Hall, Mark
Union confederation adopts new policy statement on Europe
06 Detsember 2006
Participants at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC [1]),
held during September 2006, debated and adopted a new policy statement on
Europe, which was prepared by the TUC’s general council. The TUC believes
that, in light of the successful trade union campaign against the proposed EU
directive on the provision of services in the internal market [2], and in
preparation for the 2007 congress of the European Trade Union Confederation
(ETUC [3]), it is time to ‘relaunch the campaign for a social Europe’.
[1] http://www.tuc.org.uk/
[2] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/comparl/imco/services_directive/default_en.htm
[3] http://www.etuc.org/
2005 Annual Review for the UK
29 November 2006
Disclaimer: This information is made available as a service to the public but
has not been edited or approved by the European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. The content is the
responsibility of the authors.
New act gives extended rights to parental leave
29 Oktoober 2006
On 21 June 2006, the Work and Families Bill (*UK0511102F* [1]) completed its
passage through parliament and reached the UK statute book. The new Work and
Families Act 2006 [2] will enable ministers to introduce a range of new
‘family-friendly’ employment rights. These will come into effect in a
number of stages.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/government-unveils-new-family-friendlyemployment-legislation
[2] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/20060018.htm
Tribunal issues ruling on information and consultation
08 Oktoober 2006
On 20 April 2006, the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT [1]) issued its
first judgement in a case arising under the Information and Consultation of
Employees (ICE) Regulations 2004 [2] (*UK0502103N* [3]). The EAT dismissed
appeals from both parties against the decision of the Central Arbitration
Committee (CAC [4]) in the case of Moray Council and Mr J Stewart [5]
(*UK0602101N* [6]); in doing so, the EAT interpreted the meaning of
Regulation 8 of the ICE Regulations in a way that has important implications
for both employers and trade unions seeking to rely on ‘pre-existing
agreements’ (PEAs) to meet the terms of the legislation.
[1] http://www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/
[2] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043426.htm
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employee-consultation-legislation-finalised
[4] http://www.cac.gov.uk/
[5] http://www.cac.gov.uk/I&C/IC3 14 Dec Moray Council Reg 10(1) Decision (Final Version-Amended).htm
[6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/cac-issues-first-ruling-in-information-and-consultation-case
Government publishes employment relations strategy paper
27 Juuni 2006
On 30 March 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI [1]) published a
strategy paper, entitled Success at work: Protecting vulnerable workers,
supporting good employers (547Kb pdf) [2]. This paper sets out the current
government’s employment relations policy for the current parliament and
includes key themes such as introducing new measures to protect vulnerable
workers, ‘cracking down on rogue employers’, and ‘lightening the load
for legitimate business’.
[1] http://www.dti.gov.uk/
[2] http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file27469.pdf?pubpdfdload=06/1024
Commission proposes measures to tackle gender pay gap
20 Aprill 2006
On 27 February, the Women and Work Commission, set up by the UK Prime
Minister in 2004, published a report, Shaping a fairer future (1Mb pdf) [1],
which sets out 40 recommendations to tackle job segregation and the gender
pay gap (*UK0402104F* [2]). The independent commission was chaired by
Baroness Margaret Prosser, a former senior official of the Transport and
General Workers’ Union (TGWU), while members were drawn from a range of
constituencies including companies, employer organisations, trade unions,
public sector bodies and charities.
[1] http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/publications/wwc_shaping_fairer_future06.pdf
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/gender-pay-gap-examined-0
Anti-age discrimination regulations published
20 Aprill 2006
On 9 March 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry published the final
version of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (560Kb MS Word doc)
[1], which will prohibit age discrimination in employment and vocational
training. The regulations are intended to give effect to the age
discrimination provisions of the EU Directive establishing a general
framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/EC [2])
(*EU0102295F* [3]), and will come into force from 1 October 2006, subject to
parliamentary approval. Earlier versions of the regulations have been the
subject of extensive public consultation (*UK0508101N* [4]).
[1] http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality/draft_regs.doc
[2] http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32000L0078:EN:HTML
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-social-policies/new-framework-equal-treatment-directive-examined
[4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/draft-age-discrimination-legislation-published
Publisher required by law to disclose company data
20 Aprill 2006
On 22 February 2006, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) ordered
Macmillan Publishers to disclose to the trade union, Amicus, data on the
establishments, sites and/or plants that constitute the company’s
undertaking for the purposes of the 2004 Information and Consultation of
Employees (ICE) Regulations [1] (*UK0502103N* [2]). The CAC also ordered that
Macmillan should divulge the number of employees at each location. This
ruling [3] follows a complaint by Amicus alleging that Macmillan Publishers
had failed to respond adequately to a request by the union under Regulation
6(1) for information about the structure of the company and the numbers of
employees employed at different sites.
[1] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043426.htm
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employee-consultation-legislation-finalised
[3] http://www.cac.gov.uk/I&C/23 Feb 06 Macmillan decision - final_1.htm
Key EU industrial relations initiatives in prospect
19 Veebruar 2006
The coming year is likely to see important developments at EU level affecting
industrial relations - in particular on European Works Councils (EWCs),
labour law reform, transnational collective bargaining and information and
consultation - a number of them stemming from the European Commission’s
broader restructuring agenda. This feature highlights a range of forthcoming
initiatives and the likely reaction from the EU-level social partners.
Voluntary approach to equal pay reviews is failing, finds EOC
07 Veebruar 2006
On 27 January 2006, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) published new
research [1] showing that that voluntary progress in undertaking equal pay
reviews (EPRs) has 'stagnated' among large organisations, and that there has
been a 'significant decline' in reported EPR activity among smaller
organisations.
[1] http://www.eoc.org.uk/PDF/WP_42_equal_pay_reviews_survey.pdf