Fact Service February 2019

Issue 9 (28/02/2019) - New tribunal awards limits set from April; Long hours put women at risk of depression; Public sector workers on low pay


; Fair work plan for Scotland revealed


; Use of secretive courts a corporate disgrace

Issue 8 (21/02/2019) - Three-quarters of lone parents in poverty; Unemployed numbers start falling again; Fire service funding cut
; Average weekly earnings growth on back foot

Issue 7 (14/02/2019) - Inflation cut to lowest level since 2016


; Two-tier workforce for Essex hospital?; Putting mental health first aid into practice; UK economy at its weakest since 2012; Guide to tackling gender pay gap

Issue 6 (07/02/2019) - Part-time working parents penalised; Another win but equal pay saga drags on; How to combat age discrimination at work

; Government delay hits pensions of low-paid


; Living Wage boost for uni staff in south west

Issue 9

New tribunal award limits set from April
 (261 words)

Increases to the limits applying to certain awards of employment tribunals and to other amounts payable under employment legislation have been laid ...
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Long hours put women at risk of depression 
 (504 words)

Women who work more than 55 hours a week are at a higher risk of depression but this is not the case for men, according to a new study
 ...
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Public sector workers on low pay
 (460 words)

A million public sector workers are paid less than real Living Wage and so are paid less than the amount needed to get by, according to a report from ...
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Fair work plan for Scotland revealed
 (585 words)

A range of measures to support employers to embed fairer working practices have been set out in a new Fair Work Action Plan.
 ...
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Use of secretive courts a corporate disgrace
 (530 words)

Legislation on health warnings on cigarette packets, raising the minimum wage and protecting the environment from mining, are just some of the laws ...
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Issue 8

Three-quarters of lone parents in poverty
 (655 words)

A decade after the economic downturn, two million more people than in 2008 are on incomes too low to secure a living standard considered an ...
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Unemployed numbers start falling again
 (644 words)

Unemployment resumed its downward trajectory, latest official figures show.
 ...
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Fire service funding cut
 (269 words)

The Conservative government will cut fire and rescue service funding in England by 15% over the next year, analysis from the FBU firefighters' union ...
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Average weekly earnings growth on back foot
 (699 words)

Average weekly earnings growth slipped back below the 3% mark at the end of the year, official figures show.
 ...
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Issue 7

Inflation cut to lowest level since 2016
 (581 words)

Cheaper petrol and domestic energy cut inflation to its lowest level for over two years at the start of 2019.
 ...
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Two-tier workforce for Essex hospital?
 (334 words)

A union has criticised the “breathtaking” decision to outsource the cleaning department in an NHS Trust hospital. 
 ...
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Putting mental health first aid into practice
 (514 words)

Best-practice guidance for employers on how to implement Mental Health First Aid (MFHA) in the workplace has been launched by MFHA England.
 ...
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UK economy at its weakest since 2012
 (397 words)

Growth in the UK economy slowed in the final quarter of 2018 and, overall, economic growth in 2018 was at its lowest level since 2012.
 ...
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Guide to tackling gender pay gap
 (276 words)

Two new sets of guidance have been published by the Government Equalities Office (GEO) to help employers identify potential causes of the gender pay ...
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Issue 6

Part-time working parents penalised
 (597 words)

Working parents in the UK are penalised for working part-time and suffer from poorly-designed jobs that force them to work extra hours, according to ...
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Another win but equal pay saga drags on
 (310 words)

The Court of Appeal has ruled that store-based employees at supermarket group Asda — the majority of who are female — can compare their jobs to ...
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How to combat age discrimination at work
 (790 words)

New guidance on age discrimination at work has been issued by Acas.
 ...
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Government delay hits pensions of low-paid
 (390 words)

Government delays to pension reforms could leave low-paid workers thousands of pounds worse off, a new TUC analysis finds.
 ...
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Living Wage boost for uni staff in south west 
 (304 words)

More than 300 staff at the University of Bath are set to benefit from a pay rise this spring, after the public services union UNISON and the employer ...
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