Changing Times Newsletter No.92

Changing Time News * Number 92 * 13 February 2008

Changing Times News is the TUC's fortnightly online bulletin on work-life balance issues. Visit the website at http://www.tuc.org.uk/changingtimes

Edited by Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Jo Morris. To unsubscribe or subscribe to this bulletin, click here. Past issues are available

CONTENTS

Union news: New push for temp rights at work * Union reps need more time * NUJ drive for workplace equality reps * The importance of being less earnest * Call for family-friendly construction work

Other news: Win for disability rights woman * Landmark case welcomed by carers * MPs urge action on the gender pay gap * UNISON welcomes equal pay move * Flexible work payout after miscarriage * Overworked probation officer 'forced out' * News in brief

Events: Work your proper hours day, Friday 22 February 2008

Resources: Poverty and gender equality * Family matters in Europe * Gender mainstreaming of employment policies

International news: Europe: Women need more jobs, better jobs * Global: EU and Japan swap work-life balance ideas * Europe: More hit by psychosocial risks * Global round-up

UNION NEWS

New push for temp rights at work

MPs and trade unions have given their backing a new bill to ensure equal treatment for agency workers. The Private Member's Bill, brought by Andrew Miller MP, was launched at the House of Commons on 6 February, ahead of its second reading on 22 February. Temporary workers can miss out on employment protection, compensation, sick pay, holiday, flexible working and other rights. Supporting the draft bill, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'There is nothing wrong with legitimate employment agencies providing short-term work for those with short-term availability. Some people are always going to prefer to work a series of temporary contracts, but just because they opt for agency work shouldn't mean they are treated less fairly at work. But rogue agencies and dodgy practices are now tarnishing the whole sector.' He added these agencies were creating an 'underclass of workers who cannot get permanent work, who have no loyalty to employers, and who have to move from part-time job to part-time job. Andrew Miller's Private Member's Bill is an important opportunity to introduce decent minimum standards for all. We ask MPs to be present for the debate on Friday 22 February, and urge the government to support the Bill's passage through parliament.'

TUC news release. Unite news release. Usdaw news release. CBI news release.

Act now! TUC temporary workers action call.

Unions Together - tell your MP to support the bill.

Union reps need more time

The TUC has welcomed government proposals that could result in reps having more time and resources to do their job. Responding to the 18 January recommendations that employment relations advisory service ACAS should consider ways to strengthen its Code of Practice on time off and facilities for union reps, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Beefing up the ACAS Code would prove a great help to the small but significant minority of union reps whose employers refuse to give them paid time off to train or make it impossible for them to carry out their union duties.' He added: 'ACAS needs to find ways to strengthen its Code so that it reflects the modern world of work. This would help give union reps the time off they need to train, represent their colleagues and work with their employers to run safe, well-trained workplaces where staff enjoy a good work-life balance.' He said, however, that unions were 'disappointed that the government hasn't used the facilities review to give environmental and equality reps the right to paid time off so that unions can do more to make the UK's workplaces greener and free from discrimination.'

TUC news release. BERR trade union rights webpages. ACAS website and trade union rights webpage.

NUJ drive for workplace equality reps

Journalists' union NUJ is aiming to get a union equality rep in every workplace, with negotiated time to do the job. It says it is one of the first unions to incorporate equality reps in its rule book. Encouraging its members to stand for election as equality reps, the union says the role 'will be an important part of the NUJ workplace team, promoting equality in the workplace,' working alongside chapel officials, union learning reps and health and safety reps on the chapel committee. 'Well-trained and knowledgeable equality reps can make an important contribution in understanding, promoting and establishing non-discriminatory policies and procedures,' NUJ's website reports. 'Your awareness will make sure that any potential problems are spotted early.' Among the functions of an equality rep, NUJ says, are to 'promote union campaigns on equality such as dignity at work, family friendly and flexible working, equal pay, rights for disabled members, race equality.' It adds that these reps have no legal rights at the moment, so 'it is important that chapels emphasise the importance of equality reps to their managements and try to achieve some facility time for those dealing with equality issues.'

NUJ news release and Equality for all webpages.

