Latest News
Saatchi’s unpaid workers
12 December 2014
35 outsourced cleaners have been through a long and stressful dispute over £40,000 worth of unpaid wages. The cleaners who earn on average £1000 a month, were not paid for seven weeks – an untenable situation for low-paid workers.
Shared Parental Leave comes into effect
1 December 2014
Shared parental leave has come into effect today (1 December).
Spending cuts will change state “beyond recognition”, says IFS
5 Dec 2014
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has released its analysis of Osborne’s autumn statement. Paul Johnson, Institute for Fiscal Studies director: ‘‘We are looking at massive cuts in public services’’.
Low-wage economy is wrecking deficit-reduction
5 Dec 2014
The government is collecting £17bn less in income tax than was predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government’s independent forecaster.
Pregnant women still face severe discrimination at work
5 December 2014
A report published by the TUC shows that attitudes at work are still incredibly regressive, with the sacking, bullying and sidelining of pregnant women commonplace.
Papers of Bill Wedderburn: Appeal by the Modern Records Centre, Warwick University
The Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick has recently received the papers of Lord Bill Wedderburn, after his death in 2012. An extensive collection of almost 100 boxes of his academic and professional papers is now waiting to be sorted and listed.
Zero Hours Contract Bill begins second reading
21 November 2014
The Zero Hours Contract Bill has started its second reading today (21 November), but was adjourned. The second reading debate is expected to resume on Friday 23 January 2015.
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill moves to Lords
22 November 2014
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill has passed its third reading in the House of Commons and will now move to the House of Lords for consideration. Report stage and third reading took place on Wednesday 19 November. A number of amendments were made to the Bill, which passed third reading without a vote.
Pay falls for sixth consecutive year
26 November 2014
British workers are facing a sixth year of falling pay, figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown. This year wages have risen by 0.1% – the smallest increase since records began 17 years ago. When inflation is taken into account, pay is down 1.6% on 2013.
JRF: A job is no longer a way out of poverty
24 November 2014
A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reminds us that “the recovery is precarious for people in poverty”.
35.8 million people trapped in modern slavery
18 November 2014
Australian NGO has released the Global Slavery Index, registering the prevalence of modern forms of slavery, such as forced labour, human trafficking, forced marriages, debt bondage and commerical sexual exploitation. The WFF is campaigning for the end of slavery within a generation.
Failure to offer suitable alternative vacancy to woman on maternity leave not necessarily discriminatory
24 November 2014
Felicia Epstein’s commentary on the case.
