At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 29 November – 5 December 2019
The headlines you might have missed between 29 November – 5 December
Average DB scheme able to meet 94% of benefits
Professional Pensions: A typical defined benefit (DB) scheme was able to meet 93.7% of its accrued pension rights as of 30 September this year, according to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). Read story
The importance of manifesto pledges on pensions
Professional Pensions: This year’s election marks the seventh time I have been able to cast my vote at a general election but I can honestly say it is the one I am looking forward to least. I can hardly wait until it is all over. Read story
Two-thirds of UK staff believe employers should support physical wellbeing
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (67%) of UK employees believe it is an employer’s responsibility to support their physical wellbeing and fitness, according to research by Westfield Health. Read story
CNC’s physiotherapy benefit saves 56,235 working days over three years
Employee Benefits: Armed police force the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), which is responsible for the protection of nuclear sites and materials in the UK, has saved 56,235 working days since 2016, following the introduction of a physiotherapy benefit. Read story
Manchester University NHS Trust employees record 25,000 sustainable actions
Employee Benefits: Employees at Manchester University NHS Trust have completed 25,000 positive actions since the launch of its incentivised wellbeing and sustainability programme, Green Rewards, six months ago. Read story
Walt Disney & John Lewis reveal mental health strategies
HR Grapevine: Employees have lived in fear that vocalising their mental health challenges may make them seem unsuitable for career progression. Yet, it seems that the stigma surrounding mental health is gradually being broken down as more people in the public eye step forward to talk about their own struggles. Read story
BPE in talks with TPR and PPF over ailing scheme
Pensions Age: British Polar Engines (BPE) has entered into talks with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to resolve the long-term costs of its pension scheme. Read story
Further bank execs to take pension cuts
Pensions Age: The chief executives of Barclays and Santander are expected have their pension allowances cut to meet Investment Association guidelines, following a similar move by Lloyds Bank earlier this week (27 November). Read story
How fundraising can be used as an employee engagement tool
Incentive and Motivation: Dedicating time and resources to keeping staff motivated and engaged is an essential component in modern day business, where competition is intense. Read story
NHS is not responsible for tapered allowance issues, says industry
Professional Pensions: The vast majority of this week’s 120 Pensions Buzz respondents rejected the idea that the NHS should bear any responsibility for members facing tax bills due to the tapered annual allowance. Read story
Penfold secures £2m to fund digital pension scheme for the self-employed
Professional Pensions: Penfold has launched a digital pension scheme aimed at the self-employed following a successful £2m funding round. Read story
Further delay to professional trustee accreditation framework
Professional Pensions: The professional trustee accreditation process, set up by the Professional Trustee Standards Working Group (PTSWG), has been delayed again and is now expected to launch “in the new year”. Read story
OECD: One in three workers risks falling through the pension cracks
Pensions Expert: Pensions provision has not caught up with the 21st century phenomenon of the non-standard worker, as this type of employment now accounts for one in three jobs in OECD countries, a new report has revealed. Read story
Disability pay gap is 12.2 per cent, official data suggests
People Management: Employers urged to report on disability in the workplace to improve opportunities. Read story
‘Sticky labour market’ means lower-paid workers cannot progress
People Management: Individuals increasingly less likely to relocate for new opportunities, says government adviser, partly owing to concerns over housing. Read story
Hovis signs Dying to Work charter to support terminally ill employees
Employee Benefits: British bakery Hovis has signed the Trade Union Congress’s (TUC) Dying to Work charter, marking its commitment to addressing the impact of terminal illness in the workplace. Read story
More than half of UK employees experience daily stress at work
Employee Benefits: More than half (54%) of employees in the UK suffer from stress in the workplace, according to research by Mindful WorkLife and Gorkana Surveys. Read story
Financial Times wins Royal National Institute of Blind People Employer of the year award
