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Workplace Report March 2024
PAY AND PRICES BARGAINING Trouble looms at Asda Strikes postponed as government returns Payline shows inflation-beating pay rises Unions slam government as UK enters recession NHS problems far from over EQUALITY LGBTQ+ graduates want to be out when at work More women missing out on sick pay LEARNING AND TRAINING Unionlearn launches new guides and website RECRUITMENT AND ORGANISATION Defending union facility time EUROPE Above-inflation deal for central government LAW AT WORK Employment law — the latest cases HEALTH AND SAFETY Unions demand protection Workers strike for safety Campaign highlights legal duty to act Corporate manslaughter fine unlikely to be paid A better deal for working mothers Maternity leave is firmly back on the agenda, with unions pushing for and winning better conditions for women who get pregnant while working – and new legislative changes on parental leave coming into effect What is the future for defined benefit pensions ? Pension schemes that guarantee a secure retirement income are still highly prized and wider interest in them has not been extinguished, even in the private sector
Pay and prices
Wages stay above inflation (138 words)
The median pay rise achieved on the lowest basic rate in the three months to January was 5.3%, and 5% for all other grades according to LRD Payline. ...
Open access
Full-time weekly average earnings (33 words)
... Open access
XpertHR (21 words)
Median increases for three months to end of January 2024 ... Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline database (270 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) ...
Subscribers only
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (202 words)
(r) revised, (p) provisional ... Open access
Prices (66 words)
... Open access
2024 Forecasts (35 words)
Source: HM Treasury, Forecasts for the UK economy, January 2024. Fourth quarter
... Open access
Bargaining news
Challenges ahead for negotiators (907 words)
There will be new challenges ahead for pay negotiators this year with the economy in recession. Lower-income households, whose spending power has not ... Subscribers only
Prospect of industrial action at Ford (191 words)
The Ford car manufacturer is facing potential walkouts across its UK sites by both salaried and managerial staff, after over 90% of both groups ... Open access
More Amazon strikes (85 words)
Workers who are members of the GMB union at retail giant Amazon were due to take strike action over three days in mid-February with over 1,000 ... Open access
Trouble looms at Asda (386 words)
GMB members at Asda’s Gosport store walked out for 48 hours last month in what the union described as the first strike at any Asda supermarket in ... Subscribers only
Strikes postponed as government returns (421 words)
Unions in Northern Ireland have postponed their current mass wave of industrial action to see if progress can be made on long overdue pay talks now ... Subscribers only
Payline shows inflation-beating pay rises (465 words)
New deals agreed at the start of the year collected by LRD’s Payline are showing some long overdue pay restoration for workers: ... Subscribers only
NHS problems far from over (326 words)
Health services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (see page 4) are continuing to face industrial action or the possibility of it. Now the ... Subscribers only
Unions slam government as UK enters recession (259 words)
In February, official figures showed that the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had fallen by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, the second ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Ageism ‘scars’ older workers (175 words)
Ageism at work is “scarring” older people at work according to the Centre for Ageing Better, following a survey showing that more than half of ... Open access
Grants go digital (104 words)
Disabled people will be able to apply for Access to Work grants online from April this year, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced, in a ... Open access
LGBTQ+ graduates want to be out when at work (211 words)
Three-quarters of young LGBTQ+ jobseekers are reluctant to join companies where they can’t be out when at work, according to new research by LGBTQ+ ... Open access
More women missing out on sick pay (182 words)
Women workers are more than twice as likely as men to miss out on sick pay, new TUC analysis suggests. ... Open access
High living costs trap those out of work (210 words)
A “vicious cycle” of high costs and mental health problems is keeping young people out of work, according to the Prince’s Trust’s annual ... Open access
Learning and training news
Unionlearn launches new guides and website (511 words)
Unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and training wing, has published two updated guides for union activists involved in learning and training. One is a ... Subscribers only
Black activist training (180 words)
The Wales TUC is planning to run a second Black Activist Development Programme (BADP) in April, following what it saw as a successful pilot run last ... Open access
Recruitment and organisation news
Defending union facility time (274 words)
The Welsh government has given strong support for the continuation of union facility time in the public sector at a time when authorities are looking ... Subscribers only
European news
Spain publishes new bargaining data (190 words)
