At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 1-7 February 2019
Your quick-read round up of the reward and benefits stories appearing in the press in the past seven days.
The headlines you might have missed between 1-7 February.
DB pension scheme consolidation set to become ‘commonplace’
The Actuary: More than half of pension professionals in the UK believe superfunds will become an increasingly common solution for defined benefit (DB) schemes, a survey has found. Read Story.
Little change in pension deficit despite Brexit
Actuarial Post: JLT Employee Benefits has updated its monthly index, showing the funding position of all UK private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes under the standard accounting measure (IAS19) used in company reports and accounts. Read Story.
Skills crisis as UK employers fail to upskill their workers
HR Review: New research published today by City & Guilds Group reveals that British workers are being denied critical opportunities to up-skill for the future. Read Story.
Now: Pensions rebuilds 350,000 data records as TPR says admin problems resolved
Corporate Adviser: Significant administrative problems at Now: Pensions, affecting more than a quarter of a million people have been largely resolved says the Pensions Regulator. Read Story.
1/3 UK workers have a 'work-spouse' relationship
HR Grapevine: The average full-time worker in the UK clocks in for 37 hours per week at work; but just how well do we know the person sat across the desk from us? Read Story.
Employee experience of the workplace does not match employer rhetoric, claims report
Workplace Insight: A new report (registration needed), based on a survey of UK employers and employees, claims to reveal a significant and increasing gap between employees’ experience of being employed and what employers believe this experience to be. Read Story.
Thirtysomething workers’ pay most affected by financial crisis
Personnel Today: Workers in their 30s are still feeling the effect of the financial crisis on their pay packets, with typical pay for this age group still 7% below its pre-crisis peak. Read Story.
Financial services firms slow in offering flexible working to all employees
Workplace Insight: New research from Teleware claims that 94 percent of employees in financial services firms believe it is important for them to be able to choose the hours they work and where from. Yet, only just over a third (36 percent) of employees in the sector work for firms that offer flexible working. Read Story.
Millennials on the move: three in ten have already clocked up five or more jobs
HR News: The job for life is well and truly over, with three in ten millennials having clocked up five or more jobs in their career so far, new research from Tempo reveals. Read Story.
‘Ee-bah-gum’: accent bias still afflicts UK
Personnel Today: Research by academics from Manchester and Bath universities, focusing on the teaching profession, has found that “broad” rather than the “neutral” regional accents now often heard on television (as opposed to previous eras when only Queen’s English was heard), are often still frowned upon and led to premature judgments about people. Read Story.
Half feel too guilty to take time off when they are unwell
Employee Benefits: More than half (53%) of respondents state that they feel too guilty to take time off when they are genuinely ill, according to research by online job site CV Library. Read Story.
One in five businesses lack expertise to manage sickness absence
Health Insurance Daily: More than one in five British businesses (22%) lack the expertise to manage sickness absence effectively, a poll suggests. Read Story.
Almost two-fifths of working parents do not have access to flexible arrangements
Employee Benefits: Almost two-fifths (37%) of working parents in the UK state that flexible working is not available in their workplace, despite all employees having the statutory right to request flexible working arrangements, according to research by Bright Horizons and Working Families. Read Story.
A morning adrenaline rush improves workplace productivity
Workplace Insight: A new academic study has found the benefits of taking part in adrenaline boosting activities before work. Read Story.
Shorter working week could tackle UK productivity issues
HR Magazine: Working fewer hours each week could help tackle productivity issues in the UK, according to think tank Autonomy. Read Story.
Government delays to pension reform 'could cost low earners £12,000'
Professional Pensions: A six-year delay in overhauling a pensions rule that penalises the low paid could cut a saver's pension by as much as £12,000, according to the Trade Union Congress (TUC). Read Story.
Half of workers want flexy seven-day week over conventional five-day
The HR Director: A new survey from business-to-consultant matchmaking platform, Worksome, shows that UK employees crave the true flexibility offered by a seven-day working week. Businesses that don’t adopt a culture of flexibility not only risk losing their staff to the lure of the gig economy, but could also lose competitive advantage as a result of becoming unattractive and inaccessible to next gen talent. Read Story.
Carers quitting jobs from pressure
BBC News: The pressures of looking after an elderly, ill or disabled relative have made almost half a million people quit their jobs in the UK in the past two years, says Carers UK. Read Story.
Financial difficulties ‘harming the nation’s wellbeing’
Health Insurance Daily: Persistent financial difficulties among UK adults are harming the nation’s wellbeing, figures show. Since the first quarter of 2013, household debt per head has been increasing and is now 133% of disposable income. Read Story.