Employee Benefits: The Financial Times has been recognised as Employer of the year at the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s (RNIB) See Differently Awards, held on 26 November 2019. Read story
Wellbeing risks remain for majority of inactive workers
Workplace Insight: The vast majority (84 percent) of British workers are failing to achieve the necessary amount of physical activity recommended by the NHS to maintain their health and wellbeing. Read story
Trade unions accuse Unilever of 'opportunism' following pension proposals
Pensions Age: Unilever has today (2 December) briefed staff on proposals to close the DB section of its hybrid pension scheme for new starters, and reduce the value of pension provisions for existing members, a move which trade unions have said “smacks of opportunism”. Read story
P&O Ferries pension liabilities increase could sink firm
Employee Benefits: An overall loss of £14.7m caused by pension contribution charges and a rising pension deficit could lead to P&O Ferries being in danger of folding. Read story
UK workforce consistently overworked despite high levels of flexible working
HR News: UK employees are having to work harder to pay the bills, with the vast majority (91%) working beyond their contracted hours on a weekly basis and almost half (43%) not leaving the office or taking a break at lunchtime according to Morgan McKinley’s Working Hours and Flexibility reports. Read story
Unfair pay perceptions linked to poor communication
HR Review: Just under half of the permanent employees believe they are being paid unfairly and that this perception is being driven by their bosses’ lack of communication around pay. Read story
Schemes hit back at DWP’s levy ‘knee-jerk solutions’
Pensions Expert: Several pensions experts have criticised the government’s consultation on the general levy on pension schemes, arguing that the Department for Work and Pensions has proposed ‘knee-jerk solutions’ that are not fit for purpose. Read story
Majority of employers are contributing above auto-enrolment minimum`
Employee Benefits: The majority of employers are contributing higher rates into their employees’ pensions than the minimum amounts required under auto-enrolment, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story
Poor communication results in little use of EAPs
HR Review: Only a tenth of HR feels that employees value their employee assistance program (EAP) and an even smaller amount use it, raising the opinion this is due to how badly communicated employee benefits are. Read story
Demand for workplace benefits that prioritise debt reduction
Corporate Adviser: Eight out of 10 employees are concerned about rising living costs, with rising debts and insufficient savings adding to their problems, according to research from Thomsons Online Benefits. Read story
DB trustees urged to engage with advisers to avoid 'reputational damage'
Professional Pensions: Pension scheme trustees should actively engage financial advisers if members are looking to transfer out of their defined benefit arrangements and washing their hands of the process does not eliminate risk, a study has found. Read story
Pot-follows-member agreements: Feasible or fantasy?
Pensions Expert: Now Pensions wants to agree bilateral deals with other master trusts to consolidate small pots resulting from auto-enrolment, but experts say some hurdles remain. Read story
Most employees have never had their pay explained to them
People Management: HR needs to communicate reward structures and decisions more effectively, CIPD report finds. Read story
Paycare employees donate £17,000 via charity fundraising benefit
Employee Benefits: Not-for-profit health cash plan Paycare’s 32 employees have donated £17,171.41 to various charities since the organisation launched its MyGiving benefit in April 2019. Read story
Reckitt Benckiser enhances parental leave for 40,000 employees globally
Employee Benefits: Global health organisation Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has announced that it will be enhancing parental leave for its 40,000 employees. Read story
Employment Tribunal finds workers are employees for purposes of Tupe regulations
Employee Benefits: The London Central Employment Tribunal has published a judgment finding that, for the purposes of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment (Tupe)) Regulations 2006 (Tupe), an individual classified as a ‘worker’ under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is to be treated as an employee. Read story
Savills signs Race at Work charter to promote equality
Employee Benefits: Real estate adviser Savills has signed the Race at Work charter, making a commitment to address the issues ethnic minority staff face in the workplace. Read story
UCL academics and outsourced domestic staff unite in strike over pay and conditions