The importance of being less earnest

Holidays are important for people's well-being - but for many families on low incomes, a holiday is simply beyond reach, according to new union-backed research. The study sponsored by UNISON Welfare - a charitable arm of the public service union - together with the Family Holiday Association, the Family Fund and the Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales), found families cited the 'opportunity for fun and happy memories for children' and 'the chance to spend time together as a family' as the top benefits of their holiday. Researchers from the University of Nottingham identified a range of circumstances affecting low-income families - money, health, disability, stress and neighbourhood problems - which can be helped by a break from challenging circumstances and a fresh perspective. Every year, hundreds of UNISON members receive help with a holiday or a 'get well break' from UNISON's charity. The service, called well-being breaks, includes support for day trips and leisure outings. 'We know only too well about the impact on family life and general health of long hours, difficult shift patterns and inflexible working conditions,' commented UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. 'So we recognise the value of holidays and the need for low-income households in particular to have more access to adequate leisure time and a break from the stresses of daily life.'

UNISON news release. UNISON Welfare. UNISON's work-life balance campaign. Family Holiday Association. Family Fund. Youth Hostel Association.

Call for family-friendly construction work

Construction union UCATT and representatives of construction employers have issued a joint call for site firms to show flexibility and if possible adopt family-friendly policies over the Easter break. Under the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) Working Rule Agreement (WRA), companies would normally give workers a four day Easter break. Problems have arisen this year as the very early date of the break, starting 21 March, means the normal school spring holiday will take place in April and will not be combined with the Easter bank holidays. The change in school holidays will potentially cause problems for construction workers with school age children, who could be forced to find other childcare arrangements for their children during this period. Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union UCATT and the secretary of the operative side of the CIJC, called for a 'good sense' approach, adding: 'Construction workers with families often have great difficulty in arranging childcare during school holidays. If their normal Easter holiday does not coincide with when their children are not at school, this will cause additional problems and could affect their performance at work.' Gerry Lean, employer's secretary of the CIJC, said: 'Flexibility already exits in the WRA in the taking of Easter holidays. If employers are able to be flexible on this matter it could be of benefit to both the company and their workforce.'

UCATT news release.

OTHER NEWS

Win for disability rights woman

A British woman has won the initial stages of a landmark legal case at the European Court of Justice that could result in new rights for millions of carers. The Advocate General agreed that Sharon Coleman suffered 'discrimination by association.' The legal secretary claimed her former London employers Attridge Law described her as 'lazy' for wanting time off to care for her disabled son. Ms Coleman says she was forced to leave her job in March 2005 because she was not allowed as much flexibility in her work as other parents. If her case is upheld by the full court, the verdict would effectively give new rights to millions of carers. Making the ruling in January Poiares Maduro, a senior European lawyer, said that directly targeting a person with a particular characteristic was not the only way of discriminating against him or her. He said: 'One way of undermining the dignity and autonomy of people... is to target not them, but third persons who are closely associated with them. A robust conception of equality entails that these subtler forms of discrimination should also be caught by anti-discrimination legislation.' Ms Coleman was already working with the law firm when she gave birth to a disabled son in 2002. As primary carer, she wanted flexible working arrangements, but accepted voluntary redundancy and began a claim for constructive dismissal five months later. She said: 'They knew about my son's problems because I took him into the office, but they wouldn't allow me to work flexibly to make it easier to look after him. Other members of staff were taking time off for hospital appointments or worked from home but my requests were always turned down.' A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: 'We are delighted for Sharon. This case will have huge implications for Britain's six million carers.' The European court usually - but not always, as seen in a recent working time case - follows the Advocate General's lead.

Bates Wells and Braithwaite case summary, Sharon Coleman v Attridge Law & Stephen Law. BBC News Online. The Guardian.

