Today’s figures revealed that sanctions against Employment and Support (ESA) claimants increased in December to 1,708. This was up by 451 on the previous month. ESA is the out-of-work benefit for people whose illness, health condition or disability makes it difficult or impossible to work. To…Read more…
Employment slowing down, pay still disappointing
Today’s labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics again show encouraging employment and unemployment figures, but again there are signs that the jobs recovery is slowing down and the numbers for earnings continue to disappoint. But first the good news. The employment rate in…Read more…
Will the disability employment gap ever be halved?
The TUC has published new analysis of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) ahead of its annual Disabled Workers’ conference which shows the differences in employment, unemployment and earnings between disabled and non-disabled workers. We have set out some key findings below. The government…Read more…
More employees want to work from home – how can we make it happen?
Today marks the 11th National Work from Home Day, organised by Work Wise UK, who promote smarter working (flexible working, good homeworking and mobile working). The good news is that there has been some real progress over the past decade, with employe…Read more…
A Daily Mail hat trick: an attack on women, an attack on unions, and an attack on the EU
So who do you trust to come up with an informed and considered position on how the legislative framework that covers abortion could be improved: a Daily Mail journalist or the Royal College of Midwives, a union representing some X midwives who have ded…Read more…
Our banking system just isn’t working for the real economy
Today the BBC are reporting that over 600 local bank branches have been closed in the last 12 months. It’s a tragedy both for staff who have lost jobs and for the communities that need the service they provided. It also poses a crucial question for unions about how we get the kind of banking…Read more…
Brexit won’t save us from #TTIP: Our own government are part of the problem
A common argument from the Vote Leave camp in the upcoming EU referendum is that Brexit could save us from the many negative impacts of the EU-US TTIP trade deal. But unfortunately there isn’t a quick way out. The truth is that outside the EU we would be facing the prospect of even worse…Read more…
Ending impunity & upholding the rule of law
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, spoke at the Anti-Corruption Summit hosted by the British Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May. This is what she said: This week governments put themselves in the spotlight at the UK Anti-Corruption Conference, where…Read more…
Work dress codes, high heels, and patent sexism
There are so many problems with the story of Nicola Thorp, the London receptionist who was sent home by her agency, Portico, without pay because she refused to wear high heels, it’s hard to know where to begin. From a health and safety perspective, heels are bad for feet, joints and back. Sorry to…Read more…
Brexit bonfire of regulations would be a bonanza for worst kind of financial speculators
It’s amazing how short memories are. The way some people talk, the financial crisis happened under Queen Victoria not Elizabeth. Yet it is less than ten years since the actions of a group of irresponsible, under-regulated bankers brought the world economy to its knees. We all know that we could not…Read more…
#TTIPleaks show the UK government is actively choosing not to protect NHS and public services
Some have been using the Greenpeace leaks of negotiating texts from the EU-US trade deal known as TTIP to claim Britain should leave the EU to escape damaging trade rules being imposed on us by shady Brussels negotiators. But disturbingly, what they actually show (adding to evidence we had from…Read more…
Unaccountable providers, service chaos, workforce pushed to the limit: Probation after the ‘reforms’
A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not know how well the companies responsible for running probation services are performing, due to “limitations around data quality and availability.” The findings follow the government’s controversial…Read more…
What ‘Lord Waitrose’ could do at the European trade ministers’ meeting on Friday
In the midst of the harshest crisis experienced by the UK steel industry in over a decade, last week brought some comforting news about securing the future of the sector. Potentially this week could see further good news if the UK government chooses to…Read more…
The EU’s increased importance to UK exports over the past year
While much reporting focuses as normal on a widening of the trade deficit, the export figures have for the past year shown some shift in the relative importance of the EU. Volume figures show an increase in EU exports of 2.6% on the quarter and 6.0% on…Read more…
Brexit would put a million workers at risk of having to work excessive hours.
More than a million more employees would risk having to work excessive hours if the UK were to drop the EU 48-hour week rules, says a new the TUC estimate published today. The European rules are vital for protecting our health , as regularly working more than 48 hours per week is linked to an…Read more…
What’s happening to employment?
Yesterday’s monthly Economic Review from the Office for National Statistics presented the latest labour market figures and provided an opportunity to look over the medium term at what is happening in the world of work and the signs that the jobs recovery is slowing down. Let’s start with the…Read more…
Cash savings are really struggling
At the end of March the ONS released their latest Quarterly national accounts. The stats indicated that household savings are at a fifty year low. A new figure released today indicates that savings are lower than even the March figures implied. The national accounts ratio indicates the amount…Read more…
Another report confirms #Brexit would cause massive uncertainty for working people
The House of Lords’ influential European Union Committee has produced another important report ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June. Following their earlier report in March calling for more attention to be paid to the interests of working people, today’s report emphasises the years of…Read more…
Brexit arguments on working time don’t add up
The main workplace rights to be targeted for supporters of Leaving the EU at next month’s referendum are around working time (although protection against discrimination, fairness for agency workers and health and safety are also in the frame.) Leave campaigners claim that the Working Time Directive…Read more…
Lawyers confirm #Brexit would put your rights at work at risk
Today GQ Employment Law LLP has issued a report endorsing TUC concerns that Brexit could endanger rights at work. The ’boutique’ law firm suggests that weekly working time limits could well be under threat, along with overtime pay, and requirements to consult before mass…Read more…