Fact Service October 2019

Issue 43 (24/10/2019) - Peppa Pig CEO with snout in the trough
; Limited impact of Get ready for Brexit ads
; Guide puts menopause on workplace agenda; Ambulance staff suffer mental health problems
; Austerity has been brake on growth

Issue 42 (17/10/2019) - Rise in unemployment; Earnings growth dips to 3.6% in August; Retail price inflation at three-year low
; Responsible business and workers's pay

Issue 41 (10/10/2019) - Defeat for women in pension age battle
; Johnson’s tax cuts for rich - a bit rich
; Javid's jam tomorrow on living wage; Many workers denied their rights by bosses
; Harassment of ethnic minorities at work
; >What union reps need - take the survey


Issue 40 (03/10/2019) - Cost to the UK of EU membership; Universal Credit - not fit for purpose
; Balance of payments deficit contracts
; "True impact of a no-deal Brexit"; Short-term volatility in the UK economy; Workers skip meals to make ends meet; Register and get a vote in general election


Issue 44

Earnings still lower than 2008 peak
 (907 words)

If the Conservatives start crowing about how they are the party of working people — yes it’s utterly laughable — then ask why are earnings ...
Subscribers only

EHRC guidance on gagging clauses
 (370 words)

The new guidance designed to help employers understand how and when they can use confidentiality agreements legitimately, and when these agreements ...
Subscribers only

Staff cuts at academy chain a risk to safety
 (412 words)

The safety of pupils and staff could be at risk if Ormiston Academies Trust — which runs primary and secondary schools across England — follows ...
Subscribers only

Sexual harassment rife in music industry
 (280 words)

Almost half (48%) of musicians have experienced sexual harassment at work, according the Musicians’ Union (MU). Alarmingly, over four in five (85%) ...
Subscribers only

The problems faced by precarious workers 
 (263 words)

People in insecure work, such as zero- and short-hours contracts, are concerned by a loss of control over their time, a Scottish TUC report finds.
 ...
Subscribers only

Issue 43

Peppa Pig CEO with snout in the trough
 (741 words)

Twenty-two top executives received a total on £71.99 million in our final tranche of executive pay deals for the 2018-19 corporate reporting ...
Subscribers only

Limited impact of Get ready for Brexit ads
 (437 words)

Question one: Who said: “It’s crazy to use quite so much taxpayers’ money on stuff that is basically to scare people”?
 ...
Subscribers only

Guide puts menopause on workplace agenda
 (248 words)

Guidance aimed at improving workplace conditions for employees who are experiencing the menopause was published by public services union UNISON on ...
Open access

Ambulance staff suffer mental health problems
 (321 words)

Ambulance staff, who are members of the Unite general union, have revealed they are suffering mental health problems at epidemic levels in a ...
Subscribers only

Austerity has been brake on growth 
 (426 words)

Every developed nation that cut government spending since the financial crisis has experienced slower GDP growth, according to a TUC report. 
 ...
Subscribers only

Issue 42

Rise in unemployment
 (555 words)

Unemployment edged back above the 1.3 million mark, latest official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Earnings growth dips to 3.6% in August
 (590 words)

Growth in average weekly earnings stalled, the latest official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Retail price inflation at three-year low
 (476 words)

Retail price inflation was at its lowest for almost three years, official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Responsible business and workers' pay
 (547 words)

The centrist think tank the Social Market Foundation (SMF) said that corporate governance laws should be tightened to increase pressure on bosses to ...
Subscribers only

Issue 41

Defeat for women in pension age battle
 (417 words)

It’s disappointing, but campaigners have lost a significant legal battle against the government’s handling of the rise in women’s state pension ...
Subscribers only

Johnson’s tax cuts for rich — a bit rich
 (466 words)

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s promise of tax cuts have been analysed by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
 ...
Subscribers only

Javid's jam tomorrow on living wage
 (242 words)

Chancellor Sajid Javid announced at the Conservative Party conference that he would increase the National Living Wage to £10.50 an hour. He also ...
Open access

Many workers denied their rights by bosses
 (705 words)

The scale of labour market violations by employers across the UK is highlighted in a new analysis by the Resolution Foundation.
 ...
Subscribers only

Harassment of ethnic minorities at work
 (355 words)

One in four ethnic minority employees experience bullying and harassment despite most employers having a zero-tolerance policy, according to a report ...
Subscribers only

What union reps need — take the survey
 (95 words)

The TUC is undertaking a major piece of 
research into the role of union reps in the modern workforce. It’s been travelling round the country ...
Open access

Issue 40

Cost to the UK of EU membership
 (501 words)

Politicians bandy various figures as to the cost of EU membership to the UK and some will tell downright lies, so figures from the Office for ...
Subscribers only

Universal Credit — not fit for purpose
 (497 words)

The misery of the Universal Credit scheme’s failed introduction, with evidence of people becoming suicidal, going without food, being forced into ...
Subscribers only

Balance of payments deficit contracts
 (217 words)

Britain’s trading position with the rest of the world improved slightly in the second quarter of the year, but was still in deficit, official ...
Open access

'True impact of a no-deal Brexit'
 (325 words)

The government is trying to keep the public “in the dark” about the true impact of a no-deal Brexit, according to the TUC.
 ...
Subscribers only

Short-term volatility in the UK economy
 (198 words)

The UK economy shrank in the second quarter of the year, official figures show.
 ...
Open access

Workers skip meals to make ends meet
 (337 words)

One in five workers are skipping meals to make ends meet, according to new TUC/GQR survey
 ...
Subscribers only

Register and get a vote in general election
 (111 words)

The next general election is looming, so it’s vital to be registered to vote.
 ...
Open access