Landmark case welcomed by carers

The decision by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice in the Coleman Attridge case, which could lead to greatly improved rights for many people combining caring responsibilities with work, has been welcomed by carers and unions. Imelda Redmond, chief executive of Carers UK, said: 'This landmark legal opinion means that employers will have to alter the way they treat carers in their workforce. There are currently 2.5 million carers who are in work, yet one in five gives up work to care, meaning that we are losing thousands of people from the workforce every year. Every employer will have to look at their recruitment and employment practices and make sure they are not discriminating against carers.' TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The Advocate General has given a welcome opinion in this important case. Workers with caring responsibilities should be protected from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.' He added: 'Although most sensible employers now realise the benefits that come from being flexible and helping staff balance their lives, there are many bosses still living in the last century, who need to be persuaded to do much, much more to help their employees have less stressful lives and not to make life even more difficult for those already shouldering caring responsibilities.' Sharon Coleman had claimed under the Disability Discrimination Act that her employer had treated her less favourably than others because she had a disabled child. The issue at stake is whether disability discrimination law protects people who, although not themselves disabled, face discrimination because of their association with a disabled person. A UK Employment Tribunal had asked the European Court for a decision on whether such discrimination is covered by European law. The Advocate General's opinion is absolutely clear that it does, and also that this would extend to all areas covered by anti-discrimination law.

TUC news release. Carers UK news release.

MPs urge action on the gender pay gap

The government must 'take more seriously' efforts to eliminate the UK's gender pay gap, a Select Committee report has said. The Women and Work Commission was set up in 2004 to tackle the pay gap which stood at 18 per cent among full-time workers and 40 per cent for those working part-time. However the MPs said that though the commission put forward proposals, not enough had been done to implement them. 'We need a determined effort on all fronts if we are to crack the worryingly stubborn pay gap and inequality in employment,' said Judy Malaber MP, who led the inquiry by the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee. 'We are calling on all government departments, public bodies and other Select Committees to keep this high on their agendas.' Among the key reasons for the gender pay gap was the lack of quality part-time jobs, the committee said, calling for more spending to tackle the problem. The government was also urged to debate extending the right to ask for flexible working arrangements. Commenting on the select committee report, Dr Katherine Rake, director of the Fawcett Society, said it 'adds to the pressure on government to adopt more radical measures on equal pay. Women are now looking to Gordon Brown to show that he is ready to act boldly, decisively and courageously to deliver fair pay for women.' She added: 'Our polling reveals the huge public appetite for change. Equal pay is likely to be a key campaign issue in the next election. Conservative announcements on pay have indicated that it is now at the heart of political competition. This report highlights the need for the government to put its own house in order, and show leadership on this issue, by ensuring its own employees achieve equality.'

Jobs for the girls: Two years on, BERR Select Committee Report, part 1 and part 2. Fawcett Society news release. BBC News Online.

Women and Equality Unit gender pay gap webpage.

UNISON welcomes equal pay move

Public service union has welcomed new government support to help councils meet their equal pay obligations. The 5 February announcement by local government minister John Healey confirmed the government will allow a further equal pay capitalisation round in 2008/09. The minister said this would give councils a clearer process and the flexibility they need to manage their one-off costs of implementation. John Healey said: 'It is only right that people benefit from their right to equal pay as quickly as possible. We have already backed councils with the go ahead to capitalise £660m to date.' He added: 'I can confirm that there will be another programme for 2008/09. The further round of capitalisation will allow councils the financial flexibility to spread the cost over future years, and help them work with local partners to introduce equal pay more quickly.' He said authorities will be invited to apply for this new round by the end of May. Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, said the move 'is a welcome boost for low paid women workers in local government and shows clearly the commitment of minister John Healey to the principles of equal and fair pay. It builds on the funds released last September to allow councils to deal with this long standing issue.' He added: 'UNISON is committed to eradicating unequal and unfair pay. We believe that collective bargaining, rather than lengthy court action, is the best way to ensure equal and fair pay for all. More councils will now have no excuses for not delivering equal pay for their workforce.'

DCLG news release.

