Fact Service June 2015

Issue 25 (25/06/2015) - Pension deficit tops £12bn in 2014; CBI head calls for wage rises; Living Wage for contractor staff; Productivity puzzle - seven levers; Public sector jobs lost and worse to come; Life at the top

Issue 24 (18/06/2015) - Living Wage served up; Improvement in average earnings; Inflation on the rise; Unemployment falls; Review of tribunals announced

Issue 23 (11/06/2015) - Living Wage milestone of 1,500 employers; Guide to time off for surrogate parents; Rise in factory output - but still below peak; Unions reject blacklists firm 'derisory' offer; Facility time guide; Toxic air claims made by cabin crew; Little pay restraint shown by top execs

Issue 22 (04/06/2015) - Low activity in 2015 mergers and takeovers; 'Union premium' on wages gets bigger; Economic growth estimate unchanged; Blowing the whistle - but to who?; Experts say cut time spent sitting in office

Issue 25

Pension deficit tops £12bn in 2014 (457 words)

The total deficit of the defined benefit schemes of the top 250 FTSE companies has grown by £5 billion in a year. The total deficit in these DB ...
Subscribers only

CBI head calls for wages rises (168 words)

There has been a call for wage increases from an unexpected source. ...
Open access

Living Wage for contractor staff (247 words)

Southampton Solent University has made a commitment that the university’s main contractors will pay the Living Wage, so as to ensure that nobody ...
Open access

Productivity puzzle — seven levers (345 words)

UK productivity levels continue to lag behind our competitors and have led to much talked of the "productivity puzzle". ...
Subscribers only

Public sector jobs lost and worse to come (394 words)

Total UK public sector employment has fallen to its lowest level since the official figures began to be collated in 1999. ...
Subscribers only

Life at the top (566 words)

The 29 executives listed in the table earned a total of £65.41 million last year — an average remuneration package of £2.26 million. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 24

Living Wage served up (106 words)

The lowest-paid workers in school kitchens across the north London borough of Camden will be paid an extra £2.55 an hour, following a successful ...
Open access

Improvement in average earnings (639 words)

Living standards for some will have seen an improvement as average earnings growth has recently outstripped the rise in retail inflation. ...
Subscribers only

Inflation on the rise (440 words)

Inflation rebounded last month. In May, the annual rate of inflation — as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — stood at 1.0% against a ...
Subscribers only

Unemployment falls (585 words)

Unemployment has continued to fall in the spring months, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Review of tribunal fees announced (447 words)

A slump in tribunal claims was revealed in Ministry of Justice figures as the government announced there would be a review of the impact of ...
Subscribers only

Issue 23

Living Wage milestone of 1,500 employers (355 words)

The number of organisations that are accredited as Living Wage employers has reached a milestone. ...
Subscribers only

Guide to time off for surrogate parents (174 words)

The basic statutory rights that employers must provide to intended parents who are having a child through a surrogacy arrangement are explained in a ...
Open access

Rise in factory output — but still below peak (268 words)

Manufacturing output and the overall output of production industries increased in the most recent three months, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Union rejects blacklist firms’ 'derisory' offer (203 words)

Blacklisted workers have rejected a “derisory” compensation offer from panicked building bosses trying to keep a lid on the burgeoning scandal as ...
Open access

Facility time guide (113 words)

As a part of its continuing efforts to help branches and regions fight facility time cuts — and cope following a cut — the public service union ...
Open access

Toxic air claims made by cabin crew (271 words)

Seventeen former and serving cabin crew are planning legal action against British airlines saying they have been poisoned by contaminated cabin air. ...
Subscribers only

Little pay restraint shown by top execs (852 words)

There has been little recognition in the boardroom of the need for pay restraint, unlike other areas of working life. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 22

Low activity in 2015 mergers and takeovers (252 words)

Merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity involving UK companies remains at an historically low level, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

‘Union premium’ on wages gets bigger (689 words)

The gap between the hourly earnings of union members and non-union members — the union premium — widened in 2014, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Economic growth estimate unchanged (328 words)

The economy did grow in the first quarter of the year as estimated earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. ...
Subscribers only

Blowing the whistle — but to who? (375 words)

Prescribed persons and bodies to who individuals can make a protected disclosure have been listed in an official document. ...
Subscribers only

Experts say cut time spent sitting in office (581 words)

Office workers should be on their feet for up to four hours a day to curb the health risks of too much cumulative sitting time. ...
Subscribers only