Issue 39

Avoidance by business helps widen tax gap (291 words)

The tax gap widened to £42 billion in 2008-09, the latest government figures show. But unions say the sum is much larger. ...

Missing the benefits of working from home (480 words)

Nearly one in five workers wants to work from home but is being prevented from doing so by their employer, says the TUC. ...

Pension provision is sadly declining (317 words)

Less than one in three private sector firms is making some form of pension provision for its workforce, according to research from the Department ...

Misplaced confidence in schools on asbestos (292 words)

The government and its safety watchdog have “misplaced” confidence in the ability of schools to safety manage asbestos, the NUT teaching union has said. ...

Balance of payments shows improvement (357 words)

Britain’s trading with the rest of the world improved in the second quarter of 2010, according to early estimates from the Office for National ...

Two councils announce more job cuts (173 words)

Sheffield City Council has issued redundancy notices to 8,500 staff. ...

Europe sets out five-year plan on equality (188 words)

A five-year strategy for promoting equality between women and men in Europe has been adopted by the European Commission. ...

Issue 38

Fixed-term council tenancies attacked (474 words)

The idea, put forward in August by David Cameron, that fixed-term tenancies should be introduced for all social housing has been branded as “a ...

Directors’ pay ratchets up with openness? (278 words)

A director, who helps set the pay and bonus policies of the nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland, has blamed the public disclosure of boardroom ...

Minimum wage rises but irregularities occur (516 words)

The minimum wage rises from 1 October. The adult rate will rise by 2.2% to £5.93 an hour from £5.80. In addition, the adult ...

TUC worries over cuts to skills budget (344 words)

Unskilled workers will bear the brunt of cuts to the skills budget and any watering down of the new right to request time off ...

Mixed fortunes for UK's economic recovery (148 words)

The UK economy is expected to grow at a slightly faster pace in 2010 than had been expected. But the pace of recovery looks ...

Earnings index shows rise on its swansong (410 words)

Average earnings rose for the third consecutive month. Average earnings for the whole economy rose by 2.6% in July against a revised figure of ...

Issue 37

Mail privatisation is politically motivated (99 words)

Royal Mail is a successful and modernising company and the coalition’s plans to privatise it are politically motivated, say the CWU communication workers’ union. ...

Women’s numbers up as unemployment falls (497 words)

Unemployment fell, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but women’s unemployment rose to over one million. ...

Inflation rise slows (254 words)

Inflation dipped slightly on the back of cheaper furnishings and electrical appliances. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), the rate of inflation was 4.7% ...

Top bosses can retire happy and very rich (398 words)

Directors of the UK’s top companies have amassed pension pots worth an average of £3.8 million, according to a new TUC survey. ...

Earnings still losing pace with inflation (376 words)

Weekly earnings across the economy showed some recovery in July from the low of 0.7% in April, but they still lag behind the rise ...

Case for a living wage (242 words)

The business case for a living wage in the UK is made in a new report from the Fair Pay Network, which says it ...

Issue 36

UK factory output posts ninth rise in a row (185 words)

UK manufacturing continued on its road to recovery in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...

Social housing firm on financial skid row (282 words)

Property and environmental services giant Connaught is expected to formally enter administration, putting thousands of jobs at risk. It would be the biggest company ...

Time off for union duties — new booklet (189 words)

Union reps need time off to carry out their duties and activities, as well as for suitable training for their role. Time off for ...

Don’t ignore health and safety, says TUC (424 words)

More than 20,000 people in the UK are killed prematurely by their work every year, according to a new report from the TUC. ...

Takeover activity is down to a trickle (237 words)

Spending on mergers and takeovers involving UK companies slumped two-thirds to just £5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2010, according to the latest ...

Council chiefs' pay ‘defies logic’ (215 words)

More than 100 council chiefs in England were paid £150,000 and above last year, new research by the GMB general union has found. ...

Disability award tops tribunal payouts (310 words)

The size of awards made by employment tribunals has been revealed by the Personnel Today website in its analysis of official figures for the ...

One in five UK homes is jobless (166 words)

A fifth of UK households have no adults in work, according to new figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...

Issue 35

Campaigners call for tougher dog laws (248 words)

Tougher dog safety laws have been demanded by a 20-strong coalition, including the TUC, several unions, the UK’s largest animal charities and law enforcement ...

Firms may level down pension contributions (588 words)

Many large employers may level down their contributions to employees’ pensions once auto-enrolment begins in 2012, the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has warned. ...

Experts query use of CPI inflation measure (200 words)

The use of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) has been questioned by leading UK statisticians. ...

Recognition successes in the north (100 words)

Humber marine pilots, employed by Associated British Ports (ABP), have voted overwhelmingly in favour of recognition for two unions — Unite and Nautilus International. ...

Construction boost to UK economy (131 words)

The UK economy grew by more than initially thought in the second quarter of 2010, boosted by a stronger performance by the construction sector. ...

Café culture training (413 words)

Skills minister John Hayes has called on all UK businesses to promote informal learning at work, following pledges from 64 companies employing two million ...

Directors’ pay (408 words)

Earning over £500,000 a year seems par the course in Britain’s boardrooms nowadays. The latest batch of thirty-three directors, including 10 on over £1 ...