TUC launches new guide to family friendly working

The TUC has today (Tuesday) launched a new guide on how to persuade employers of the benefits of introducing family friendly policies at work.

The TUC guide says that unions have led the way in calling for more family-friendly working. The issue is an increasingly high priority for unions, with work-life advice now the most popular equality issue that members ask their union rep for guidance on. The guide makes the case for good family friendly working practices and features case studies where unions have negotiated forward thinking policies with employers. Good flexible working practices benefit staff and their companies by helping to retain employees, increase productivity and morale, the guide says.

However, while millions of workers and their families have benefitted from the growth of flexible working, the guide warns that poorly managed workplaces can do harm more than good, often leading to long and unsocial hours.


The guide explains the various legal entitlements to paid and unpaid time off, as well as the right to request flexible working. Unions are often able to negotiate policies that go well beyond the legal minimum, with some of the most effective policies open to all staff and not just parents, the guide says.


The TUC says that many employers still base family friendly working practices on traditional notions of family. This is likely to exclude many workers such as fathers and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, who also have rights as parents and carers, the guide says.


Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon (pictured) said: “Unions have led the way in the long battle for more family friendly rights and it’s now one of the main issues that members ask their union rep for guidance on.


“As fewer parents and carers fit the stereotypical model of the breadwinner husband with part-time working wife, it’s important for union reps to be fully informed on everyone’s legal entitlements.


“Our new guide should help union reps negotiate better family friendly working practices. After all, as the examples in our guide show, good policies can benefit both staff and employers alike.”


The TUC guide is available to download from
www.tuc.org.uk/extras/familyfriendlyguide.pdf

Midlands TUC condemns English Defence League presence in Stoke-on-Trent

The Midlands TUC today (Saturday) issued a statement condemning the English Defence League for holding a rally in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent.


Cheryl Pidgeon, Regional Secretary of the Midlands TUC said, “We know that this group includes football hooligans and racist thugs who are intent on causing trouble. Their claim to be protesting against radical Islam has been shown to be a fraud, as their behaviour in other cities has shown, where they quickly descend into exposing their hate for all Muslims. They have deliberately chosen to come to Stoke-on-Trent on the day that a local football match takes place, with Macclesfield visiting Port Vale. Only the television schedule has prevented the EDL presence clashing with the FA Cup match between Stoke City and Arsenal as the game has been moved to Sunday.

The timing is designed to cause maximum disruption to the people of Stoke-on-Trent and will place severe demands on police resources today. The Midlands TUC rejects the EDL message of hate, and would urge the people of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to do the same, leaving the EDL in no doubt that their shameful politics is not welcome in this fine city.”

West Midlands workers are giving away £2 billion of unpaid overtime

West midlands workers gave away over £2 billion in unpaid overtime in 2009, a TUC analysis of official statistics reveals today (Thursday).
The TUC analysis shows that 397,000 million people worked unpaid overtime in the west midlands in 2009, a decline of 34,000 since 2008.
Staff who did unpaid overtime worked an average of 7 hours 30 minutes a week, worth £5,156 a year and an increase of £484 since 2008.
The biggest rises in the value of unpaid overtime have taken place in London (+£498), the North West (+£492) and the North East (+£474). Wales is the only area in which the value of unpaid overtime fell (-£392).
Of the five million employees who worked unpaid overtime, nearly 900,000 worked more than ten hours a week for free. Workers in Northern Ireland (23.1 per cent), the East Midlands (21.3 per cent) and London (20.6 per cent) were the most likely to do more than ten hours of unpaid overtime a week.
With many employers and staff agreeing to reduce hours in order to avoid job losses, the reduction in working time has had a knock on effect on the number of people working paid and unpaid overtime, the TUC says.
If everyone who worked unpaid overtime did it from the start of the year, they would start getting paid on Friday 26 February. The TUC has declared this day “Work Your Proper Hours Day” and will call on bosses to thank staff for the extra work they are putting in to help businesses through the recession.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The recession has forced many employees to work less hours in an effort to save jobs and this has also had an effect on the amount of unpaid overtime worked.
“This flexibility and the sacrifices made by staff has saved jobs and kept companies afloat. Bosses should use Work Your Proper Hours Day to thank staff for the extra effort they are putting in to help their business through the recession.
“But there are still 397,000 workers in this region who are working too many hours for which they are not getting paid. This long hours culture causes stress and damages people’s health.
“Most employers are understandably focused on fighting their way through the recession. But they shouldn’t forget that working cultures such as pointless presenteeism – which keeps people at their desks for no good reason – is not just bad for staff but bad for business too.”