Flexible work payout after miscarriage

A mother of two who miscarried while under stress after her employer refused her flexible working request may receive a six figure payout. Nicola Adedeji's request to rearrange and reduce her hours at one of London's most famous arts venues, to look after her children, was rejected by 'stubborn' managers. Mrs Adedeji, 42, a house manager, had worked for the Barbican Centre for 11 years. She had asked to work a double shift two days a week. The Barbican said that her job was too demanding to be done in any way apart from full-time and terminated her contract last August. In December 2007, a panel at the Central London Employment Tribunal upheld her claims of indirect sex discrimination and unfair dismissal against the centre's owner, the City of London Corporation. The tribunal heard Adedeji's proposal to work a double shift on two fixed days a week was refused, partly on health and safety grounds. She claimed that after being signed off sick she was told she was expected to work full-time when she returned. She said she was 'devastated' when the leave request was turned down, and become physically sick. 'I was not sleeping or eating properly and I was irritable and very emotional. My GP diagnosed work-related stress and gave me a sicknote for two weeks.' Ten weeks into her pregnancy, Mrs Adedeji miscarried. While she had originally claimed that the centre's rejection of her request for flexitime had contributed to her miscarriage, she later withdrew the allegation. A hearing to decide Mrs Adedeji's compensation award, which could be in excess of £100,000, will take place in March.

The Times. The Guardian.

Overworked probation officer 'forced out'

An overworked probation officer was forced to sell his house and car as he pursued a three-year legal battle to prove he was a victim of discrimination. Now an employment tribunal has ruled that Steven Collingwood, 38, of Carlisle, did suffer disability discrimination and harassment after a nervous breakdown was brought on by overwork in November 2004. During the tribunal, he said he faced enormous stress between April 2004 and January 2005. Managers conceded sickness left the service understaffed in the second half of 2004, as Mr Collingwood's team shrank from eight to two. His caseload should have been around 80 clients, but by October 2004, it was 150. The December 2007 tribunal's 27 page ruling outlines how the stress wrecked his health. He suffered nightmares, became over emotional, and forgot people's names. The tribunal ruled he was victimised by his line manager. It also noted the human resources manager refused to undertake a confidential investigation of his bullying claim. Another hearing will determine a compensation award. A probation spokesperson said managers would appeal against the ruling.

New and Star.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Costly childcare: Childcare costs are rising above the rate of inflation, with parents paying more than £8,000 a year. A January report from the Daycare Trust said costs nationally rose 5 per cent last year, while inflation was 2.1 per cent; it added the average cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under the age of two in England was £159 per week. Daycare Trust news release and Annual Childcare Cost Survey [pdf]. Child Poverty Action Group news release. BBC News Online.

Sick break: Staff on long-term sick leave could be entitled to holiday pay, Europe's advocate general has said in an opinion that is not binding, but is usually followed by the European Court of Justice. He announced in January that under the Working Time Directive employees should accrue holiday pay while absent and added that an employee could not take this holiday entitlement while on sick leave, but was entitled to the money in lieu if their contract was terminated - even if they were off sick for an entire holiday year. Personnel Today.

Women's Libs: New Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said flexible working will be one of his party's key policies in 2008. In his first New Year message, he said 'putting British families back in control of their everyday lives' would be at the heart of all Liberal Democrat policies in 2008, adding: 'We will campaign for flexible working, shared parental leave, and flexible benefits for all families.' Liberal Democrats news release.

Pay campaign I: UNISON launched in January 2008 its campaign to close the gender pay gap by lodging a record 33,000 equal pay claims against public sector employers. The union, two-thirds of whose members are women, says it has been battling for equal pay for years, and has won significant pay increases for thousands of low-paid women workers. UNISON news release. Personnel Today.

Pay campaign II: GMB announced in December 2007 it had notched up its 25,000th equal pay claim against local government and NHS employers throughout the UK. The claims, all of which are yet to be settled, are estimated to be worth £250 million and typically cover women cleaners, catering workers, school support staff and admin workers who compare themselves to men in similar jobs who earn more. GMB news release.

Waging war: The GMB is supporting a case to the Banking Ombudsman for a member who believes her bank employer, Royal Bank of Scotland, made an unlawful and unauthorised deduction of wages from her personal account. GMB organiser Anna Meyer sad the woman, who lost a child while pregnant in 2007, 'had every reason to expect that her employer the Royal Bank of Scotland would proceed carefully with calculating what she was entitled to be paid as it involved a combination of incapacity payments, maternity pay and Working Families tax credit,' but 'got the calculation of payments due to her badly wrong.' GMB news release.

