Workplace Report December 2016

Shift pay - the survey reveals the best collectively agreed shift premium payments; Pay ratios - large private sector employers will have to reveal the gulf in pay between staff and the firm’s chief executive; Latest case law on dismissal, transfers and redundancy

Pay and prices

Settlements edge higher (106 words)

In the three months to November, LRD Payline’s midpoint increase on the lowest basic rate in collectively agreed pay settlements in the whole ...
Open access

Labour Research Department’s Payline Database 
 (226 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
 ...
Open access

Full-time weekly average earnings
 (43 words)

ASHE 2016 median uprated by AWE. ...
Open access

Average weekly earnings (AWE)
 (275 words)

Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases
 ...
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XpertHR (19 words)

Median increases for three months to November 2016 ...
Open access

Prices (77 words)

1 Retail Prices Index (RPI), 
Jan ’87=100 ...
Open access

Inflation forecasts (34 words)

Fourth quarter 2016 ...
Open access

Bargaining news

Employers will have to lay bare gender pay divide
 (811 words)

A new level of transparency about the pay gap between men and women came a step closer on 6 December. Employers with 250 or more employees will in ...
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Welsh Assembly guidance for public sector employers (420 words)

Devolved public service employers in Wales should only use “non-guaranteed hours” arrangements, including zero-hours contracts, in clearly and ...
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Plan to secure steel jobs
 (337 words)

Unions at Tata Steel say they have secured a commitment from the company to secure the future of jobs at the Tata Steel Port Talbot plant and other ...
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Paramedics get rise as police go for RPI inflation
 (278 words)

The pay, skills and qualifications of two groups of emergency services workers are on the agenda this month. 
 ...
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Rise in numbers of agency workers by end of decade, says think tank 
 (434 words)

There could be more than a million agency workers in the UK by the end of the decade if recent trends continue.
 ...
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AWEful pensions offer rejected by staff
 (338 words)

Union representatives have begun talks with the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at the conciliation service Acas after staff overwhelmingly ...
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Nissan workers agree above-inflation deal
 (145 words)

Car workers have clocked up another above-inflation, long-term pay deal confirming that this sector is likely to be one of the pacemakers in 2016. ...
Open access

Select deal in Scotland electrical contracting
 (142 words)

The Scottish Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry agreement signed in the summer between the Unite general union and SELECT, ...
Open access

Equality news

Racism still persists with managers main culprits
 (401 words)

Ethnic minority workers are frequently subjected to racism by their colleagues, managers, customers, clients and service users, which can also have a ...
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Women look for equal pay
 (346 words)

Women and younger people are significantly more likely to be looking for an employer who is taking action to close the gender pay gap and women are ...
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Disabled and work
 (134 words)

The government has launched a consultation seeking views on what it will take to transform employment prospects for disabled people and people with ...
Open access

Acas guidance
 (125 words)

Same-sex couples who register as civil partners or who marry have mostly the same employment rights as married opposite-sex couples, explains ...
Open access

Learning and training news

New apprenticeship degree but no bursary for nurses
 (416 words)

A new degree apprenticeship to open up a career in nursing to more people has been announced by health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
 ...
Subscribers only

Migrant worker videos focus on workplace topics
 (108 words)

A set of six short videos have been launched to help trade unions and migrants explore difficult themes in the workplace.
 ...
Open access

Recruitment and organisation news

PCS invests in online centre
 (315 words)

Reps and members of the PCS civil service union should benefit from a new online support centre from next summer, thanks to a major investment by the ...
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Facebook page to engage with CWU members
 (115 words)

The CWU communications union’s annual Action Month of organising and recruitment this year included the launching of a Call Centre Workers Facebook ...
Open access

European news

Italian metalworkers and public sector staff pen deals
 (908 words)

The last few weeks have seen two crucial settlements signed in Italy. After months of waiting in one case and years in the other, agreements have ...
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Agency staff in Germany get 2.5% increase
 (191 words)

