New regulations have been introduced by the Government that make it illegal for trade union members to be denied work through the use of blacklists.
First announced last year, the regulations were put in place following a public consultation on the issue, which in turn was sparked by an incident in which evidence emerged that a [...]

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The recent case of O’Neill v Buckinghamshire County Council has brought up some interesting issues regarding pregnancy and health and safety at work.
Ms O’Neill was a primary school teacher who was faced with disciplinary proceedings at work. During the proceedings she informed her school that she was pregnant. The disciplinary process was delayed due to [...]

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The government could face legal action for not providing adequate protection for workers against discrimination, which throws doubt on any proposals for a new law on equality.
According to the European commission, some parts of UK law - including provisions on disability and sexual orientation - are not as comprehensive as they should be, which could [...]

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According to figures recently released by the Office for National Statistics, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) in the UK has fallen for the first time in almost two years.
In the last month, 1.6 million people claimed JSA, which was 6,300 less than the previous month. The figures also showed that the number [...]

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A recent study has shown a huge variation in how long patients are signed off work for by their GPs for the same condition.
The study revealed that only one in 20 GPs accurately follows Government guidance on sickness leave. In fact, only one in three were aware that the Government actually had sick leave guidance [...]

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A trial of an occupational health advice line has just been launched in seven pilot areas in England, as well as the whole of Wales and Scotland.
The new service - named Health for Work in England, Healthy Working Lives in Scotland and Healthy Working Wales in Wales - forms part of the Government’s attempts to [...]

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Under new plans recently outlined by the Government, job centres are set to become a “universal employment service” open to those already in work as well as the unemployed.
The plans will modernise the current Jobcentre Plus network, and will include the provision of laptops and personal websites for jobseekers.
Employment minister Jim Knight stated that he [...]

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According to figures recently released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there has been a marked improvement in the UK’s workplace health and safety record.

The new statistics, covering the period from April 2008 to March 2009, show that there has been a significant reduction in the number of people killed, injured or suffering from [...]

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While the worst of the recession could now be over, the road to economic recovery looks set to be long and laborious.
Unemployment is continuing to rise at a rapid pace and may continue to do so for some time, with some analysts predicting that unemployment will top three million in 2010.
Pay awards have fallen drastically [...]

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With the increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, many employers may be tempted to search for information on potential job applicants in order to gauge their suitability for the position they are applying for. However, this could have potentially serious legal implications which employers should be aware of.

In [...]

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