Fact Service December 2021

Issue 50 (16/12/2021) - Inflation at 10 year high; Unemployment falls, vacancies rise to record high; Half of families £110 worse off while richest get richer; Production down, GDP struggles to rise; Public sector employment up in response to Covid; Xmas wage squeeze coming says TUC

Issue 49 (09/12/2021) - TUC: 647,000 fall through sick pay gap; Covid mortality doubled in most-deprived areas; Tesco staff ready for pre-Christmas strikes; Taskforce launches flexible work guide; High Court backs 'drivers are workers' ruling; Union loses case but points to positive precedent; Fact Service reader survey; Appeal for asbestos case information

Issue 48 (02/12/2021) - Unions demand wider action following new variant's arrival; Work 'becoming more secure'; NEET numbers climb; Schools could face staff exodus; Pandemic has altered shape of workforce

Issue 50

Inflation at 10 year high (245 words)

Inflation has risen again, hitting a 10 year high of 5.1% CPI (consumer prices index) and 7% RPI (retail prices index) in the 12 months to November 20 ...
Open access

Unemployment falls, vacancies rise to record high (1,012 words)

UK unemployment fell in the three months to October despite the end of the furlough scheme according to the ONS, while numbers of both vacancies and ...
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Half of families £110 worse off while richest get richer (391 words)

Research by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) suggests that half of UK families are worse off than they were at the last general election two years ...
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Production down, GDP struggles to rise (313 words)

The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) only managed to grow by 0.1% in October and is still 0.5% below its February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic ...
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Public sector employment up in response to Covid (230 words)

Total public sector employment increased in September 2021 the ONS has found, largely due to the response of the NHS and civil service to Covid. ...
Open access

Xmas wage squeeze coming says TUC (106 words)

UK workers are facing the worst Christmas wage squeeze in nearly a decade, the TUC has said. It says real wages (wages after the cost of living has ...
Open access

Issue 49

TUC: 647,000 fall through sick pay gap (305 words)

The TUC has warned that 647,000 workers in the hospitality, retail, and arts and entertainment sectors do not qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP) ...
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Covid mortality doubled in most-deprived areas (601 words)

Research by the Organisation for National Statistics (ONS) has identified which sectors of society have suffered most during the coronavirus pandemic. ...
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Tesco staff ready for pre-Christmas strikes (264 words)

Workers at supermarket chain Tesco’s distribution centres represented by the Unite general union and Usdaw retail workers’ union are preparing to ...
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Taskforce launches flexible work guide (196 words)

The Flexible Working Taskforce – which brings together business organisations, professional bodies, unions and charities – has released new ...
Open access

High Court backs ‘drivers are workers’ ruling (346 words)

The High Court has rejected Uber’s challenge to a Supreme Court ruling in February that the company’s drivers should be treated as workers not ...
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Union loses case but points to positive precedent (275 words)

The FDA union for senior civil servants has said that its decision to mount a legal challenge against the prime minister’s defence of home ...
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Fact Service reader survey (155 words)

We would like to thank all those of you who responded to our recent reader survey. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 94% of respondents ...
Open access

Appeal for asbestos case information (93 words)

The family of a former plumber’s mate who died of mesothelioma is appealing for anyone who worked with him to contact them, lawyers Leigh Day ...
Open access

Issue 48

Unions demand wider action following new variant’s arrival (983 words)

Unions have welcomed the stepping up of measures to combat the arrival of Covid-19’s new Omicron variant, but have called for much more ...
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Work ‘becoming more secure’ (620 words)

Research by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has led it to the conclusion that employment in the UK has actually become ...
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NEET numbers climb (146 words)

The number of 16 to 24 year olds in the UK classed as NEET – not in education, employment or training – has risen to 689,000, according to the ...
Open access

Schools could face staff exodus (155 words)

Schools are risking a potential “exodus” of support staff, public services union UNISON reports. A survey it carried out among teaching ...
Open access

Pandemic has altered shape of workforce (360 words)

The pandemic has driven changes that have increased employment among younger women but pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market ...
Subscribers only