Average advertised salaries have increased by 3.9% since December 2017
Employee Benefits: The average advertised salary in the UK increased by 3.9% between December 2017 and December 2018, according to research by job search engine Adzuna. Read Story.
The Chartered Insurance Institute reports a 1% mean ethnicity pay gap
Employee Benefits The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has voluntarily disclosed the ethnicity pay gap across its 243 employees, reporting a 1% mean ethnicity pay gap for hourly pay in 2018. Read Story.
Auto enrolment calculation is selling savers short
Actuarial Post: In April 2019, auto enrolled savers paying minimum contributions will see their contributions rise from 5% of qualifying earnings to 8%. But, the way auto enrolment contributions are calculated, means that no saver will actually receive the full 8% of their salary into their pension pot each pay period. Read Story.
New report on challenges of dealing with cancer in the workplace
Corporate Adviser: Canada Life has launched a new report, examining the challenges of dealing with cancer in the workplace. The insurer points out that it is the most common cause of group insurance claims, once claims under group income protection, group critical illness and group life insurance are combined. Read Story.
DWP to widen DC investment choice and merge smaller schemes
Corporate Adviser: The Department of Work and Pension is consulting on proposals designed to encourage DC pension schemes to invest in a wider range of assets. Read Story.
HR still under-represented on remuneration committees, say experts
People Management: HR professionals must be better represented on remuneration committees if soaring executive pay, which has caused widespread mistrust in business, is to be effectively restrained, an expert panel has suggested. Read Story.
Two-thirds of employers find that offering diverse benefits is a major challenge
Employee Benefits: Two-thirds (66%) of employers find that providing benefits that suit the needs of a diverse workforce is a major challenge, according to research by global insurance brokerage, risk management and consultancy firm Gallagher. Read Story.
£197m lost in a year to scammers; FCA issues new warning
Professional Pensions: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned the public to be vigilant of investment scams as Action Fraud reveals more than £197m was lost to scams in 2018. Read Story.
Pension billions could be unlocked to boost economic growth
Actuarial Post: Billions of pounds of investment could be unlocked by pension schemes to fund start-up companies and infrastructure projects, boosting Britain’s economy and savers’ returns, under proposals unveiled by the government. Read Story.
Mindfulness rules as Brits pursue calming hobbies
HR News: Brits are pursuing serenity in their spare time as a new American Express (NYSE: AXP) study reveals artistic and home-based hobbies will be some of the most popular pastimes in 2019. Read Story.
SMEs looking to expand employee benefit packages
Corporate Adviser: The majority of those running small and medium-sized business are planning to expand the range of employee benefits offered, in a bid to boost retention and recruitment levels. Read Story.
Employers unaware of full health benefits of eye care
Employer News: Workplace eye care offers a huge range of wider benefits besides checking vision and enabling employers to meet health and safety regulations. Read Story.
Poll: Almost two-fifths do not offer a return-to-work programme
Employee Benefits: Almost two-fifths (37%) of respondents do not offer a return-to-work or recruitment programme. Read Story.
A third of employees 'pulled a sickie' last year
Health Insurance Daily: One third of employees admitted to pulling a sickie last year, according to figures from Suffolk-based digital insurance broker PolicyBee. Read Story.
Mental health needs to be 'boardroom agenda'
Cover: With people spending the majority of their time at work, people need to feel more "comfortable" about discussing mental health in the workplace and this change needs to come from the top, CEO of City Mental Health Alliance, Poppy Jaman, has argued on Time to Talk Day. Read Story.
Managers not equipped to manage mental health
HR Review: On Time to Talk day, a new survey of nearly 950 managers in the UK found that less than a third of managers (30 per cent) have been trained in managing mental health in the workplace in the last year. Read Story.
HR’s gender pay gap: female salaries grow, but still lag behind
Personnel Today: Analysis of placements made by HR recruiter the Oakleaf Partnership discovered that some industries were making more progress in addressing the gender pay gap in their HR departments than others. Read Story.
Sleeping on the job: the cultures of sleep and napping from around the world
Workplace Insight: There’s a pretty well proven link between lack of sleep and negative emotion, but is catching 40 winks whilst at work a proven solution? Research from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggests that lack of sleep can have a negative impact on emotion. Read Story.
Employees want to achieve a healthy work-life balance this year
Workplace Insight: A new Acas study of the key issues for working lives in 2019 claims that the biggest issues for employers will be finding skilled workers (53 percent), productivity (36 percent) and technological change (36 percent). Read Story.