Workplace Report January 2015

Canteen Survey - Canteens are becoming more the preserve of larger workplaces as, overall, less than half of workplaces now provide this facility; Inflation and pay in Europe - In 2014, the rise in earnings or pay outstripped the rise in inflation in 22 countries — up from 15 the previous year; Latest cases involving redundancy, transfers and dismissal

Pay and prices

Settlements edge higher (244 words)

Organised workers have seen some improvement in their living standards. ...
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Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (223 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) ...
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Full-time weekly average earnings (41 words)

Source: ASHE 2014 uprated by AWE. ...
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Average weekly earnings (AWE) (151 words)

Total pay including bonuses. Percentage annual increases ...
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Other pay analysts (23 words)

...
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Prices (77 words)

1 Retail prices index , Jan ’87=100 ...
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Inflation forecasts (35 words)

Fourth quarter 2015 ...
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Bargaining news

Review recommends end to RPI measure (806 words)

Inflation has plunged, under the influence of lower food and oil prices, but the gap between the two best-known measures has widened. Meanwhile, the ...
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Above-inflation deal accepted by Accord (473 words)

Members of Accord, one of four unions at the Lloyds Banking Group, have voted by a large margin to accept a performance-related pay deal based on a 2. ...
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One capital, 18 bus firms and 80 pay rates (247 words)

London bus workers staged a highly effective strike on 13 January in pursuit of their demands for an end to unfair pay disparities across the capital. ...
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Families can’t make ends meet (279 words)

The proportion of people living in households with an income below the minimum income standard (MIS) has increased by nearly a third between 2008-09 ...
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Curtain to rise on review of national bargaining (447 words)

A joint employer-union project to ensure that the “architecture” of national bargaining in the theatre industry remains robust and relevant gets ...
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Unions at STV agree market rates deal (283 words)

Unions have made significant progress towards their joint objective of everyone being on the agreed market rate at Scottish broadcaster STV late last ...
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Backdated deal at Tata Steel (282 words)

Protracted negotiations that started last March have led to the unions winning a backdated pay agreement at Tata Steel. ...
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Equality news

Firms set to offer enhanced paternity packages (418 words)

Some organisations have announced that they are to follow the Civil Service by offering enhanced paternity packages as new parents become eligible to ...
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Big rise in underpayment (351 words)

New government figures published earlier this month show that since 2010 the number of 16-20 year-olds illegally not being paid the National Minimum ...
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Challenge over medicals for older workers (215 words)

The GMB general union has written to Transport for London (TfL) asking that they conduct a review of the requirement that all private hire vehicle ...
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Gender pay gap in Wales (86 words)

Workers in Wales can now compare their pay with others thanks to a new online barometer set up by the Women adding value to the economy (WAVE) ...
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Learning and training news

Spotlight on skills in year ahead (316 words)

Unionlearn director Tom Wilson has welcomed the increasing focus on skills in the run-up to the 2015 general election stating that “shining a ...
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Employers break rules on minimum wage for apprentices (202 words)

A survey of apprenticeship pay reveals a gloomy picture of the state of the country’s apprenticeships. ...
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Recruitment and organisation news

‘New chapter’ at BT Facilities Services (396 words)

A rigorous recruitment and organising drive by activists from the CWU communications union has led to an important new recognition agreement and the ...
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European news

‘Ridiculous increase’ of 0.5% in Spanish minimum wage (416 words)

Unions in Spain have sharply criticised the decision of the Spanish government that the country’s national minimum wage should go up by just €3.30 ...
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French union reps face pay gap (348 words)

The extent to which workplace union representatives face discrimination has been exposed in a major study. ...
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Settlement in Austria’s health and social care (79 words)

An agreement for more than 100,000 employees in Austria’s health and social care system has produced a 2.03% increase from 1 February. This is ...
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Bargaining begins for German metalworkers (115 words)

Bargaining on pay increases for Germany’s largest collective agreement, the 3.7 million people employed in metalworking, has begun. ...
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Strikes bring Polish retreat on mine closures (77 words)

The Polish government has withdrawn plans to close pits following strikes and other actions by the country’s miners. In a statement, the Polish ...
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Law - Redundancy

Redundancy - the law (213 words)

A redundancy situation exists where an employer closes or intends to close the workplace or reduce the number of employees doing a particular kind of ...
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Woman on maternity leave protected when job scrapped (1,458 words)

Mrs Wainwright worked for a local authority as head of overview and scrutiny. Facing budget cuts, Sefton Borough Council decided to reduce headcount ...
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Law - TUPE

Transfers - the law (279 words)

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are intended to protect the rights of employees on the transfer of ...
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No ‘percentage test’ in deciding whether employee transfers (553 words)

Mr Armitage worked as a project manager for ERH Communications Limited (ERH) managing telecommunications projects for its client, the Welsh Assembly. ...
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Contractual duties relevant in determining if worker transfers (569 words)

Three members of the Gormanley family were employed by the family firm, Robert Gormanley (RG) Limited. Robert and his son Graham were painters and ...
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Law - Dismissal

Dismissal - the law (567 words)

f Employees dismissed unfairly can go to a tribunal if they have been working for at least two years. Some specific types of dismissal do not ...
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Basic rules on unfair dismissal apply to Twitter misuse (773 words)

Mr Laws was employed for around 16 years by the high street store GAME Retail. At the time of his dismissal, he was working as a risk and loss ...
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Health & safety news

Employers ‘playing fast and loose with safety’ (402 words)

Workers in the building industry continue to face safety failings on an enormous scale, an online survey by the construction workers’ union UCATT ...
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Theatre worker left paralysed accepts £3.7m compensation (316 words)

Arts and entertainment union Equity has helped a member win what it says is the biggest compensation settlement for an accident in a theatre. It is ...
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Review running out of time (286 words)

A government review of asbestos in schools is fast running out of time for any action to be taken. ...
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Health & safety - HSE Monitor

HSE needs to get priorities right over workplace safety (370 words)

The TUC has warned that the HSE’s myth-busting mission is missing its target. It said that a report by Exeter University found that most of the ...
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Employers get six months’ grace over new regulations (217 words)

The New Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) come into effect on 6 April 2015, but transitional arrangements mean that ...
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Safe use of lifting equipment code (185 words)

A revised Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance on the safe use of lifting equipment has been published by the HSE. ...
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Working in confined spaces (77 words)

The HSE has published a revised Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance for those involved in work within confined spaces. ...
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Workers’ Memorial Day 2015 (59 words)

The theme for Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April 2015 will be “removing exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace”, the ITUC global ...
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Features

Where they survive, workplace canteens keep staff well fed (3,154 words)

A Workplace Report survey of 351 workplaces found a significant fall in the proportion of workplaces providing a staff canteen, although a higher ...
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Most EU states see real pay rise, but UK records a fall (2,111 words)

Last year saw a further revival of real pay in the EU, with pay increasing faster than prices in 22 countries, compared with 15 in 2013. However, the ...
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