Fact Service March 2020

Issue 12 (26/03/2020 - TUC guidance on coronavirus; Call for supermarket safety measures
; Everyone - join mass applause campaign; GMB presses case of care workers; Retail price inflation dips to 2.5%; Tribunal arrangements during pandemic; Pause for gender pay gap enforcement

Issue 11 (19/03/2020) - Year starts with a rise in unemployment; Positive start to year for average earnings
; Changes to official shopping baskets
; Advice on homeworking from TUC; Five steps to protect jobs


Issue 10 (12/03/2020) - UK economy flat
; Budget 2020; Lukewarm union response to Budget
; Demands on drivers during COVID-19 crisis
; Millions missing out on workplace pensions


Issue 6 (05/03/2020) - Acas workplace advice on coronavirus
; Statutory sick pay for self-isolating staff; Women's Pay Day 2020
; Donations to not-so-green Conservatives; Fewer inward and outward UK mergers
; Women in work make small step forward


Issue 12

TUC guidance on coronavirus
 (60 words)

The TUC has set up an online guide for trade union reps, designed to give them an understanding of the workplace issues in the context of the ...
Open access

Call for supermarket safety measures
 (304 words)

Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has welcomed supermarket group Morrison’s agreeing new safety measures, including perspex screens, to help protect ...
Open access

Everyone — join mass applause campaign 
 (166 words)

Everyone across the country is being urged to join a mass round of applause at 8pm on 26 March for NHS and care staff in a campaign backed by public ...
Open access

GMB presses case of care workers
 (358 words)

The GMB general union has warned that vital care workers are being left with no protection against coronavirus, no childcare and poverty sick pay if ...
Subscribers only

Retail price inflation dips to 2.5%
 (433 words)

Cheaper petrol helped cut retail price inflation, official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Tribunal arrangements during pandemic
 (665 words)

The Hon Mr Justice Choudhury, president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), has announced that In light of the latest government measures to ...
Subscribers only

Pause for gender pay gap enforcement
 (259 words)

Enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting requirements has been suspended this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Government Equalities ...
Subscribers only

Issue 11

Year starts with a rise in unemployment
 (557 words)

The number of jobless in the UK increased in the three months to January, official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Positive start to year for average earnings
 (608 words)

Average weekly earnings started the New Year on a positive note, but with the coronavirus pandemic yet to impact on the figures, the good news will ...
Subscribers only

Changes to official shopping baskets
 (576 words)

Each year, the “shopping baskets” of items used to compile the various measures of price inflation are reviewed by the Office for National ...
Subscribers only

Advice on homeworking from TUC
 (298 words)

Following the government’s call for people to work at home during the coronavirus outbreak if they can, the TUC has published advice for home ...
Subscribers only

Five steps to protect jobs
 (232 words)

The TUC has detailed five steps that could taken to protect workers’ jobs and livelihoods
 ...
Open access

Issue 10

UK economy flat
 (237 words)

The UK economy has been flatlining over the past few months, official figures show.
 ...
Open access

Budget 2020
 (605 words)

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget in the House of Commons, announcing the government’s tax and spending plans for the year ...
Subscribers only

Lukewarm union response to Budget
 (440 words)

Responding to the 2020 Budget, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government’s coronavirus plans will leave millions of workers ...
Subscribers only

Demands on drivers during COVID-19 crisis
 (371 words)

Drivers are willing to be flexible to meet increased demands due to the increased consumption in the retail sector as a result of the COVID-19 ...
Subscribers only

Millions missing out on workplace pensions
 (633 words)

Over 6.3 million UK employees are not receiving employer contributions to a workplace pension, according to a TUC analysis of official figures.
 ...
Subscribers only

Issue 9

Acas workplace advice on coronavirus
 (497 words)

Employment relations service Acas has issued guidance on what employers should be doing if the coronavirus spreads more widely in the UK.
 ...
Subscribers only

Statutory sick pay for self-isolating staff
 (354 words)

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be made available from day one instead of day four for workers self-isolating from coronavirus, the government has ...
Subscribers only

Women’s Pay Day 2020
 (443 words)

The average woman effectively works for free for two months of the year compared to the average man, according to analysis published by the TUC.
 ...
Subscribers only

Donations to not-so-green Conservatives
 (192 words)

The Tories have received £1.5 million in funding from polluting industries and climate-denial funders since the general election, official data has ...
Open access

Fewer inward and outward UK mergers
 (342 words)

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving a change in ownership saw notable decreases in both value and number, while domestic ...
Subscribers only

Women in work make small step forward
 (483 words)

Last year marked yet another year of continued steps to improve the representation and welfare of women in the world of work. 
 ...
Subscribers only