Fact Service May 2016

Issue 21 (26/05/2016) - Gross pay packages for top executives; Presenteeism - sick and at work; Trade union membership 2015; UK behind Scandinavia on gender equality; UCATT votes for merger with Unite; Missing data

Issue 20 (19/05/2016) - Unemployment falls; Anaemic growth in average earnings; Check-off victory; Inflation down again; Old and in poverty

Issue 19 (12/05/2016) - Shareholders unhappy over executive pay; Compensation for blacklisted workers; MPs keep it in family; Non-compliance with minimum wage rules; Industry in recession; Lloyds to offer gender reassignment surgery

Issue 18 (05/05/2016) - Trade Union Bill receives Royal Assent; Losers in move to Universal Credit; Compensation win for blacklisted workers; Effects of shift work on women and their health; Union wants end to confusion over tips; School assistants struggle to cope; UK growth slows in early 2016

Issue 21

Gross pay packages for top executives 
 (674 words)

Sir Martin Sorrell has again had to defend his bumper pay package, saying shareholders had previously approved the incentive plans at advertising and ...
Subscribers only

Presenteeism — sick and at work
 (380 words)

Going into work while ill may not be such a bad thing after all, suggests a report by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).
 ...
Subscribers only

Trade union membership 2015
 (635 words)

Union membership grew slightly last year, but union density fell again, the latest official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

UK behind Scandinavia on gender equality 
 (191 words)

The UK rates as middle ranking on gender equality in the workplace, according to a survey from Glassdoor Economic Research.
 ...
Open access

UCATT votes for merger with Unite
 (143 words)

Delegates at the annual conference of construction union UCATT have voted in favour of a merger with or a transfer of engagements to the Unite ...
Open access

Missing data
 (64 words)

Too many FTSE 1000 companies are failing to report on issues such as health and safety incidents, data breaches and employee turnover in their annual ...
Open access

Issue 20

Unemployment falls
 (562 words)

UK unemployment has fallen on both main counts, official figures show. 
 ...
Subscribers only

Anaemic growth in average earnings 
 (558 words)

Growth in average weekly earnings, despite a rise, remained weak in March.
 ...
Subscribers only

Check-off victory
 (305 words)

The removal of the check-off method of collecting union subscriptions in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been ruled unlawful after a ...
Subscribers only

Inflation down again
 (449 words)

In April, the main inflation measures were back down to the rates posted for the first two months of the year, the latest Office for National ...
Subscribers only

Old and in poverty
 (230 words)

Nearly one million people over the age of 75 are living in poverty in Britain, a charity has warned.
 ...
Open access

Issue 19

Shareholders unhappy over executive pay
 (818 words)

Forty executives feature in the latest tranche of £1 million plus remuneration packages at top Stock Exchange-quoted companies.
 ...
Subscribers only

Compensation for blacklisted workers
 (283 words)

The Unite general union has become the third union to reach a settlement over the blacklisting of workers in the UK construction industry.
 ...
Subscribers only

MPs keep it in family
 (349 words)

Family members employed by MPs are paid on average £5,600 more than other staff, a watchdog has revealed.
 ...
Subscribers only

Non-compliance with minimum wage rules 
 (310 words)

There is no accurate overall measure of non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) regulations and, as a result, it has been difficult to ...
Subscribers only

Industry in recession
 (186 words)

UK industry is in recession, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
 ...
Open access

Lloyds to offer gender reassignment surgery
 (178 words)

Lloyds Banking Group has become the first UK organisation to extend its staff healthcare plans to cover gender dysphoria, in a move that campaign ...
Open access

Issue 18

Trade Union Bill receives Royal Assent
 (213 words)

The Trade Union Bill has become law after receiving Royal Assent. It follows an eight-month battle to block it in and outside Parliament.
 ...
Open access

Losers in the move to Universal Credit
 (561 words)

Work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb should restate and reclaim the role of Universal Credit in supporting more people into work and then ...
Subscribers only

Compensation win for blacklisted workers
 (255 words)

Hundreds of workers who were blacklisted by large construction firms have won compensation following a long-running lawsuit.
 ...
Subscribers only

Effects of shift work on women and their health
 (408 words)

The adverse effects of shift work on women are highlighted in two recent studies.
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Subscribers only

Union wants end to confusion over tips
 (378 words)

Plans to end unfair tipping practices and increase transparency for consumers and employees have been announced by the government.
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Subscribers only

School assistants struggle to cope
 (228 words)

A crisis in health and well-being is engulfing schools, which could lead to a mass exodus of hardworking, dedicated staff unless urgent action is ...
Open access

UK growth slows in early 2016
 (162 words)

The initial estimate for economic growth at the start of 2016 shows a slowing down.
 ...
Open access