Work secretary: James Purnell is the new secretary of state for work and pensions following the resignation of Peter Hain. Stephen Timms becomes the new minister of state for employment and welfare reform. DWP news release. BBC News Online.

Healthy approach: TUC's Gender and Occupational Safety and Health (G&OSH) working party has produced a checklist to help assess workplace health and safety policies and practices. The checklist identifies policy gaps, highlight ways to improve investigation, calls for safety reps to consider issues like work-life balance, and encourages them to work alongside equality reps. TUC summary document and checklist [also available as a pdf]. TUC women's health and safety webpages.

Bonus issue: The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum is beginning a campaign to encourage all FTSE 100 companies to include targets such as employee relations and environmental protection in the performance measurement for directors' bonuses. It found only seven FTSE 100 companies had non-financial measures included in their long-term incentive plans to reward directors. The Guardian.

Endemic bullying: Bullying in the workplace is 'endemic' in the UK, affecting 80 per cent of employees, the Samaritans has warned. The charity said a third of those it surveyed were so unhappy they had considered leaving their job while just under half felt their bosses were prepared to put them under pressure to get as much work out of them as possible, regardless of the consequences. The Samaritans. BBC News Online. TUC bullying webpages.

Act up: A January decision by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to withdraw support for an equal pay case for a group of mainly catering staff and care workers has attracted wide criticism and calls for equality laws to be revamped. TUC head of equalities and employment rights Sarah Veale said: 'The equal pay act is out of date and in urgent need of reform.' TUC news release. The Guardian.

Retiring women: Shiftwork may increase the risk of enforced early retirement among women. Researchers made the claim after analysing information from just under 8,000 male and female employees, who were part of the Danish Work Environment Cohort Study, which began in 1990, and data from the national welfare register. Finn Tüchsen, Karl Bang Christensen, Thomas Lund, and Helene Feveile, A 15 year prospective study of shift work and disability pension, Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Published Online First: 15 January 2008. doi:10.1136/oem.2007.036525 [Abstract]

Holiday present: Thanks to union campaigning and government action, the 2007 Christmas and Boxing Day bank holidays were the first that scrooge bosses in the UK could not count against the European minimum of four weeks paid holiday. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We still want UK workers to have more bank holidays to catch up with the European average, and are backing a new Community Day bank holiday in October that will celebrate and encourage community and volunteer activity.' TUC news release. Worksmart holidays guide.

Hurting hearts: Stressed workers suffer a greatly increased risk of heart disease. A study of UK civil servants has found those under 50 who said their work was stressful were 68 per cent more likely to develop heart disease than the stress-free. BBC News Online. Tarani Chandola and others. Work stress and coronary heart disease: what are the mechanisms?, European Heart Journal, published online 23 January 2008. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm584

Prize guys: The team that brings you TUC's Changing Times News has just scooped a Workworld Media Award. Writers Rory O'Neill and Jawad Qasrawi of Hazards pipped the BBC to the award, the highest accolade for workplace journalism, for their online coverage, with judge Baroness Denise Kingsmill commenting the award was for the 'use of the medium, its depth and seriousness, and its spiky determination to campaign for those at the rough end of working life.' Work Foundation news release and Workworld Media Awards photogallery. Hazards.

EVENTS

Work your proper hours day, Friday 22 February 2008

Work Your Proper Hours Day, 22 Feb 2008, is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves. TUC thinks that's a day worth celebrating!

More on work your proper hours day, 22 February 2008 - things to do, facts and figures and resources.

RESOURCES

Poverty and gender equality

The latest issue of the UN Development Programme's International Poverty Centre journal, Poverty in Focus, is devoted to recent research and commentaries on the links between gender and poverty. The general conclusion is that reducing gender inequality promises significant returns - and empowering women by improving their living conditions and enabling them to actively participate in the social and economic life of a country may well be the key to long-term sustainable development. Articles cover issues including gender and the labour market, gender, employment and globalisation, and gender and economic growth.

