Fact Service July 2015

Issue 30 (30/07/2015) - Too much cash directed to shareholders; Economy perks up; Discrimination as mothers lose jobs; Union reforms could harm productivity; Union political funds; Fit note fails to deliver; Labour disputes in 2014

Issue 29 (23/07/2015) - Top pay and decline of union influence; IKEA now a Living Wage employer; New ideas needed on older workers; Review heralds end to pay progression; Council targets rep over privatisation; Increase in number of deaths at work

Issue 28 (16/07/2015) - Retail inflation sticks at 1% in June; "Unnecessary attack" on workers' rights; Rise in unemployment; Average earnings dips

Issue 27 (09/07/2015) - New contract or old con trick?; Balance of payments shows improvement; Tories fail on child poverty so redefine it; Go-ahead but delay for tax-free childcare; UK economy in better shape in 2015; Manufacturing output flattens out; Regional inequalities increase under Tories

Issue 26 (02/07/2015) - Families struggle to close income gap; Midwives join TUC; Time off for antenatal appointments; Health and safety for children; Healthy workplaces; Thumbs up for pensions but…;Financial pain of Child Benefit freeze; Relax dress codes at work in heatwave

Issue 30

Too much cash directed to shareholders (215 words)

The Bank of England’s chief economist has said that business investment has been lower than was “desirable” for years and shareholder power was ...
Open access

Economy perks up (133 words)

The UK economy picked up in the second quarter of the year, according to official figures. ...
Open access

Discrimination as mothers lose jobs (460 words)

Thousands of new mothers are forced to leave their jobs due to discrimination, new research shows. ...
Subscribers only

Union reforms could harm productivity (370 words)

Restricting facility time for union representatives in the public sector would be counterproductive and may damage levels of trust between employers ...
Subscribers only

Union political funds (252 words)

The number of members contributing to their union’s political fund has increased, according to the latest annual report of the union watchdog, the ...
Subscribers only

Fit note fails to deliver (139 words)

The government’s flagship “fit note” scheme for getting people back to work has failed to deliver five years on from implementation, seriously ...
Open access

Labour disputes in 2014 (521 words)

The number of working days lost to industrial action increased by over three-quarters to over three-quarters of a million, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 29

Top pay and decline of union influence (513 words)

The decline in union influence has helped bosses’ pay balloon. ...
Subscribers only

IKEA now a Living Wage employer (232 words)

Ikea, the Swedish-owned multinational, has become the first major retailer in the UK to commit to becoming a Living Wage accredited employer. ...
Open access

New ideas needed on older workers (406 words)

Existing employment policies are failing to address the biggest challenges facing older workers, according to a new study. ...
Subscribers only

Review heralds end to pay progression (363 words)

There will be a four-month wait before the full pain is revealed, but chancellor George Osborne has ordered government departments to find an ...
Subscribers only

Council targets rep over privatisation (209 words)

Conservative-controlled Bromley council is ratcheting up the pressure on opponents of its privatisation programme by suspending a union rep in a bid ...
Open access

Increase in number of deaths at work (439 words)

One death at work is one too many, so the fact that the overall number of workers fatally injured at work rose last year, according to the latest ...
Subscribers only

Issue 28

Retail inflation sticks at 1% in June (468 words)

The rise in retail inflation has steadied, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

'Unnecessary attack' on workers' rights (360 words)

Conservative claws have at last been revealed in the publication of the Trade Union Bill. There are no surprises in the attacks on unions and the ...
Subscribers only

Rise in unemployment (595 words)

There are worries that the unemployment bubble may have burst as both main counts showed a rise in the latest official figures. ...
Subscribers only

Average earnings dips (629 words)

Earnings growth was down for a second month, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Issue 27

New contract or old con trick? (782 words)

Chancellor George Osborne has delivered his seventh Budget, the first for a majority Conservative government since November 1996. He said his Budget ...
Subscribers only

Balance of payments shows improvement (166 words)

Britain’s trading position with the rest of the world improved slightly in the first quarter of the year, official figures show. ...
Open access

Tories fail on child poverty so redefine it (505 words)

Recent child poverty statistics showed that 2.3 million children are still living in relative poverty and half a million more are living in absolute ...
Subscribers only

Go-ahead but delay for tax-free childcare (171 words)

The government’s tax-free childcare scheme has been given the go-ahead, following a Supreme Court judgment. However, the scheme which was due to ...
Open access

UK economy in better shape in 2015 (107 words)

The economy grew more than previously thought in the first quarter of the year. ...
Open access

Manufacturing output flattens out (259 words)

There was no increase in manufacturing output in the most recent three months, official figures show. ...
Subscribers only

Regional inequalities increase under Tories (269 words)

London is outperforming other parts of the UK in economic and jobs growth, while the economic recovery is weakest in the North West and Northern ...
Subscribers only

Issue 26

Families struggle to close income gap (542 words)

The gap between the income of many families and the cost of a decent standard of living is still much wider than before the recession, the poverty ...
Subscribers only

Midwives join TUC (133 words)

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has formally become an affiliate to the TUC. It is the first Royal College to be a member of the TUC. ...
Open access

Time off for antenatal appointments (234 words)

Pregnant employees are entitled to reasonable time off with pay for antenatal care made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, says ...
Open access

Health and safety for schoolchildren (175 words)

A series of occupational safety and health education toolkits for teachers, aimed at introducing health and safety topics to primary school children ...
Open access

Healthy workplaces (273 words)

Promoting a culture that improves the health and wellbeing of employees is good management and leads to healthy and productive workplaces, says the ...
Subscribers only

Thumbs up for pensions but ... (258 words)

Workplace pension schemes are now seen as the safest way to save for retirement, according to the latest research from the Office for National ...
Subscribers only

Financial pain of Child Benefit freeze (405 words)

The government’s decision to freeze Child Benefit until 2018 will cost households who claim the benefit more than £2,000 by the next election — ...
Subscribers only

Relax dress codes at work in heatwave (223 words)

With thermometers set to hit 30°C in the South East, and the mid to high 20°Cs in other parts of England and Wales, the TUC is calling on employers ...
Open access