Fact Service November 2021

Issue 47 (28/11/2021) - Unions slam HS2 'betrayal'; Half of uni students would have considered apprenticeship instead; 58 universities poised to strike; ONS: still too early to judge Brexit effect; More job ads specify vaccination; Call for social care funding change follows vote; 'Time for public ownership' following latest energy collapse

Issue 46 (18/11/2021) - Joblessness falls and vacancies rise despite end of furlough; One in six earns below Real Living Wage; 'Hard to fill' vacancies to increase; Seminar offers help on handling grievances; Unions plan legal action over pensions; Inflation soars; TikTok promises unions action on online abuse

Issue 45 (11/11/2021) - UK employee numbers fell in 2019-2020; Disabled workers 'hardest hit' by Covid; Report questions executive bonuses; Think tank urges stronger penalties for bad employers; £5.8 billion lost to furlough fraud; 4.4 million work in gig economy; Slight rise in UK labour share

Issue 44 (04/11/2021) - Unions speak out on workers' role in fighting climate change; One in three night workers earn under £10ph; Incomes to stay at pre-pandemic low 'till 2023'; Report finds care sector exodus across Europe; Economy shrank almost 10% in 2020; Third of employers considering introducing menopause policy

Issue 47

Unions slam HS2 ‘betrayal’ (295 words)

Rail unions have united in angry condemnation of the government’s cancellation of parts of the proposed HS2 high speed rail line. ...
Subscribers only

Half of uni students would have considered apprenticeship instead (308 words)

Young people’s qualifications are seen as more necessary to get jobs, than do jobs, and over half of those who attended university would have ...
Subscribers only

58 universities poised to strike (365 words)

Fifty-eight universities will be hit with three days of strike action in December, lecturers’ union the UCU has announced, after its members backed ...
Subscribers only

ONS: still too early to judge Brexit effect (610 words)

It is still too early to reach a conclusion about the longer-term effects of Brexit, the Organisation for National Statistics (ONS) has said in its ...
Subscribers only

More job ads specify vaccination (127 words)

UK employers are increasingly requiring that job applicants should be vaccinated against Covid, an analysis of recruitment advertisements by jobs ...
Open access

Call for social care funding change follows vote (327 words)

The GMB union has spoken out following the narrow win in the House of Commons for the prime minister’s plan to exclude means-tested council support ...
Subscribers only

‘Time for public ownership’ following latest energy collapse (125 words)

Public services union UNISON has said it’s time for the government to step in and buy energy for consumers following the collapse of Bulb, the ...
Open access

Issue 46

Joblessness falls and vacancies rise despite end of furlough (862 words)

The end of the furlough scheme in September has not created the feared upsurge in job losses according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) ...
Subscribers only

One in six earns below Real Living Wage (332 words)

Over 300,000 workers are set for a pay boost from this week, the Living Wage Foundation has said, as its recommended Real Living Wage rises to £9.90 ...
Subscribers only

‘Hard to fill’ vacancies to increase (253 words)

The number of “hard to fill” vacancies is set to increase in the next six months, according to research by HR institute the CIPD. ...
Subscribers only

Seminar offers help on handling grievances (112 words)

The TUC is offering online guidance on handling disciplinary grievance. Union reps have lots of experience in resolving workplace disputes, it says, ...
Open access

Unions plan legal action over pensions (303 words)

General union GMB has launched a judicial review against the government over what it describes as £2.4 billion taken from public sector pension pots. ...
Subscribers only

Inflation soars (259 words)

UK inflation has risen to its highest level in almost a decade, making it more than twice as high as the Bank of England’s target rate, and ...
Subscribers only

TikTok promises unions action on online abuse (87 words)

Teaching unions the ASCL and NAHT have met with representative of TikTok after complaining about “disgraceful and defamatory” posts about ...
Open access

Issue 45

UK employee numbers fell in 2019-2020 (396 words)

Employee numbers fell between 2019 and 2020, according to the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) released this week by the Office for ...
Subscribers only

Disabled workers ‘hardest hit’ by Covid (323 words)

Polling by the TUC, working with the Leonard Cheshire disability charity, found that 40% of disabled workers have been pushed into financial hardship ...
Subscribers only

Report questions executive bonuses (239 words)

The High Pay Centre is challenging the worth of long term incentive plans (LTIPs) and bonuses as incentives for business leaders. ...
Open access

Think tank urges stronger penalties for bad employers (343 words)

Shaming bad employers has a deterrent effect, but it could be strengthened, according to a report from the Resolution Foundation. ...
Subscribers only

£5.8 billion lost to furlough fraud (97 words)

The government lost £5.8 billion to fraud out of a total spend of £81.2 billion in furlough aid, according to HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) ...
Open access

4.4 million work in gig economy (443 words)

The number of people in England and Wales working for gig economy platforms has nearly tripled in the past five years according to research by the ...
Subscribers only

Slight rise in UK labour share (345 words)

The labour share – the share of UK income received by employees in return for their part in producing output – was 59.9% in April to June of this ...
Subscribers only

Issue 44

Unions speak out on workers’ role in fighting climate change (263 words)

The general secretaries of 14 unions representing 2.3 million workers have written to the leaders of the COP26 nations asking them to listen to ...
Subscribers only

One in three night workers earn under £10ph (258 words)

The TUC has called for better pay for the 3.2 million workers who regularly work nights, after finding that one in three (33%) earn less than £10 an ...
Subscribers only

Incomes to stay at pre-pandemic low ‘till 2023’ (308 words)

UK household incomes are likely to remain below 2019 levels for another two years, a board member of Treasury watchdog the OBR (Office for Budget ...
Subscribers only

Report finds care sector exodus across Europe (174 words)

A new report by EPSU, the European Federation of Public Service Unions – which represents 8 million public service workers in unions across Europe ...
Open access

Economy shrank almost 10% in 2020 (1,117 words)

The UK economy contracted by 9.7% in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic – the largest annual fall in UK GDP since 1921 – the Office for ...
Subscribers only

Third of employers considering introducing menopause policy (128 words)

A third (33%) of organisations are considering introducing menopause or pregnancy loss policies, and 29% have recently launched ones, according to a ...
Open access