Poverty in Focus: Gender equality, January 2008, UNDP International Poverty Centre [pdf].

Family matters in Europe

Family matters, the latest themed issue of the European Foundation's Foundation Focus, looks at families in the light of recent policy developments at European Union and national level and using its own research findings. The European Foundation says the aim of each issue of Foundation Focus is to explore a subject of social and economic policy importance and contribute to argument and debate on the key issues shaping the future of living and working conditions in Europe. This family matters-themed issue includes papers on caring for children, childcare jobs in Austria, research on the question 'does greater working time flexibility equal better work-life balance?', and 'work-life balance: a life-course perspective.'

European Foundation news release. Foundation Focus, theme: Family Matters, issue 4, December 2007 [pdf]. Free subscription.

Also from the European Foundation: Flexibility and security over the life course, February 2008. Summary and full report [pdf]. This looks at 'flexicurity' ­ how to maintain a balance between the needs of companies for more flexibility in employment contracts and the needs of workers for flexible working hours and for security of employment. European Foundation work programme.

Gender mainstreaming of employment policies

The European Commission has published an expert report analysing 'gender mainstreaming' in practice in employment policies. The report also presents concrete examples of gender mainstreaming implemented recently in Europe. Gender mainstreaming is a process which by the EC's rather clunky definition 'involves not restricting efforts to promote equality to the implementation of specific measures to help women, but mobilising all general policies and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly taking into account at the planning stage their possible effects on the respective situation of men and women (gender perspective).' Prepared by the Expert Group on Gender, Social Inclusion and Employment (EGGSIE), the new report analyses in detail how gender mainstreaming is implemented in the employment policies of 30 European countries. It also presents concrete examples of gender mainstreaming implemented over the last few years in the countries covered. It says important preconditions for an effective strategy are a clear and transparent organisational structure, clear enforcement mechanisms and a strong focus on achieving substantial equality. In addition, an analysis of the actual situation is essential 'in order to assess gender (in)equality, to prioritise areas for attention and to analyse the potential gender impact of policy measures.'

European Commission news release. Gender mainstreaming of employment policies: A comparative review of thirty European countries [pdf].Related publication: Manual for gender mainstreaming of employment practices [pdf].

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Europe: Women need more jobs, better jobs

Women are continuing to drive employment growth in Europe, but remain disadvantaged on the labour market in relation to men, according a report adopted by the European Commission on 23 January 2008. Despite higher educational attainment, women continue to be employed less and paid less than men. The 2008 report on 'Equality between women and men' will be presented to EU leaders at the Spring Summit on 8-9 March 2008. 'Our strategy for growth and jobs has been successful in creating more jobs for women in the EU,' said equal opportunities commissioner Vladimír ?pidla. 'But ongoing challenges like the pay gap, labour market segregation, and work-life balance mean we still have some way to go to make those jobs 'better' jobs too. Overall, despite their better educational attainment, women's careers are shorter, slower and less well-paid: it is clear that we need to do more to make full use of the productive potential of the workforce.' The report says work-life balance is one area where major differences persist between women and men. The employment rate of women with young children is only 62.4 per cent, compared with 91.4 per cent for men with children. And women have a disproportionately high recourse to part-time work (32.9 per cent) compared with men (7.7 per cent), underlining the imbalance between men and women in the use of time. The report says 'special attention should be given to improving both the supply and quality of services to help people balance professional and private life, in order to allow men and women with dependants to (re-)enter and stay on the labour market.'

European Commission news release. Report on equality between women and men - 2008.

Global: EU and Japan swap work-life balance ideas

Japan and the European Union have swapped ideas on work-life balance and 'flexicurity'. Vladimír ?pidla, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, arrived in Japan on 15 January for a four-day visit to strengthen cooperation on employment and social affairs issues. 'The EU and Japan are both ageing societies and face a number of very similar challenges in the area of employment and social policy in the context of globalisation, from guaranteeing equal opportunities for all to promoting the adaptability of workers and enterprises,' he said. A symposium discussed policy approaches to the increasing diversification of forms of work, for example part-time, fixed-term contract, job-sharing or sub-contract labour. It looked in particular at how to help people better balance work and private life and how best to combine flexibility on the labour market with employment security for workers - known in Europe as the flexicurity approach. Japan has struggled with work-life balance issues. The government has recognised death from overwork (karoshi) and suicide caused by overwork (karojisatsu) as state compensated occupational conditions. Based on Japanese figures, the UK could have in the region of 250 work-related suicide deaths each year, and many more deaths from overwork-related heart attacks and strokes.

