News – Page 122
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ArticleUS construction organisation pays $178,766 in back pay for overtime violations
Florida-based framing and drywall construction organisation Gomez Drywall Contractors has been ordered to pay $178,766 (£140,872.97) in back pay to 108 employees for violating overtime regulations.An investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), part of the US Department of Labor, found that Gomez Drywall Contractors has misclassified its ...
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ArticleTwo-fifths are most interested in receiving paid annual leave as employee benefit
Two-fifths (44%) of employee respondents are most interested to receive between 22 and 35 days of paid annual leave as an employee benefit, according to research by insurance organisation Aviva.Its survey of 2,011 UK employees and 502 managers with recruitment responsibilities further found that other workplace benefits staff are most ...
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ArticleKavitha’s keynote: Employers must prioritise mental health and wellbeing
This week has seen the issue of mental wellbeing take centre stage, thanks to Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from 13 to 19 May.The initiative, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, highlights just how widespread the matter is, the impact that mental health issues can have within organisations, and ...
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ArticleLabour Party pledges to abolish lower minimum wage tier for younger workers
At a Young Labour event on 11 May 2019, the Labour Party announced that if it comes into power it will abolish the lower 'youth rate' of the minimum wage, which applies to employees aged below 18.As of April 2019, the national minimum wage for employees aged under 18 was ...
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ArticleOregon-based construction organisation to pay $98,461 in back wages
US-based custom metal fabrication and installation organisation TT and L Sheet Metal Inc has been ordered to pay $98,461 (£75,697.31) in back wages to 51 employees, following an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) into overtime violations.The WHD investigation found that the organisation, based ...
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ArticleAnglian Water employees receive 3% pay rise for 2019
Approximately 2,500 front-line staff working for utilities provider Anglian Water will receive a 3% pay increase in 2019, following negotiations with trade union Unite.Due to this pay increase, a typical member of staff at the organisation is predicted to gain £750 in 2019, according to Unite. When combined with the ...
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ArticleOutsourced NHS catering workers win pay deal following two-day strike action
Following strike action that took place for two days starting on 1 May 2019, outsourced catering staff at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been offered a pay deal matching that agreed to in 2018 for health staff directly employed by the NHS.In January 2017, around 70 ...
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ArticleSandwell Council customer service staff re-graded to receive pay rise
Customer service staff employed at Sandwell Council, who are members of the Unite and Unison trade unions, will receive a pay increase as a result of being re-graded into a new pay band.Around 20 Unison and 14 Unite members were due to begin industrial action this week in a dispute ...
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ArticleGas station owners to pay $63,398 in back pay
US-based gas station and convenience shop owners Tushar and Varsha Patel have been ordered to pay six employees a total of $63,398 (£48,438.29) for violating overtime and record keeping regulations.An investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), part of the US Department of Labor, found that the Patels, ...
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ArticleAlternative Futures Group employees strike in pay dispute
Around 650 care support staff employed by the Alternative Futures Group (AFG), who are also members of the trade union Unison, are beginning seven days of strike action today (Tuesday 7 May 2019) in a dispute over pay.Unison has stated that AFG is reducing care employees' pay for sleep-in shifts; ...
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ArticleKavitha’s keynote: Health and wellbeing is high on the benefits agenda
For the second consecutive year, organisations report that the main reason they offer perks is to support the health and wellbeing of their workforce. According to our Benefits research 2019, this has overtaken recruitment and retention as the primary motivation, clearly demonstrating just how much employers are realising the value ...
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ArticleUK Paintball to pay summer intern £100 a week to test child-friendly paintballing guns
Something for the weekend: UK Paintball is advertising for a summer intern aged between eight and 12 to test out child-friendly paintballing guns across its 75 locations, boosting pocket money for the chosen applicant with wages of £100 a week.The junior employee, who will need to be available for work ...
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ArticleSodexo staff at three London hospitals protest in dispute over pay
Porters, cleaners and domestic staff employed by multinational facilities management organisation Sodexo, and who are members of the trade union GMB, are conducting a protest across three London-based hospitals today (Tuesday 30 April 2019) in a dispute over pay.The protests are due to take place at St Mary’s Hospital in ...
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ArticleAround 439,000 employees paid less than their entitled hourly minimum wage in April 2018
Approximately 439,000 employees were paid less than the hourly minimum wage in April 2018, according to research by independent body the Low Pay Commission (LPC).The Non-compliance and enforcement of the national minimum wage: April 2019 report used up to date stakeholder and government evidence, including research such as the Annual ...
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ArticleKavitha’s keynote: Mind the ethnicity pay gap
As an Asian woman, how employers can address the ethnicity pay gap and improve employment opportunities and equality for people from ethnic minority backgrounds is an issue close to my heart.At the Westminster Employment Forum policy conference on Bame (black, Asian and ethnic minority) equality in the workplace: tackling discrimination ...
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ArticleActors Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke earn $500,000 per episode for Game of Thrones
Something for the weekend: As blood-thirsty fantasy drama Game of Thrones returns to TV screens this month (April 2019) for its eighth and final season, its leading cast are banking pay cheques of up to $500,000 (£386,182.50) per episode, according to women’s glossy magazine Cosmopolitan.Analysis by the monthly magazine reveals ...
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ArticleDan Lucy: Should employers follow Hermes’ lead with ‘self-employed plus’ status?
The recent move by Hermes and the GMB Union to collaboratively find a way to resolve the employment status of Hermes’ couriers is a positive step, offering those couriers the option of enhanced rights and taking the discussion out of the law courts.It is a smart compromise on both parts. ...
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ArticleCharlie Barnes: Should employers follow Hermes’ lead with ‘self-employed plus’ status?
Organisations like Hermes, with business models based on self-employed individuals delivering parcels, have come under fire for seemingly avoiding the provision of basic worker rights, such as national minimum wage (NMW), holiday pay, statutory sick pay and pension auto-enrolment.To tackle this, Hermes has agreed new rights with the GMB union ...
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ArticleDavid Greenhalgh: Should employers follow Hermes’ lead with ‘self-employed plus’ status?
The ‘self-employed plus’ model appears to work well for Hermes, but is not necessarily a solution for other employers.The issue for Hermes, as it may be for other businesses, could be that if an individual does not take the ‘self-employed plus’ option, there would be nothing to prevent them from ...
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ArticleBritish Columbia government awards 2% pay increase to container truckers
The provincial government for British Columbia, Canada is implementing a 2% pay increase for around 1,700 container truckers, effective from 1 June 2019.The 2% increase in truckers’ trip and hourly rates has been designed to offset higher operational costs and help ensure fairer compensation for drivers.The adjusted rate structure is ...