German unions and the two employers’ associations representing suppliers of agency workers have reached agreement on a new pay deal which delivers ...
Open access

Pay breakdown in France
 (113 words)

Around one-fifth (19.2%) of total pay in the private sector in France is made up of additions to basic pay. 
 ...
Open access

Law - Dismissal

Dismissal - the law
 (739 words)

f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of dismissal do not ...
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Tribunal’s hypothetical approach to dismissal wrong
 (449 words)

Mr Bandara was employed by the BBC for around 18 years with completely unblemished service. 
 ...
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Burden of proof in detrimental treatment related to TU activity 
 (809 words)

Mr Dahou commenced employment in May 2010 as a team leader mechanic, working on the London Cycle Hire Scheme (LCHS) run by Serco on a contract from ...
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Employer failed to show clear reason for dismissal
 (592 words)

Mr Broecker, a bus driver, started a job with the London bus contractor Metroline in 2010. He signed a document, DriveSafe Check your Bus (DSCB), ...
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Intention to dismiss must be communicated to be effective 
 (507 words)

Ms Sandle was employed by recruitment group Adecco as an agency worker from November 2011. She was working as a commercial lawyer for BASF plc, one ...
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Law - TUPE

Transfers - 
the law 
 (193 words)

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ...
Open access

Activity ‘fundamentally’ the same before and after transfer 
 (695 words)

Ms Bahi and the other claimants in this case were employed by Coventry Cyrenians Ltd (CCL), a charity. They worked in the Adult Services Team.
 ...
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Law - Redundancy

Redundancy - the law (205 words)

A redundancy situation exists where an employer closes or intends to close the workplace or reduce the number of employees doing a particular kind of ...
Open access

Failure to apply finding of fact in ‘insensitive’ consultation
 (340 words)

Mr Thomas, a director of BNP’s property management division, had been a BNP employee for over 40 years. 
 ...
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Health & safety news

Shocking ignorance over asbestos in schools
 (337 words)

Unions have condemned as a scandal the continuing presence of asbestos in schools, pointing to a shocking lack of consistency in how it is managed ...
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Use of cleaning products
 (258 words)

Public services union UNISON is surveying cleaners and other workers who regularly do cleaning work, such as housekeepers, concierges and porters, to ...
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Stressed out public sector workers 
 (116 words)

Tory cuts that have slashed a million public sector jobs are linked to shocking levels of pressure and exhaustion, says the general GMB union. It ...
Open access

End to unfair appraisal schemes in civil service
 (151 words)

Civil service unions PCS and Prospect have welcomed the scrapping of unfair and divisive appraisal systems, with four of the largest government ...
Open access

Lone working in NHS
 (134 words)

The Society of Radiographers is carrying out a survey of members who carry out lone working to assess the security protocols in place. The research ...
Open access

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

HSE launches new health and work consultation
 (264 words)

The HSE has launched a consultation on its new health and work strategy after signalling that it will increase its focus on occupational health. A ...
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Crossrail contractors in dock
 (273 words)

Crossrail contractors BAM Nuttall Limited, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Limited and Keir Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd are to face prosecution following ...
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Firefighters lobby over safety
 (168 words)

Around 200 FBU fire brigades union activists lobbied MPs last month to “put safety first”. The union is demanding greater professional standards ...
Open access

Trainee doctors face sleep deprivation
 (152 words)

Up to one in four trainee doctors are being left sleep-deprived on a weekly basis, according to the latest annual survey of doctors in training by ...
Open access

Counter-piracy post-Brexit
 (103 words)

Maritime union Nautilus International has sought assurances from the UK government about its commitment to the protection of UK ships and seafarers ...
Open access

Features

Solid union campaigns secure gains for shift workers
 (2,836 words)

The number of shift workers is on the rise and so it’s important that workers get proper compensation for working unsocial hours and a disrupted ...
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Pay ratios will show great divide between board and staff 
 (1,912 words)

Recent public discussion on executive pay has raised the question of whether companies should publish ratios comparing the remuneration package of a ...
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