Pay and prices

Inflation and settlements both dip (247 words)

The 2004-05 pay round's rising trend in settlements seems to be over, with the midpoint increase on lowest basic rates in the three months ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (218 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) for the three months up to and including: ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £523.30 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (181 words)

July 04 (r) 116.4 3.3% 3.8% 2.8% 3.2% 3.7% ...

Prices (63 words)

September 2004 188.1 3.1% 1.9% ...

Inflation forecasts (29 words)

Fourth quarter 2005 ...

Bargaining news

T&G secures two deals to protect pensions (380 words)

Agreements to preserve occupational pension arrangements have been reached by the T&G transport union at two employers. ...

Asda makes U-turn on staff Christmas perk (173 words)

Supermarket chain Asda has been forced to reinstate a Christmas discount for its 140,000 staff. ...

Lecturers get new pay scale at Dundee (248 words)

Dundee University staff can look forward to salary increases of up to 24% under a new pay structure negotiated with the AUT lecturers' union. ...

Four-year deal safeguards security drivers' pay rises (438 words)

The GMB general union has negotiated a "landmark" four-year pay agreement at security firm Group 4 Securicor (G4S) Cash Services. ...

Legal victory guarantees supply teachers' pay rates (287 words)

A County Court has ruled that supply teachers must be paid at least the minimum rate set out in government guidelines. ...

North East brings up the rear in earnings league (283 words)

The average UK working week is shrinking slightly, and earnings growth among the country's lowest-paid workers isn't keeping pace with the national average. ...

Steelworkers at Heathrow win pay rise (114 words)

Steelworkers constructing Heathrow's Terminal 5 (T5) have been awarded an extra £1 an hour by the arbitration service ACAS. ...

Amicus asserts consultation rights (465 words)

Amicus manufacturing and services union has secured new agreements on information and consultation in the print industry, and is seeking to do the same ...

Equality news

Scottish study reveals extent of discrimination on mental health (642 words)

Although one in four people in Scotland will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives, a third (34%) of the ...

Gender pay gap remains a chasm (373 words)

Despite a slight narrowing in the gender pay gap, women are likely to remain on lower wages for another generation, the Equal Opportunities Commission ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Unions successfully link bargaining and organising (383 words)

Two key elements of union activity - collective bargaining and union organising - are being brought closer together in the T&G general union's national ...

Community groups are key to organising (131 words)

Unions have been told to link up with community and other groups in order to reach more workers. ...

Learning and training news

Low-skill staff need training support (410 words)

Manual workers and those lacking basic skills and qualifications are the least likely to take part in learning activities at work, according to two ...

European news

German strike improves deal on redundancy (257 words)

Workers at Infineon, the German semiconductor manufacturer, have gained substantial improvements in their redundancy settlement after a week-long strike. ...

Irish unions defer start of talks on national pay pact (307 words)

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has decided not to start talks on a new national pact covering pay and other issues. ...

Shell's Dutch employees win pension concessions (191 words)

A four-day strike at several Shell plants in the Netherlands has forced the petrochemicals company to make concessions on its pension plans. ...

French make progress on arduous working (145 words)

National-level negotiations in France on "arduous working" and how it should be dealt with may have taken a step forward this month, with the ...

Health & safety news

Only a new law will stop the workplace bullies (302 words)

Unions and campaigners have marked this year's "Ban Bullying at Work Day" by calling for workplace bullying to be outlawed. ...

Back pain hits office staff (237 words)

More than two-thirds of office workers suffer back pain - but they are not being allowed to take regular breaks to alleviate the problem. ...

PCS launches double campaign on reporting (114 words)

The PCS public services union has launched Report it!, a campaign with two related strands - one to improve the general level of reporting ...

Amicus safety reps are victimised (167 words)

Two union safety reps in Leeds have been victimised after raising concerns over fire safety at hospitals built under the Private Finance Initiative. ...

Shopworkers are in ever greater danger (109 words)

Shopworkers' union USDAW has said it is horrified by the latest retail crime figures, which show another steep rise in violence on shopworkers. ...

Features

Employment contract law (546 words)

This month's round-up includes rulings on workers' employment status and constructive dismissal. ...

Breach of contract (478 words)

Area sales manager Mr Lynch worked a five-day week. His employer proposed a change to his terms and conditions, reducing his annual holiday and ...

Continuous service (198 words)

Mrs Parkes, a care assistant at a care home, did not work fixed hours but was included on her employer's rota system and worked ...

Mutuality of obligation (176 words)

Social care worker Fiona Thomson was on the "bank" staff of a local council; the council was not obliged to provide her with work, ...

Duty of care (147 words)

Following changes to her working arrangements and problems with a school inspection, schoolteacher Suzanne Vahidi became ill and was signed off work with depression. ...

Changes to a contract (403 words)

Ms Tunnicliffe worked as a teacher with additional management responsibilities, for which she was paid extra. Following a reorganisation, her additional duties were removed; ...

Constructive dismissal (132 words)

Mrs Diffang, an experienced midwife, applied unsuccessfully for promotion on two occasions. The second time, she only heard "through the grapevine" that the post ...

Employment relationship (198 words)

When he was identified as being at risk of redundancy, Mr Middleton's employer agreed that he could take redundancy but continue to provide his ...

Cumulative conduct (193 words)

When Mr and Mrs Fergusson took over the management of a pub, their accommodation was in a poor state. Despite their complaints, the brewery ...

Employee status (156 words)

After she was dismissed from her job at a gym, Louise Hickson brought a claim for unfair dismissal. Her employer argued that she did ...

Transfer law (261 words)

This month's cases include key rulings on the date of a transfer and the effect of refusing to transfer. ...

Failure to consult (128 words)

When the cleaning contract she managed was transferred from Rentokil to MITIE, Mrs Mullineaux decided not to transfer with it. She brought a claim ...

Transfer date (195 words)

A number of civil servants were seconded to a new training and enterprise council (TEC) and later transferred to it, resigning from the civil ...

Relevant transfer (190 words)

This case was brought by teachers on a podiatry degree course offered jointly by Camden Primary Care Trust and University College London; all were ...

Refusal to transfer (180 words)

Carol Steele and Heather Lochrane worked for a medical practice which was transferred following the retirement of the practice GP. They held an initial ...

Intervention in a solicitor's practice (269 words)

Joanne Rose was employed by Ian Dodd, the sole principal of a firm of solicitors. The Law Society intervened in the practice following allegations ...

Holiday pay (227 words)

* Holiday pay averaged over only 48 weeks of the year amounted to a reduction in pay and was in breach of the Working ...

Chemical fumes to be reduced in paints (132 words)

Chemical fumes in paints and varnishes are to be restricted under new regulations arising from a European Directive. ...

REACH will benefit workers' health (107 words)

A Europe-wide law on chemical safety and testing, known as REACH, has been praised in a new report from the European TUC's safety research ...

HSC is ignoring thousands of work-related deaths (460 words)

The UK's official workplace health and safety body is ignoring thousands of work-related deaths and underestimating the true scale of workplace ill health, according ...

Official statistics reveal steep drop in enforcement (200 words)

A dramatic decline in enforcement action is undermining health and safety in workplaces, the TUC has warned. ...

Bonuses bounce back as more employers reward their staff (2711 words)

In last month's Workplace Report, we noted that many employers had supplemented their 2004-05 pay settlements with bonus payments and incentives, often introducing new ...

How safety reps are making a difference (3006 words)

Union safety reps save lives, prevent injuries and ill health and make workplaces safer. That's the conclusion from a wide range of studies by ...