Employee Benefits: University College London (UCL) academic, support and domestic staff have joined together for the first ever combined strike of direct and outsourced university staff today (4 December 2019). Read story
A quarter of workers would accept a significant pay cut to work in an eco-friendly role
Workplace Insight: Rising interest in climate change among the UK population has now reached such a level that our desire to take action is impacting our careers – with over a quarter of workers (26 percent) willing to take a salary cut in order to move to an environmentally conscious company or an NGO. Read story
Few employees using mental health and wellbeing benefits
Personnel Today: Almost half (49%) of employers agree that poor mental health is the biggest health and wellbeing challenge they are facing, but few of their employees are making use of the initiatives they have in place to support their wellbeing. Read story
“Frank Field test” has biggest impact on pension scheme restructuring decisions
Pensions Age: The 'Frank Field test' has the biggest impact on how key decisions in relation to pension funding, security and corporate restructuring are made by pension schemes, according to Taylor Wessing. Read story
‘Motherhood penalty’ hits women’s pension savings
Pensions Age: The ‘Motherhood penalty’ continues to hit women’s pension savings, according to The People’s Pension, with one in five women (20 per cent) stopping or decreasing their pension savings. Read story
UK DB deficit drops by £30bn in November – PwC
Pensions Age: The deficit of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes dropped from £220bn to £190bn during November, bringing it to its lowest point since May, according to the latest PwC Skyval Index. Read story
Flexible working a barrier to career progression for both men and women
HR News: A new survey from My Confidence Matters, in association with Capability Jane Recruitment, has highlighted that around a third of women and men felt a lack of flexible working has impacted their career to date, with 43% stating health and wellbeing as another key factor. Read story
Government Equalities Office: Gender pay gap starts from "depressingly” young age
HR Magazine: With gender pay gap reporting now on most organisations’ radars employers must do more to understand the causes behind their gap. Read story
Nearly half of Brits have never volunteered over the Christmas period
Incentive and Motivation: Recent research commissioned by Perkbox, Europe’s fastest growing employee experience platform, has found that almost half of Brits have never volunteered over the Christmas period. Read story
Wellbeing prioritised over GDP by Iceland
HR Review: Iceland has put wellbeing ahead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in its latest budget and its prime minister has urged other countries to follow suit. Read story
How the election could change UK pension policy
Corporate Adviser: The Pensions Policy Institute has set out a detailed analysis of how the main parties’ manifesto pledges could effect pensions and retirement policy in the UK. Read story
HMRC request for schemes to report breaches branded ‘unsatisfactory’
Pensions Expert: HM Revenue & Customs' request for pension administrators to remind their members about potential tax breaches has been branded ‘very unsatisfactory’ by a former pensions minister, who said the tax authority was offloading its own responsibilities onto schemes. Read story
Three-fifths do not offer a secondary pension scheme
Employee Benefits: Almost three-fifths (57%) of respondents do not offer a secondary pension scheme, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story
One third of UK employees have never received a Christmas bonus
Employee Benefits: One third (33%) of employees in the UK have never received a Christmas bonus, according to research by Hawk Incentives. Read story
Intu signs Time to Change pledge to support mental health of 2,500 employees
Employee Benefits: British real estate investment firm Intu has signed the Time to Change pledge, committing to better support the mental health issues faced by its 2,500 employees. Read story
XPS Pensions Group and Enterprise Holdings pledge commitment to disability inclusion
Employee Benefits: Corporate pensions consultancy XPS Pensions Group (XPS) and vehicle rental organisation Enterprise Holdings have signed the Valuable 500 pledge this week, marking their commitment to supporting diverse and inclusive workplaces. Read story
How to Use Your Website to Improve Company Culture and Employee Requisitions
HR News: Your website is critical for your HR efforts. Promoting a healthy company culture and showcasing a smart, professional face to the world offers many benefits. For one thing, you can improve the satisfaction of everyone working in your business. Endorsing a positive company culture and having an impressive, professional site is also wonderful for attracting top talent. Read story