EC news release. More on death from overwork and work-related suicide.

Europe: More hit by psychosocial risks

New forms of employment contracts, job insecurity, work intensification, high emotional demands, violence at work and a poor work-life balance are taking a heavy toll on an increasing number of Europe's workers, according to a new report. Jukka Takala, director of The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), said: 'Working life in Europe is changing at an ever-increasing speed. Job insecurity, multiple jobs or high work intensity can all lead to work-related stress and put workers' health in danger.' He added: 'Constant monitoring and improving of psychosocial work environments are necessary to create quality jobs and retain workers in good condition.' The emerging psychosocial risks are spelled out in an expert forecast from the agency's European Risk Observatory (ERO).

EU-OSHA news release and factsheet on emerging psychosocial risks. Expert forecast on emerging psychosocial risks.

GLOBAL ROUND-UP

President precedent? Nearly two-thirds of Americans want the next president to bring in laws that would encourage firms to offer more flexible working. 'While work-life flexibility has been a prominent issue in political campaigns in other countries, such as Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand, it's a blip on the US political radar screen,' said Work+Life Fit president Cali Williams Yost, whose organisation conducted the poll. Management Issues. Work+Life Fit.

Norway's way: On 1 January 2008 it became compulsory for Norwegian companies to appoint a substantial number of women to their management boards. Norway now leads the globe in gender equality at board level, with a higher percentage of women at the uppermost echelons of its firms than any other country; the change was achieved by introducing tough legislation threatening to close publicly listed firms that failed to comply with the 40 per cent female quota for board members. BBC News Online.

Maternity lead: Australia's new Labour government will look into the benefits of a national paid maternity leave scheme. A spokesperson for deputy prime minister Julia Gillard told The Sunday Mail on 20 January: 'As promised, the Rudd Labour government will be directing the Productivity Commission to examine the effectiveness of different models of support for parents with new-born children, their likely impact on work and family preferences and workforce participation more generally.' Courier Mail.

European action: 'Work-life balance has been a central theme of the EU gender equality framework and has been promoted through both 'hard' and 'soft' components,' according to a new academic review. Although the EU concern in promoting work-life balance has been more to increase employment and economic productivity than to promote gender equality, all Member States have now established standards in accordance with the EU regulations, the analysis in the Industrial Relations Journal concludes, adding 'statutory leave arrangements are a key component of work-life balance policies and they vary significantly across Member States with different welfare regime traditions.' Ayse Idil Aybars. Work-life balance in the EU and leave arrangements across welfare regimes, Industrial Relations Journal, volume 38, number 6, pages 569-590, 2007 [abstract]. ETUI-REHS Labourline.

Road rage: Overworked and underpaid employees are being driven to road rage, according to research that suggests employers must take more responsibility for displays of aggression outside the workplace. The Work and Stress Research Group at the University of South Australia found a significant relationship between what they call effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and driving rage. Benjamin L Hoggan and Maureen F Dollard. Effort-reward imbalance at work and driving anger in an Australian community sample: Is there a link between work stress and road rage?, Accident Analysis and Prevention, volume 39, pages 1286-1295, 2007 [abstract]. The Australian.

Break point: Since a California Supreme Court ruling in April 2007 expanded penalties for working time break violations by employers, an increasing number of the state's workers have requested back wages for meal breaks they were denied. In one of the biggest meal break settlements in California, United Parcel Service last spring agreed to pay $87 million to more than 10,000 drivers in California to settle a class-action lawsuit; the law says workers must receive a 30-minute meal break for every five hours of work and a 10-minute rest every four hours. Sacramento Bee.