Blogs
Anti-Social Europe: USDAW v Wilson in the ECJ
By Michael Ford QC
4,400 workers who lost their jobs when Woolworths and Ethel Austin collapsed have lost their compensation claim. The ECJ has ruled that the employees who worked at stores employing less than 20 staff do not qualify for compensation, because under UK law, workers in smaller stores are excluded from an obligation to consult over redundancies. The ECJ held that “establishment” in collective redundancy legislation, refers to an individual workplace, not to the employer as a whole. In this blog, Michael Ford QC analyses the claim and the ECJ’s decision.
Read the blog here…
News
TUC: Zero hours contracts are the tip of the iceberg
Zero hours contracts are only one aspect of the employment crisis. As well as ZHCs, short hours and other forms of insecure work are an equally fast-growing problem. According to the TUC, as well as 700,000 workers who report being on zero-hours contracts, there are another 820,000 UK employees who report being underemployed on between 0 and 19 hours a week. In Re-regulating Zero Hours Contracts, Zoe Adams and Simon Deakin say that “Zero hours contracts are simply the most extreme example of new times of precarious work which are becoming widespread in Britain…associated with insecurity of income and low pay for workers, while in many cases being highly profitable for employers”.
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Living standards fell throughout entire Coalition period
The period between 2010-2014 was the worst for living standards for at least half a century (directly comparable records begin in 1960), according to TUC research. Using ONS data, the TUC analysis compares five-year averages of UK real disposable household income per head with the averages for the preceding five years. 2010-2014 is the only period in which disposable income actually fell since records began.
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Cable admits that employment tribunal fees were a mistake
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has admitted that the Coalition’s introduction of employment tribunals was a mistake. Since the introduction of fees of up to £1,250 in July 2013 there has been a dramatic fall in the number of claims being taken to tribunal. He said; “There is enough evidence to suggest that this was a very bad move and should be reversed. It is highly suggestive that the fees are discouraging people – particularly low paid women—from pursuing their rights.”
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The Labour manifesto: Health and Safety
On International Workers Memorial Day 2015, Labour took the opportunity to unveil their plans for health and safety. Labour shadow frontbenchers and spokespeople on health and safety Stephen Timms and Kate Green said that a Labour Government will promise action, not words when it comes to protecting workers lives and dignity, announcing plans to: tackle occupational ill health and diseases, such as mesothelioma;
maintain the tripartite structure of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), including trade union representation;
strengthen the powers of the HSE allowing it to inspect wherever it sees fit.
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Tribunal victory for blacklisted worker
A workplace rep has won his Employment Tribunal case for unfair dismissal. John Kelly, a rigger who worked for three years at a power station being built at Runcorn, was dismissed by his employer Interserve Industrial Services because of his union activities as a rep for Unite. The tribunal decided that the reason Kelly was not offered work at the company’s Capenhurst sight when work at Runcorn came to an end in July 2014 was because of his union affiliation and role as a workplace representative. His construction manager Trevor Collins had stated on Facebook that he disliked the ‘Liverpudlian elements’ in the workforce. Kelly was awarded £3,253 in damages for injured feelings.
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Collective Bargaining Video – Why we need it
 
What is collective bargaining? Why do we need it? What will be the consequences of its restoration? Keith Ewing and John Hendy explain all…
Watch the collective bargaining video here
IER Manifesto for Collective Bargaining
Events
Workplace Issues: Taking up the issues with the new government
Wednesday 10 June 2015
Diskus Room, Unite the Union, London
This event will be the first IER conference to take place after the general election, providing an excellent opportunity to assess the government’s programme of work. How will worker’s rights fair under a new regime? Which labour law topics will trade unionists need to be aware of in order to best protect their members at work?
An IER conference, Human Rights: Possibilities and Problems for Labour Law is scheduled for 1 JULY in London. To book your place click here.
Featured Publication – Election 2015: What’s at stake for work, pay and trade unions?
Contributors: Professor Tonia Novitz, University of Bristol Law School; Professor Ozlem Onaran, University of Greenwich; Dr Lydia Hayes, Cardiff University; Carolyn Jones, Institute of Employment Rights; and James Lazou, Unite the Union.
This guide outlines the scale of the fall in living standards since 2008, the explosion of low-wage, insecure work and how working people and their unions have seen their rights attacked. By explaining the link between strong trade unions, widespread collective bargaining and lower inequality the pamphlet suggests short and long term policy interventions that would improve the living standards of working people and begin to steer the economy in a more equitable direction with collective bargaining at its core.
You can read and download the election guide here.
Publications
By David Renton and Anna Macey
This publication offers a chilling reminder of the extent to which access to justice is being systematically shut down by the Coalition government.
By Dr Lydia Hayes and Professor Tonia Novitz
What is the point of trade unions? What do they deliver? Are trade unions relevant in 21st century modern society? These and many other questions are answered by the authors of this timely and well presented report. Order your copy here
By Zoe Adams and Simon Deakin
ZHCs are highly profitable for employers, but lead to insecurity of income and low pay for workers. The authors point to rigidities in employment law and the operation of the tax-benefit system as being responsible for the rise in zero hours contracting. Order your copy here
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