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16 Aug 2019
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 9-15 August 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 9-15 August. D1BC-1565598568_headlinesMAIN.jpg

Rightio launches new benefits platform for 130 staff
Employee Benefits: Plumbing and electrical services organisation Rightio has launched a new benefits platform for its 130 UK-based employees. Read story

Fifth Third Bancorp to increase minimum wage to $18 an hour
Employee Benefits: Ohio-based financial services organisation Fifth Third Bancorp will increase its minimum hourly wage to $18 (£14.86) an hour from 28 October 2019. Read story

Gatwick Airport to introduce bus service for 20,000 on-site employees
Employee Benefits: West Sussex-based Gatwick Airport has announced that it will be introducing a new shared bus service for the 20,000 individuals working on-site, 2,500 of whom are employed directly by the airport itself, to provide a more cost-effective, stress-free and sustainable commute. Read story

The majority of organisations do not offer personal insurance benefits
Employee Benefits: Most organisations do not provide personal insurance benefits, and few plan to begin, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

83% of HR leaders are focussing more on employee experience
HR Grapevine: With the advent of powerful administrative software, AI and automation, it should come as no surprise that many companies are directing the vast majority of their HR resources into a more ‘people’ oriented function. Read story

Six ways to tackle summer holiday stress
Cover: Almost half of employees experience workplace stress over the summer months, research shows. Read story

Govt plans to extend TPO powers
Pensions Age: The government plans to extend The Pension Ombudsman’s (TPO) powers to include a function for early resolution before a formal determination. Read story

Nearly half of female business owners said they sacrificed pay when starting a business opposed to a third of men
HR News: New SME research1 conducted by iwoca, one of Europe’s largest business lenders, suggests that not being paid was the biggest business sacrifice for UK SME owners (37 percent), with nearly half of female entrepreneurs (46 percent) making this sacrifice. Read story

Why companies should focus on employee wellbeing
HR News: According to the American Medical Student Association, there are seven dimensions of wellness, which include physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, environmental and occupational. Read story

Money worries push employees to consider suicide
HR Magazine: Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue calls on employers to take more responsibility for employee financial wellbeing as research shows a link between debt and mental ill health. Read story

Schemes being 'lulled into false sense of security' by deficit drops
Professional Pensions: Defined benefit (DB) scheme trustees are spending too much time focusing on how well funded their schemes are, River and Mercantile Derivatives says. Read story

Britvic seeks court approval for RPI/CPI switch
Pensions Expert: Soft drinks manufacturer Britvic is the latest business to attempt to switch the basis for its defined benefit pension increases from the retail price index to the consumer price index, with other companies reputedly queuing up to take legal advice on this very point. Read story

Cadbury UK completes pensioner buy-in transaction worth £520 million
Employee Benefits: Confectionery organisation Cadbury UK has completed a pensioner buy-in transaction for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, totalling £520 million. Read story

Think tank proposes increases to wages and annual leave to boost UK’s productivity
Employee Benefits: British think tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has proposed that minimum wages and statutory paid holiday entitlement be increased in order to improve the UK’s productivity. Read story

Provision of company car benefits shows slow growth since early 2018
Employee Benefits: Although the provision of company car benefits is still increasing, this is an area of slower growth than many other aspects of reward, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

More holidays and increased pay is key to better productivity
HR Grapevine: Offering staff members more public holidays and increasing wages could raise productivity and lead to a boost in the British Economy, a new report has found. Read story

SEI Master Trust and National Pension Trust receive authorisation
Professional Pensions: SEI Master Trust and National Pension Trust have been granted authorisation, becoming the 14th and 15th master trusts to be given the stamp of approval by The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Read story

Medicash transfers £20m DB scheme to TPT
Professional Pensions: Medicash has transferred its defined benefit (DB) scheme to TPT Retirement Solutions' DB Complete master trust, improving the security of member's benefits. Read story

More generous wages and holidays ‘could fix UK’s productivity crisis’
People Management: But experts warn employers small-scale changes to contracts will not solve the issue. Read story

Employees still scared to open up about mental health, says survey
People Management: Many managers unaware how to handle issues of mental wellbeing, amid calls for greater support and education. Read story

Bradbury Group sees 70 staff utilise on-site gym since June 2019
Employee Benefits: Manufacturing organisation Bradbury Group opened an on-site gym for 162 staff based at its headquarters in Scunthorpe in June 2019, and has since seen 70 employees use the facilities, amounting to an uptake rate of 43% within the first two months of operation. Read story

A third of employers predict pay increases of between 2% and 2.99% by June 2020
Employee Benefits: Just over one-third (35%) of employer respondents expect to implement a basic pay increase of between 2% and 2.99% in the year to June 2020, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Adecco Group. Read story

Munger, Tolles and Olson extends paid parental leave to 18 weeks
Employee Benefits: US-based law firm Munger, Tolles and Olson has extended the paid parental leave provision for its 200 attorneys, enabling both male and female legal professionals to take up to 18 weeks of paid leave. Read story

What salary should you be earning at your age?
HR News: There’s a direct link between age and salary – for most people they will increase together as new skills are learned, more experience is gained, and potential is increased. Several variables also affect salary, including industry, development, skill set and even gender. