Workplace Report October 2018

2017-18 pay roundWorkplace Report examines over 1,000 settlements from the LRD Payline database to provide an overview of how workers fared in the 2017-18 pay round; Latest case law on discrimination

Pay and prices

Settlements dip to 2.8%
 (86 words)

Pay settlements have experienced a dip over the last two months.
 ...
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Labour Research Department’s Payline Database 
 (225 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
 ...
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Average weekly earnings (AWE)
 (257 words)

Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases 
 ...
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Full-time weekly average earnings
 (42 words)

ASHE 2017 median uprated by AWE. ...
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XpertHR (19 words)

Median increases for three months to September 2018 ...
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Prices (77 words)

1 Retail Prices Index (RPI), 
Jan ’87=100 ...
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2018 forecasts (39 words)


1 Fourth quarter ...
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Bargaining news

No end to goverment dishonesty over pay cap
 (762 words)

The Conservative government’s attitude to pay in the public sector is once again in the spotlight, more than a year after it announced the end of ...
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Pay rise but Amazon cuts employee share scheme
 (392 words)

Online retailer Amazon this month has significantly hiked its basic pay levels, matching a similar move by the company in the USA. 
 ...
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UNISON success over pay at NHS subco
 (313 words)

Public service union UNISON is celebrating another success in its campaign to make NHS subsidiary companies (subcos) implement the Agenda for Change ...
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BECTU pens Birmingham Royal Ballet deal 
 (110 words)

BECTU, the entertainment sector of Prospect, have agreed a new deal for staff at the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
 ...
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Additional parental leave at Southwark
 (161 words)

Parents of premature babies have been given extra leave by a south London council.
 ...
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Three out of four workers experience pay volatility
 (478 words)

A large majority of workers see their net pay fluctuate from month to month with lower earners experiencing more pay volatility, according to the ...
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Unite challenge secures London allowance for SSE staff
 (258 words)

Workers employed by energy firm SSE to maintain electricity meters have secured a London allowance after collective action and an organising campaign ...
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CWU members vote on two-year Post Office deal
 (270 words)

Post Office staff, members of the CWU communications workers’ union, are voting on a fully consolidated two-year pay offer.
 ...
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Equality news

Glasgow council staff take action over discrimination
 (389 words)

Thousands of low-paid women employed by Glasgow City Council went on strike earlier this month in a long-running dispute over equal pay. 
 ...
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Workers’ frustration over lack of flexibility in job
 (315 words)

Young workers, women and blue-collar workers are least likely to enjoy flexibility under current working arrangements, according to a report by ...
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Talks over gender pay gap at BBC Studios 
 (173 words)

The BECTU entertainment section of professionals’ union Prospect was due to meet with BBC Studios to discuss the gender pay gap results that were ...
Open access

Should firms have to reveal ethnicity pay gap?
 (125 words)

The government has launched a consultation to look at whether mandatory reporting will help improve the pay and career prospects of ethnic minority ...
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Recruitment and organisation news

EE staff singing ‘All I want for Christmas is CWU’
 (347 words)

Collective bargaining for 
contact-centre workers at the EE mobile giant, now owned by BT, could be a reality by Christmas, according to the CWU ...
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Katmex recognition (51 words)

The GMB general union has won collective bargaining rights for over 100 workers at Katmex, the steel plate fabricator based in Stockton-on-Tees. In a ...
Open access

Recognition
 claims fail on ballot rules
 (138 words)

Public services unions PCS and UNISON have fallen foul of the strict statutory recognition rules by winning recognition ballots but failing to get ...
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Learning and training news

Quality training ‘missing’
 (288 words)

The TUC’s learning and skills wing, Unionlearn, has welcomed a parliamentary report on the quality of apprenticeships which concluded that “too ...
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Over-skilled and underpaid
 (100 words)

More than one in three workers (37%) say they are over-skilled for the job they do, while one in eight (12%) feel they lack the skills they need, ...
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European news

German chemical workers pay rise beats inflation
 (459 words)

Germany’s 580,000 chemical workers have negotiated a pay deal where basic rates increase by substantially more than inflation and holiday pay ...
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Dutch union calls for largest pay increase for 30 years
 (173 words)

FNV, the biggest union confederation in the Netherlands, which also operates as a union in its own right, has called on its negotiators to press for ...
Open access

UK pay hardest hit by 2008 crisis
 (347 words)

The 2008 financial crisis has had a bigger impact on real pay in the UK than in any other country analysed, finds a new report from Eurofound, the EU ...
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Law - Discrimination

Discrimination - the law (851 words)

Discrimination law is found in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 10). The EA 10 lists nine “protected characteristics”: age; disability; gender ...
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Barclays can be held liable for historic sexual assaults
 (715 words)

Between 1968 and 1984, Barclays Bank regularly sent job applicants, some as young as 15, to the home of a private doctor, Dr Bates (now deceased), ...
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Poor handling of early retirement request not discrimination 
 (596 words)

Dr Dunn worked as a prisons inspector until he was forced to take ill-health retirement due to a depressive illness and a heart condition. 
 ...
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‘Bad faith’ in victimisation claim simply means dishonesty
 (696 words)

Mr Saad was a medical registrar training to be a consultant — a lengthy process overseen by Health Education England (HEE). Concerns were raised ...
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Practice should have considered part-time option before dismissal
 (661 words)

The claimant, Dr Ali, was a GP in a small GP practice of four partners. He suffered a heart attack and was signed off work for an absence lasting 12 ...
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Email citing ‘health condition’ not enough to prove disability
 (863 words)

Francis Mutombo-Mpania was an employed agency worker with a zero-hours contract, who worked at a Royal Mail depot. His employer offered shifts by ...
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Health & safety news

Bullying and harassment in parliament ‘concealed’
 (453 words)

Trade unions representing House of Commons workers have welcomed a new report on bullying and harassment which back union calls to introduce a ...
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Tackle causes of mental health, say unions
 (252 words)

Public and commercial services union PCS urged its reps to take a proactive, campaigning approach to mark world mental health day this month. 
 ...
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Period dignity campaign launched by Unite
 (156 words)

Sanitary products in the workplace and places of education should be as normal as having access to toilet roll. That’s the message of the new ...
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Support for victims of domestic abuse
 (107 words)

The RCM midwives’ union has called on NHS Trusts and Health Boards to develop specific policies to support victims of domestic abuse and for all ...
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Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Regulatory changes have left workers at risk
 (369 words)

Some people with potentially life-changing work-related illnesses no longer come to the HSE’s attention as a result of regulatory changes ...
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Brexit threat to safety standards
 (327 words)

Unions are warning that a “no deal” or “hard” Brexit will put health and safety standards at risk. 
 ...
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Shopworkers want more protection from violence
 (273 words)

Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has called on MPs to support an amendment to a Bill passing through Parliament, which would help protect retail workers ...
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Features

Tight labour market puts new vim into pay deals
 (4,808 words)

The pay round in 2017-18 saw the strongest pay rises for six years in collectively agreed settlements as negotiators successfully responded to peak ...
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