A new report from the European Commission has found that European Union rules to tackle discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation have now been implemented by all Member States in national law.

Rogue employers who do not pay their workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will face an increased penalty of up to £20,000 as part of Government’s crackdown on employers who break the law.

Companies could be banned from imposing exclusivity on zero hours contracts which offer no guarantee of work and stop employees from working for another company, under new proposals announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable. These measures come as part of efforts to boost fairness for workers.

Workers associating news of a more buoyant economy with long-awaited pay rises, team size increases and job moves could be disappointed in 2014, according to a new report from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).