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Government told to act quickly to end flexible working doubts
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 18/11/2008
The government has been urged to stop dithering and make a quick decision on the new flexible working laws as employers look for grains of certainty about 2009.

Employers dismiss Cameron's 'out-of-touch' tax plans
Source: XpertHR upfront
Date: 18/11/2008
Conservative Party plans to give firms tax breaks for hiring the long-term unemployed have been dismissed by employers.

Train to Gain must adapt to help firms in downturn
Source: personneltoday.com
Date: 18/11/2008
The government’s flagship Train to Gain skills service needs to adapt to deliver what employers need during the economic downturn, HR chiefs have warned.

Shortage of UK MEPs signals end to opt-out
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 18/11/2008
The UK may not have enough MEPs to hang on to its cherished opt-out from the Working Time Directive (WTD), a senior business figure warned last week.

'Scrooge' solicitor's seasonal sack proposal slammed
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 18/11/2008
A legal expert has provoked fury by advising employers to make redundancies on Christmas Eve.

Microsoft's HR chief aims to inspire new breed of IT girl
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 18/11/2008
Microsoft’s new HR chief has vowed to get more women into IT jobs at the software giant as one of her first priorities.

HR must train managers to ease burden
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 18/11/2008
The economic crisis threatens to overload already stretched HR departments if they don’t train line managers to ease the burden, an expert has warned.

Pay hikes are 'inevitable' if Working Time Directive opt-out is killed off
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
Employers will face increased pay bills if people are banned from working more than 48 hours per week, senior HR figures have warned.

HR team takes final trip as XL Leisure closes its doors
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
The final two members of the HR team at XL Leisure Group will exit the Gatwick-based headquarters this month following a tumultuous autumn.

HR backs plans for employees to foot bill for failed tribunal claims
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
Leading HR directors are backing a proposal suggesting that staff who lose tribunal claims should be forced to pay their employer’s costs.

Ex-Toyota HR chief takes on Microsoft role
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
Microsoft has appointed the respected former Toyota HR chief, Sarah Fisher, to lead its UK people management department.

Acas denies £37 million funding shortfall
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
Acas has quashed rumours that it will not receive anywhere near the ‘up to £37 million’ promised by the government to clamp down on unnecessary employment tribunals.

Obama warned to steer clear of 'buy America' policies
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
UK business leaders and employer groups welcomed Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election, but have warned the US must continue to work with international business for the good of the global economy.

Non-executive directors exploit cash crisis to undermine HR
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
The global financial crisis has caused City HR professionals to lose their grip on making key bonus decisions, experts have claimed.

Probably the worst Carlsberg decision in the world?
Source: Personnel Today
Date: 11/11/2008
Scores of staff at Carlsberg’s Leeds brewery attended compulsory training days just weeks before being told they would be made redundant.

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Indicators

Inflation
Retail Prices Index (RPI): 4.2% (October 2008). Next release date: 16 December 2008

Labour disputes
Working days lost: 68,000 (September 2008). Number of stoppages: 8 (September 2008). Next release date: 17 December 2008.

Average earnings
Headline average earnings growth: 3.3% (September 2008). Next release date: 17 December 2008

Unemployment
Headline unemployment rate (ILO definition): 5.8% (July to September 2008). Next release date: 17 December 2008.

Working hours
Average weekly hours in UK: 39.0 (full-time men); 33.9 (full-time women) (July to September 2008). Next release date: 17 December 2008.

Recruitment and labour market
Availability of candidates (compared with previous month): - Permanent staff: 48.5% (October 2008) - Temporary/contract staff: 51.6% (October 2008) Next release date: 11 December 2008.

Pay awards
IRS headline measure of pay settlements: 3.5% (September 2008) Next release date: 21 Novmber 2008

Pay Intelligence October 2008: Annual review of pay trends and prospects
The IRS headline measure of pay settlements stands at 3.5% in the three months to 30 September 2008.

Business confidence
Business confidence: Manufacturing industry. Manufacturing optimism: -60% (October 2008) (CBI). Next release date: 20 January 2009

Official pay data | Summary
Median weekly earnings, whole economy (ASHE 2007 uprated by AEI): £479.52 (August 2008). Next release date: 12 November 2008.

ASHE 2007: Official pay data - summary
XpertHR has pulled together a selection of the most recent available official data on pay levels, collected by the government's statistics agency and published in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. On this page we summarise our official pay data resources.