The Spanish Ministry of Labour last month published new figures showing the proportion of employees covered by collective bargaining. The statistics ... Open access
Italian pay closes gap but still lags (106 words)
Pay in Italy is still growing much more slowly than prices, but in 2023 the gap was closed slightly. This is the key message from new official ... Open access
Above-inflation deal for central government (357 words)
Unions and the government have reached agreement on a two-year pay deal for around 190,000 employees in central government in Denmark, pointing ... Subscribers only
Above-inflation deal for central government (384 words)
The lowest rates in collective agreements differ greatly between countries and in many case the rates set out in collective agreements are below the ... Subscribers only
Low pay in collective agreements (384 words)
The lowest rates in collective agreements differ greatly between countries and in many case the rates set out in collective agreements are below the ... Subscribers only
Employment law - Case reports
Employer must know effect of disability (501 words)
Mr Glasson began working for the Insolvency Service (TIS) in 2005. He has a stammer and is disabled within the meaning of section 6 of the Equality ... Subscribers only
No victimisation when complaint made in bad faith (425 words)
Mr Toure, who describes himself as Black African, was employed by Ken Wilkins Print Limited (KWP) as a forklift truck driver from April 2018. In ... Subscribers only
Decision maker did not know employee was whistleblower (472 words)
Mrs Fry started working for Kingswood Learning & Leisure Group Ltd in November 2018. In March 2020, she made disclosures to managers that a ... Subscribers only
Whistleblowing protection did not apply to job applicant (580 words)
In October 2019, Miss Sullivan attended an interview with the Isle of Wight Council. She made another application and was interviewed again in ... Subscribers only
Time limit not extended where claimant did not know race of successful candidate (616 words)
Dr Jones, who is of African-Caribbean descent, applied for the role of assistant business development manager at Public Health England (PHE). He was ... Subscribers only
No extension where employee thought claim would not succeed (585 words)
Mr Holbrook was a barrister practising at Cornerstone Chambers who described himself as a social conservative and “a critic of identity politics”. ... Subscribers only
Pause in work did not break continuity of employment (581 words)
Stichting Female Journalists Network (SFJN) is a small not-for-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. Ms Taweel worked for SFJN from 1 March 20 ... Subscribers only
Future claims can be settled by agreement (569 words)
Mr Bathgate was employed by Technip Singapore PTE Ltd for 20 years. He was chief officer aboard various ships. In January 2017 he was placed at risk ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Unions demand protection (333 words)
The Unite general union has pledged to do all it can to bring in stronger legal protection for bus drivers in Scotland after driver Keith Rollinson ... Subscribers only
Workers strike for safety (493 words)
NASUWT teaching union members have taken strike action at Pencoedtre High School in Barry in response to “urgent concerns over violent and abusive ... Subscribers only
Union highlights school minibus dangers (172 words)
The NASUWT is continuing to campaign for safe and secure transport for teachers and pupils after transport secretary Mark Harper confirmed the ... Open access
Campaign for a four-day week in civil service (105 words)
The PCS public and commercial services union Efra group, which represents workers in areas including the environment, food and rural affairs ... Open access
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Union calls for reform on 20th anniversary (118 words)
The Unite general union marked the 20th anniversary of the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster with a demand for urgent reform of the GLAA gangmasters ... Open access
Businesses fail to protect workers from fluids hazards (147 words)
HSE unannounced inspections are continuing at precision engineering companies this month after half of checks identified failings in protecting ... Open access
Campaign highlights legal duty to act (320 words)
A new HSE health and safety executive campaign aims to improve understanding about the legal duty to manage asbestos. It focuses on buildings, ... Subscribers only
Corporate manslaughter fine unlikely to be paid (392 words)
Ward Recycling Limited has been found guilty of corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences following the death of an agency worker at its ... Subscribers only
Features
A better deal for working mothers (2,775 words)
At the end of last year, the West Midlands Fire Service approved maternity leave of 52 weeks on full pay. The management of the second largest ... Subscribers only
What is the future for defined benefit pensions? (1,042 words)
The tide has been running against defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for many years, and – as functioning schemes open to today’s workers – ... Subscribers only
Standing up for teachers' defined benefit pensions (1,088 words)
The England and Wales TPS is a defined benefits (DB) public service pension scheme, with 2.1 million members in total. Some 721,000 of them are ... Subscribers only