You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2012.
On Friday night I had the strange experience – which many other Scots will share this evening – of addressing a pile of offal tied up in a sheep’s stomach, in front of a captive audience. Since then I’ve been wondering: will Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, be reciting Robert Burns’ ‘Address to a Haggis’ tonight? And if so, as he plunges a sharp knife into its ‘honest, sonsie face’, will he pause to reflect on the impact that Scottish independence may have on the system of employment law in the UK? More
‘We cannot accept directors’ pay rising five times greater than average workers’ pay as happened last year…and there is evidence of a clear market failure’. These were the views of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when announcing the Government’s response to the recent consultation on executive pay in the House of Commons last month. More
The latest average earnings (AWE) figures from the ONS show private sector earnings dropping back to 2.0 per cent in November 2011, down from 2.4 per cent in September and 2.9 per cent in July. The weakening economy has brought weaker earnings growth, although growth rates vary by sector, with the finance and business services sector still playing the lead role. More
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously attempts to downplay the significance of Romeo’s surname by declaring, ‘What’s in a name? That which is called a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Now, we all know how that story ends, and that – unfortunately for the protagonists – Juliet’s youthful optimism in overcoming unjust preconceptions turns out to be misplaced. But we also know that her statement was quite simply wrong – there’s actually a whole lot in a name. For a start, it gives away our gender. It might give a clue as to our age. And often, it discloses additional information about us; for instance, whether we’re British or foreign-born, which ethnic group we belong to, and even the social class we spring from. We may prefer not to disclose some of this information in case it (subconsciously, at least) influences someone’s decision to employ us, but that’s not usually an option – our name quite simply gives it away.
The annual rate of Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation was 4.8 per cent in December 2011, down from 5.2 per cent in November. The largest downward pressures on the index between November and December came from reduced prices for petrol, oil and other fuels, gas, clothing and footwear. Partially offsetting these price falls were upward pressures from car insurance and telephone charges. More
Day by day the number of myths or misunderstandings about local pay determination in the private and public sectors seems to grow. In part this is because some of the economic theory behind many of the assertions is ignorant of actual practice and thus the development of rational arguments is made more difficult. More
