Workplace Report May 2003

The May issue of Workplace Report finds that temporary workers are beginning to see the benefits of their new rights under the fixed-term worker regulations, with unions using the regulations to win improvements in pay and other benefits. The magazine also includes a round-up of some of the key points of discussion at LRD's recent conference on combating racism at work. This month's law section highlights the latest case law on unfair dismissal, dismissal and disability discrimination.

Features

Pay deals edge up (223 words)

The latest figures from the Labour Research Department's Payline database show a slight upward movement in the three months to April with a median ...

Labour Research Department three monthly pay figures (219 words)

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

Prices (58 words)

March 02 174.5 1.3 2.3 ...

Other pay analysts (30 words)

Confederation of British Industry (manufacturing, three months to Jan. 2003) 2.7% ...

Average earnings indices (154 words)

Jan 02 (r) 132.3 3.0 3.3 2.9 2.7 4.6 ...

Latest figures for full-time weekly average earnings (29 words)

all workers £464.10 ...

Inflation forecasts (31 words)

RPI forecasts (and underlying inflation- excluding mortgage interest payments) ...

Building skill needs behind 23.3% rise (299 words)

Negotiators in the Construction Industry Joint Council have agreed pay rises of 23.3% to be phased in over the next three years, along with ...

Boosting hourly rates on the buses (259 words)

A four-stage deal worth over 11% at Stagecoach West Scotland and a two-year deal worth 6% in the first year at Stagecoach Ribble in ...

Unions agree pay rises but want progress on managers' pay (478 words)

While both the main unions in telecoms giant BT have agreed pay rises for this year, an agreed review of the managers' pay has ...

Report calls for greater awareness of relocation needs (375 words)

A new report suggests that employees facing the prospect of relocation are increasingly setting limits on when and where they are willing to relocate ...

Holidays and sick pay feature in manufacturing (354 words)

Pay deals of up to 3%, the mid-point for manufacturing so far this year, have recently been negotiated by leading manufacturers. ...

Clothing workers see earnings rise by 2.5% (251 words)

A 2.5% increase in earnings for the clothing industry, agreed at the end of last year, came into force in January. ...

Final-salary schemes are finance sector priority (319 words)

Finance sector negotiators are making pensions a priority issue in the current bargaining round, in the wake of the crisis over the closure of ...

Reports focus on how employers can easily help disabled workers (493 words)

Just over a third of all discrimination cases dealt with by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) last year were due to the failure of ...

Bus firm sets up career-average scheme for new employees (282 words)

The First Group bus and rail company has closed its final salary scheme to new bus employees but is offering them a career-average scheme ...

Part timers campaign pays off (381 words)

A union organising campaign encouraging part-time workers to set their own bargaining priorities has resulted in recruitment success at Huddersfield Technical College in Yorkshire. ...

Teachers' union gets funds for learning reps network (302 words)

Teaching union NASUWT has won backing from the government's ...

Learning reps get new code of practice (110 words)

Employment relations service Acas has published a code of practice setting out new guidance for union learning reps who now have the same rights ...

Metalworking deal splits Italian unions but school agreement signed (572 words)

The main metalworking union in Italy has rejected a new four-year agreement. This is despite the other two unions in the sector backing the ...

German chemical workers secure inflation-beating settlement (384 words)

The union and the employers' association in German chemical industry have agreed a deal, which sees pay this year rise by more than twice ...

Unfair dismissal (1821 words)

This month's unfair dismissal cases focus on asserting statutory rights, compensation, constructive dismissal, jurisdiction and disciplinary hearings. ...

Minimum pay (99 words)

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the law, as it presently stands, does not give the Inland Revenue the power to order an ...

Holiday pay (127 words)

The facts ...

Redundancy law (1320 words)

This month's redundancy cases cover consultation, defining a redundancy and suitable alternative employment. ...

Disability law (556 words)

This month's disability discrimination cases cover failure to make adjustments and third party discrimination. ...

Unions find employers inconsistent on SARS (287 words)

Unions have expressed concern about employers' responses to the risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Some have overreacted to the threat while others ...

Bladder cancer (79 words)

The government has accepted that bladder cancer is an occupational disease, thanks to campaigning by print union GPMU. Lobbying by the union persuaded health ...

Violence at work (85 words)

Violence and harassment in the workplace is on the increase throughout the European Union (EU), according to a report by the European Foundation for ...

£1.3m payout after bridge deaths (87 words)

A court has approved a seven-figure compensation settlement for the families of four workers killed when they fell from a motorway bridge. The GMB ...

Miners win vibration white finger test case (262 words)

Thousands of workers suffering from vibration white finger (VWF) could be eligible for compensation following a court ruling. ...

Ruling on school violence (81 words)

Two recent House of Lords judgements will have important implications for health and safety in schools says teaching union NASUWT. The first case, of ...

Hazardous substances - new guidance and regulations (265 words)

The HSE has published a revised guidance leaflet on the safe use in the workplace of substances hazardous to health. ...

Union says HSE cuts threaten safety at work (169 words)

A funding crisis at the Health and Safety Executive threatens to bring the organisation to its knees, warns professionals' and specialists' union Prospect. ...

National Audit Office to hold inquiry into the work of HSE (152 words)

Public services watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) is investigating the role of the Health and Safety Executive in improving health and safety in ...

Public trusts HSE but doesn't fully understand its function (138 words)

A new report on the HSE concludes that it is trusted as a risk regulator by the general public, although they have little understanding ...

Occupational Exposure Limits updated (68 words)

The Health and Safety Commission has approved an updated list of Occupational Exposure Standards and Maximum Exposure Limits. These will be published in the ...

Slip and trips in education sector (65 words)

New guidance on preventing slip and trip incidents in schools, colleges and universities has been published by the HSE. Last year there were more ...

Temporary workers start to see benefits from fixed-term rights (3208 words)

On 1 October 2002 employees with fixed-term contracts got the legal right to be treated no less favourably than their permanent colleagues. Workplace Report ...

Unions discuss strategies on racism and migrant workers (1670 words)

Over 100 trade unionists and others involved in anti-racist work came together in April, during the month marking the tenth anniversary of the murder ...