Issue 39

New rights for temps (470 words)

Agency workers supplied by a work agency or other intermediary to a hirer, usually referred to as “temps” get new rights as from 1 ...

SNP’s copycat Budget (283 words)

Scotland’s unions have reacted with anger after the Scottish Nationalist’s (SNP) finance secretary John Swinney announced a public sector pay freeze in his Budget, ...

Softening up exercise on unfair dismissal? (166 words)

It seems the government has already decided on doubling the qualifying period for unfair dismissals claims to two years. ...

Service sector firms rated unethical (455 words)

Some of the companies lining up to take a slice of the mushrooming multi-billion pound public service sector are among the most unethical in ...

Time to crack double glass ceiling (268 words)

There was a call for the “double glass ceiling” to be tackled through dual discrimination law at a Labour Party fringe meeting. ...

M&S fined £1m over asbestos failings (261 words)

High street giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) and three of its contractors have been fined for putting members of the public, staff and construction ...

Minimum wage rises (142 words)

The minimum wage rises from 1 October. The adult rate, payable at age 21, rises by 2.5% to £6.08 an hour from £5.93. ...

City director’s £25m pay packet (129 words)

A director at investment management firm Pimco Europe pocketed a £25.6 million pay packet last year, according to the firm’s accounts filed with Companies ...

Issue 38

Query over tax gap (212 words)

Unions have raised questions as to the size of the UK tax gap — the money lost through tax evasion, avoidance and not being ...

Interns and National Minimum Wage (179 words)

Guidance providing greater clarity for businesses who offer work experience, placements and internships has been published by the government. ...

Landmark ruling for UK pilots (306 words)

UK pilots, members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), have won a judgment in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over their holiday ...

We need a Plan B (218 words)

City economists have come to much the same conclusion as the IMF about the UK’s growth prospects, says the TUC’s Richard Exell on the ...

Average settlements figure slips to 2.5% (246 words)

Settlements have dropped back to a median (mid-point) figure of 2.5% for the three months to August, the latest figures from the Labour Research ...

Greater transparency over boardroom pay? (484 words)

Businesses will have to provide clearer information on how they are run and how executive pay is matched to performance under proposals published by ...

Small recovery in manufacturing output (126 words)

Manufacturing output rose by 0.5% in the three months ending July on to the previous three month period ending April, according to the Office ...

Dyslexia survey (173 words)

The TUC’s education arm, unionlearn has been aware for some time of the impact of dyslexia in the workplace and the potential needs of ...

Calls to stop Post Office privatisation (225 words)

Unions have attacked the coalition government’s plans for the Post Office, revealed by postal minister Ed Davey at the Liberal Democrat’s annual conference ...

Issue 37

Unions to build up minority membership (285 words)

Unions have stepped up recruitment activities targeted at female, black, disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and young workers, according to the latest ...

Earnings grow but living standards fall (429 words)

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, for the whole economy posted an annual rise of 2.9% in July against the revised figure of 3.1% for ...

Unemployment posts sharp midsummer rise (499 words)

Unemployment rose on both counts, according to the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics. ...

Vickers banking on 'reforms' by 2019 (368 words)

Unions dismissed proposals to shake up banking as a “weak gesture” that failed to hold banks to account for the crisis they created. ...

Inflation hits 5.2% (247 words)

Inflation is showing the quality of a rubber ball as it bounced back up again in August. The rate of inflation under the Retail ...

Issue 36

Huge pensions stash for top directors (507 words)

Directors of the UK’s top companies have amassed pension pots worth an average of £3.9 million, according to the TUC’s latest PensionsWatch survey. ...

Latest victory for blacklisted worker (332 words)

Former site worker Dave Smith has won the latest stage of his legal battle against construction multinational Carillion. ...

Overseas takeovers halve in value (278 words)

Merger activity by UK companies abroad halved in the second quarter of 2011, but the value of the quarter’s takeovers was still the second ...

Strike action looms over pension closure (193 words)

Three unions are to ballot members at the Flora to Persil to Cif household products group Unilever over its plans to close its defined ...

Top bosses' pay (449 words)

Bosses at the helm of Britain’s top 100 companies saw their pay packages jump by an average of £1.3 million to almost £4.5 million ...

Empty threat to agency workers' rights? (336 words)

Prime minister David Cameron has been posturing over key European legislation that enshrines improved rights for agency workers in Britain, it has been revealed. ...

Issue 35

UK-Swiss tax deal a gigantic swizz (361 words)

The chancellor George Osborne has signed a deal with Switzerland over tax evasion. However, the UK-Swiss tax agreement bulldozes a potential EU deal which ...

‘Cynical attack’ on infrastructure workers (259 words)

Attempts by a breakaway group of major mechanical and electrical firms to withdraw from agreements covering thousands of workers at some of the country’s ...

Few young are taking on pensions (110 words)

Only 15% of employees aged 16-24 are enrolled in an employer-sponsored pension scheme, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions ...

Figures show economy is 'flatlining' this year (286 words)

The economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest estimate from ...

Pay at the top (433 words)

Junior female executives are earning as much as their male counterparts for the first time since its records began, new figures released today by ...

Concessionary coach fares to be scrapped (222 words)

From October 2011, the coalition government is withdrawing the bus service operator’s grant for long distance coach services. A House of Commons Library research ...

Recognition deals (64 words)

Three unions have recently won recognition rights at two companies. Transport union RMT has won recognition for “cleaners and supervisor cleaners” employed on the ...

Health bosses escape over asbestos (276 words)

Negligent NHS managers in Wales will escape criminal proceedings, if they exposed workers to asbestos, due to legislative errors following a recent NHS reorganisation, ...

NEETS on rise (97 words)

The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training — also known as NEETs — has risen to 16.2%, according to ...