East Midlands workers are giving away £1.9 billion of unpaid overtime

East midlands workers gave away nearly £1.9 billion in unpaid overtime in 2009, a TUC analysis of official statistics reveals today (Thursday). The TUC analysis shows that 374,000 million people worked unpaid overtime in the east midlands in 2009, a decline of just 6,000 since 2008.
Staff who did unpaid overtime worked an average of 7 hours 24 minutes a week, worth £5,072 a year and an increase of £316 since 2008.
The biggest rises in the value of unpaid overtime have taken place in London (+£498), the North West (+£492) and the North East (+£474). Wales is the only area in which the value of unpaid overtime fell (-£392).
Of the five million employees who worked unpaid overtime, nearly 900,000 worked more than ten hours a week for free. Workers in Northern Ireland (23.1 per cent), the East Midlands (21.3 per cent) and London (20.6 per cent) were the most likely to do more than ten hours of unpaid overtime a week.
With many employers and staff agreeing to reduce hours in order to avoid job losses, the reduction in working time has had a knock on effect on the number of people working paid and unpaid overtime, the TUC says.
If everyone who worked unpaid overtime did it from the start of the year, they would start getting paid on Friday 26 February. The TUC has declared this day “Work Your Proper Hours Day” and will call on bosses to thank staff for the extra work they are putting in to help businesses through the recession.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The recession has forced many employees to work less hours in an effort to save jobs and this has also had an effect on the amount of unpaid overtime worked.
“This flexibility and the sacrifices made by staff has saved jobs and kept companies afloat. Bosses should use Work Your Proper Hours Day to thank staff for the extra effort they are putting in to help their business through the recession.
“But there are still 374,000 workers in this region who are working too many hours for which they are not getting paid. This long hours culture causes stress and damages people’s health.
“Most employers are understandably focused on fighting their way through the recession. But they shouldn’t forget that working cultures such as pointless presenteeism – which keeps people at their desks for no good reason – is not just bad for staff but bad for business too.”

Midlands TUC advice for getting to and from work in the snow

With snow and ice already covering much of the UK and weather reports suggesting that the snowstorms are moving south, the TUC has  issued advice for workers and their employers on what to do when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

While workers should make every reasonable effort to get into work, the TUC says that employees shouldn’t attempt to travel if it’s not safe to do so, particularly if they live in isolated areas. Employers in areas of the country already affected by the snowy conditions should already have put out advice to their staff and employers based in areas yet to be hit should be doing so now, says the TUC.

Employers should keep an eye on the weather during the cold snap, taking care that workers don’t get trapped at work and put at risk as the snow starts to fall. Workers should also let their employers know if they are not able to make it into work in the morning, the TUC says.

With the snow causing problems on the UK’s transport network, the TUC says that it makes sense for employers to allow staff who are able to do so to work from home rather than struggle with a lengthy commute to work.

Many employers already have bad weather policies which set out what is expected of staff and what they should do when snow, ice and a lack of public transport prevents them from getting into work. Any ‘snow’ policy should also cover what parents should do if their local schools close and they have no alternative means of childcare.

Early last year when snow and ice affected much of the country, it was reported that some mean employers were docking the pay of their staff, despite their often valiant attempts to get into work. The TUC advises against withholding pay or forcing staff to take holiday as it fears this could cause unnecessary resentment to employees who’ve been kept away from work through no fault of their own.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Across the midlands, people are braving the elements to get into work. But with the snow still falling and the cold and icy weather set to stay with us for a good few days to come, we need a sensible approach to getting into work. Employers and workers must keep each other informed as to whether it’s safe, or even possible, to commute to and from work.

“For many the bad weather and lack of public transport have already made their commute impossible, but many employers will have ‘bad weather’ policies in place so staff are clear as to what is expected of them.
“Scrooge bosses who dock pay and take away holiday are needlessly adding to their business woes by creating resentment amongst staff. Workers who have been prevented from getting to work despite their best efforts should not have to foot the bill for the bad weather conditions.”

Midlands TUC enewsletter 27

The Midlands TUC has published a new newsletter which can be found at: https://www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/tuc-17382-f0.cfm?regional=6

This is an occasional publication and back copies can be viewed at the Midl;ands TUC website: https://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/newsletters.cfm?regional=6

Over 14,000 will spend their second successive Christmas on the dole in the East Midlands

Over 14,000 east midland people will be spending their second successive Christmas on the dole, a TUC analysis of labour market statistics reveals today (Wednesday).
The TUC analysis shows that the number of people in the region claiming Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) for over 12 months has increased from 6,400 in December 2008 to 14,350 in November 2009 and the number of long-term dole claimants will continue to rise into the new year, the TUC says.

The national analysis reveals that 58 local authority areas already have over 1,000 long-term JSA claimants, compared to just 19 in December 2008. In the east midlands there are two local authorities, Leicester and Nottingham, which have exceeded two thousand JSA claimants. Northampton and Derby have both seen significant increases in the long term unemployed, pushing both local authority areas closer to 1,000 JSA claimants. The number of JSA claimants has more than doubled in 34 local authority areas across the east midlands, with sharp rises away from the three cities in areas such as Erewash, Corby, Blaby, Daventry and Melton.


Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The festive period is an expensive time of year and the 200,000 people spending their second Christmas on the dole face even greater financial hardship.
“While millions of working families are enjoying their Christmas food and presents together, those reliant on JSA will struggle to afford much Christmas cheer.
“Every job loss is a human tragedy, but when people are out of work for over a year they risk being permanently scarred by joblessness.
“Government investment has kept unemployment well below the levels reached in previous recessions, but there can be no room for complacency.
“The Government should extend its job guarantee for young people to anyone out of work for 18 months to stop people getting mired in semi-permanent joblessness.”

For the full release and statistics go to: http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-17373-f0.cfm?regional=6