Burgundy Book updated for first time in two decades
The Local Government Association (LGA) has published an updated version of the Burgundy Book, which outlines the conditions of service for teachers in England and Wales.
The Burgundy Book is a national agreement between the five teacher unions and the National Employers Organisation for School Teachers. It is widely incorporated into many teachers’ contracts of employment. According to the LGA, the latest version ‘updates legislation and clarifies terminology without amending the application of any of the terms and conditions of employment contained in the Burgundy Book’.
New report into sexual harassment and abuse of students and staff
The Women and Equalities Committee has published a hard hitting report which describes sexual harassment and violence as a ‘scourge’ in schools. It recommends that Ofsted should investigate the levels of abuse experienced by female staff.
New rules on unspent convictions and cautions
The government has introduced a draft order which amends the definition of ‘relevant matter’ in section 113A of the Police Act 1997 to include all unspent convictions and cautions. Once the new rules are in force, this information must be disclosed on a standard or enhanced criminal record certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
25% increase in numbers of Employment Tribunal claims
The Ministry of Justice has published quarterly statistics from the period January to March 2023. These reveal that 22,825 claims were received in that period, an increase of almost 25% compared with the same period last year.
Government abandons Bill of Rights Bill
The government has confirmed that it will not proceed with its controversial plan to rewrite human rights law via its Bill of Rights. However, it is said to be still committed to “a human rights framework which is up to date and fit for purpose and works for the British people”.
Survey reveals delay in implementing adjustments for disabled workers
The Great British Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023, conducted by the Business Disability Forum, revealed that disabled employees are waiting far too long for reasonable adjustments.
Almost 1,500 disabled employees and managers responded to the survey which found that:
- 78% of disabled employees had to initiate the process of getting adjustments
- 56% said there are still disability related barriers in the workplace even after adjustments had been made, and only 18% said that their adjustments had removed all barriers
- 10% said it was easy to get the adjustments they needed
- 1-in-8 people are waiting over a year to get the adjustments they need
- Disabled workers also complained about wider barriers in their workplace environment and working culture, such as bullying and harassment, micro-aggressions, inaccessible shared spaces and transport to work.
It also asked managers about their experience dealing with disabled members of staff. Only 25% of managers said that OH had helped support the employee to manage their disability and understand the adjustments that would help. They also complained about the difficulty of finding out where to access information about adjustments. Processes were often convoluted and were rarely brought together behind one internal centralised system. They also said that they didn’t have authority to make adjustments to the culture and wider working environment.
New research to support dyslexic thinkers in the workplace
Randstad Enterprise has collaborated with Made by Dyslexia to publish a report revealing the disparity between HR leaders’ perception of dyslexic employees experience in the workplace and the real-life experiences of 1,500 dyslexic employees. Recommendations have been made for employers to better support dyslexic thinkers at work.
Sharp fall in salary transparency in job ads
The proportion of UK job ads that include salary information has slipped to a seven-year low according to a report analysed by Personnel Today. Job search engine Adzuna analysed 80 million UK job ads posted between 2016 and April 2023.
Despite Adzuna data showing that job ads with a salary receive six times more applications, just 51.5% of UK job ads disclosed an intended salary or salary range in April 2023. That is significantly lower than 61.4% a year ago. The report also highlights the sectors which have the highest and lowest disclosure rates.
The lack of transparency around starting salaries is cited as one of the reasons why many organisations aren’t making enough progress to reduce their gender pay gaps.
CIPD Good Work Index 2023: workers less fulfilled and more stressed
Job quality has gone backwards in the past four years, according to the latest research from the CIPD on workers’ engagement and stress levels. It’s 2023 Index estimates that between 6 million and 9 million people could be experiencing “poor quality” work, and compared to 2019, employees are less enthused about work, less likely to perceive their job as useful, and more likely to see their work as “doing it for the money”. Other key findings include:
- 43% of workers said their work was purely transactional (compared to 36% in 2019)
- 51% were happy to put work additional hours in 2023 (compared to 57% in 2019)
- 49% always or often feel less enthusiastic about the job (compared to 54% in 2029)
- 33% sometimes feel bored at work
- 26% sometimes feel miserable
- 21% sometimes feel lonely.
Employees in the public sector are more likely to feel disengaged with their work than those working in the private sector.
Read more – July 2023
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