (227 words)

The latest figures from our Payline database show a median increase for the three months to June of 3.3% - slightly down on the ...

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 May 2005) 3.0% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £527.10 ...

Average earnings indices (157 words)

Mar 04 (r) 116.2 5.1 3.0 5.0 4.9 4.6 ...

Prices (60 words)

retail % ...

Inflation forecasts (29 words)

Fourth quarter 2005 ...

Bargaining news

Broadcasting unions settle BBC pay dispute (326 words)

Broadcasting union BECTU's members at the BBC have voted by a 97% majority to accept the broadcaster's latest pay offer. The NUJ journalists' union ...

Casino workers' nerve holds for a big payout (225 words)

Employees of Stanley Casino, the UK's largest casino operator, have won a backdated pay deal after overwhelmingly rejecting an inferior offer just one week ...

Post Office workers get sales support (253 words)

Employees of the Post Office are to receive support to help them adjust to new, more sales-oriented roles. ...

Low-paid workers get up to 6% in Scottish deals (326 words)

The T&G general union has successfully negotiated substantial percentage pay rises for hundreds of employees earning little more than the national minimum wage at ...

More pay and lower hours for university support staff (418 words)

University support staff including cleaners, cooks and porters have been offered pay rises of well over 10% in some cases, following negotiations described as ...

Employers are getting little better, says WERS (739 words)

Two-thirds of British employers do not engage in any form of consultation or negotiation with their employees, according to detailed new government research. ...

Private sector services pay is up by 3% (136 words)

Non-manual employees in the private sector received a median increase in basic pay of 3% in the year to 8 June 2005, according to ...

Securicor staff settle for 3.6% (100 words)

Members of the CWU communication workers' union at Securicor Cash Centres have voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay deal which the union says will ...

Equality news

Academics end career-break discrimination (245 words)

Discrimination against female academic researchers is to be tackled through new measures being introduced to the assessment and funding system. ...

Sexual orientation rights are being put into practice (407 words)

Unions are making the most of recent employment regulations on sexual orientation, by securing pension rights for same-sex partners and developing policies to tackle ...

Website raises the profile of Deaf people at work (259 words)

Information about Deaf people at work and British Sign Language (BSL) is now available online. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Recruitment efforts pay off for most workplace reps (363 words)

Fewer than two in five UK employees have access to union workplace reps, according to a major study published this month. ...

M&S rumours boost USDAW membership (100 words)

Shopworkers' union USDAW has launched a national recruitment campaign at Marks & Spencer, following reports that the retail chain is planning to alter the ...

Learning and training news

Give unions bargaining rights on training issues (332 words)

The TUC has raised concerns about aspects of the government's new white paper, Skills: getting on in business, getting on at work. ...

Learners are bringing home the bacon (105 words)

Learning reps from the T&G general union, supported by senior shop stewards at Pork Farms Bowyers in Nottingham, have helped the company's workers to ...

European news

Papermakers adopt national pay deal (171 words)

Papermakers in Finland finally reached agreement on a new pay deal at the start of this month following a bitter struggle which, with strikes ...

German builders return to a 40-hour working week (599 words)

Germany's 700,000 building workers will in future have to work 40 rather than 39 hours a week, for no extra pay. ...

5.5% rise in French minimum wage (264 words)

The hourly minimum wage in France has gone up by 5.5% this month, from €7.61 to €8.03. This means that all workers on a ...

Features

Contract law (555 words)

This month's cases include rulings on restrictive clauses and on continuity in casual contracts. ...

Duty of care (133 words)

Mr Struth, a motorman on board a ship, brought a claim for constructive dismissal, saying that he was unable to continue working under a ...

Foreseeable injury (144 words)

This case involved appeals arising from six different claims that involved depressive illness brought about by stress at work. ...

Casual contracts (192 words)

Home tutor Mrs Prater worked on short-term teaching assignments for an education authority over a number of years; sometimes there were gaps between the ...

Contract changes (213 words)

Ms Bushaway started work for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as a temp through an employment agency, as there was a job freeze ...

Contract terms (162 words)

Dr Qasim, a specialist registrar, was appointed on a one-year contract. When his employment ended, he brought a claim for breach of contract, on ...

Holiday rights and absence (164 words)

A number of cases were stayed pending a decision by the Court of Appeal on whether the right to four weeks' paid annual leave ...

Modern apprenticeships (138 words)

Mr Flett worked for EAB Electrics and entered into an individual learning plan as part of a modern apprenticeship. This included an element of ...

Location of employment (143 words)

Mr Crofts and his colleagues worked as pilots for an airline registered in Hong Kong. The issue was whether they could claim UK employment ...

Triangular relationships (287 words)

David Astbury worked for the company Gist through an employment agency, creating a "triangular relationship" of agency, worker and end user. The agency put ...

Restrictions post employment (193 words)

Simon Morgan, an equity derivatives broker specialising in one financial market, was regarded as extremely competent in his job and had built up good ...

Holidays and contracts (196 words)

Derek Cook and 265 colleagues brought a claim over entitlement to statutory holidays. ...

Unreasonable contract terms (126 words)

Three employees were dismissed for refusing to sign new contracts that contained clauses restricting the kind of work they could do if they left. ...

Description of a worker (196 words)

Two workers called Miller brought claims for outstanding holiday pay. To succeed, they had to first show that they were "workers" and not self-employed. ...

Failure to follow procedures (128 words)

Miss Stanley made numerous complaints of bullying and harassment over a period of time. When the situation still did not improve, she resigned and ...

Agencies and control (188 words)

Mr Bunce, a welder, worked for a rail company through an agency. He brought a claim of unfair dismissal, but an employment tribunal held ...

Transfer law (213 words)

Rulings this month cover retirement ages and deciding whether employees have transferred. ...

Changes to contracts and TUPE (218 words)

A number of pilots and cabin crew were transferred to British Airways from British Caledonian. British Airways had a retirement age of 55, while ...

Identifying transferred staff (225 words)

Clifford Williams was employed by an engineering company. The engineering design contract on which he was working came to an end, and he moved ...

Length of cessation of business (290 words)

Mrs Rose was a legal secretary for a firm of solicitors. The Law Society intervened in the practice as a result of the managing ...

Delay to TUPE regulations (43 words)

The new TUPE regulations, due to come into force on 1 October 2005, have been delayed owing to the large number of responses to ...

New safety laws on the statute book, but who will enforce them? (3206 words)

The Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) Strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond was launched in 2004. Unions ...

First aid training has wider safety benefits (117 words)

Over half a million workers received first aid training in the period 2001-03, according to new research by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). ...

Falls from height are still a problem (130 words)

The number of injuries arising through falls from height is decreasing but still unacceptably high, according to the HSE. ...

HSE provides guidance on stress risk assessments (327 words)

Safety reps must persuade their employers to implement the new stress management standards produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the TUC has ...

Unions back HSE injury campaign (247 words)

Unions are taking the lead in supporting a new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) campaign to reduce back injury at work. ...

Vibration regulations look shaky (116 words)

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 have now come into force, requiring employers for the first time to take specific action in ...

New bands but no more brass as local councils review pay rates (2845 words)

The process of re-shaping local government pay in England and Wales under the 1997 "Green Book" single status agreement has so far made only ...