You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2011.
In an extraordinary development, the two-year pay freeze in the public sector is to be extended for a further two years, with basic pay awards restricted to an average of 1 per cent in each year. The Chancellor’s announcement in the Autumn Statement came as a major surprise as most employers and unions across the public sector had assumed that there would be a return to some semblance normal pay bargaining following the two-year pay freeze. More
In the year to April 2011, the median gross annual earnings for full-time employees were £26,200, an increase of 1.4 per cent compared with £25,900 in 2010. The median gross annual earnings for men were £28,400, up 1.2 per cent from 2010, and for full-time women they were £22,900, up from 1.9 per cent. More
It would be difficult to argue that the Coalition has ideally managed employment law reform. Although leaks to the press pre-empting official announcements occurred under previous administrations, the current Government also seems to be undermining the role of public consultations. For example, the Government has yet to publish its response to the ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation, but it has already announced that it intends to increase the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims to two years and to charge claimants tribunal fees. I am considering starting an e-petition calling for improved Government consultation in the hope of sparking a parliamentary debate. But, while the Government’s approach is undesirable, I doubt I could secure the 100,000 signatures necessary to trigger a debate. However, could the Government’s consultation methods potentially leave its decisions open to judicial review? More
One interesting side effect of all the coverage of top pay is the way press officers at some of the companies highlighted in the High Pay Commission’s final report have tried to question the figures. Two prominent examples are Lloyds and Barclays. On the BBC website, for example, a spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group is reported to have said: ‘We have requested the data from the High Pay Commission as we believe this report to be misleading. We are unable to reconcile the numbers.’ I am not sure why Lloyds believe the figures published are misleading as its very own annual accounts show on page 134 that the then chief executive received £2,572,000 during the year to December 2010. This is the figure included in the High Pay Commission report. More
Following a year of extensive investigation, the High Pay Commission (HPC) published its final report today, Cheques with balances: why tackling high pay is in the national interest. The report follows on the heels of the Government’s own consultation on boardroom pay and, given the coincidence of timing, the likelihood is that some of its findings and recommendations will be taken seriously in official circles. More
Discussion over the value of public sector pensions is highly topical at the moment. Very few people dispute the relative value of a defined pension benefit linked to salary over the uncertain outcome of contributions paid into an investment fund. Questions remain however, over the degree to which public sector pensions provide a competitive edge in the total reward package when compared to the private sector. Intrinsic to these calculations are estimates for age-related earnings for both public and private sector workers since the value of any pension is an addition to earnings, and any difference in earnings in later life has a significant impact on the value of a final salary pension in any total reward comparison.
Download pdf (88 KB) to read this research in full.
The latest average weekly earnings (AWE) figures show private sector earnings growth falling back from 2.9 per cent in August to 2.4 per cent in September. Pay growth across all sectors of the economy remains weak. The only exception is finance and business services, where the annual rate of increase was 4.4 per cent in September, although this was down from 5.8 per cent in August. More
The rate of inflation eased back slightly in October from record figures in September, but was still running at 5 per cent. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) rose by 5.4 per cent in the year to October, down from 5.6 per cent in September. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 5.0 per cent in October, down from 5.2 per cent in September. More
The latest sharp rise in the RPI, combined with a slight drop in the IDS median pay award, has once more cast a spotlight on the relationship between the cost of living and wages. The current high levels of inflation, coupled with comparatively lower average pay increases, mean that, in what economists and journalists like to call ‘real terms’, earnings continue to fall. More
It’s become a bit of a cliché in legal commentary to say, of a particular issue, that the law is in a state of confusion, and that clarification from a higher court is much needed. Well, this blog considers the avoidance of cliché a cliché, and unabashedly resorts to truism, platitude or chestnut as it sees fit. The EAT’s recent decision on the holiday pay rights of employees on long-term sick leave leaves the law in a state of confusion. Clarification from a higher court is much needed. More
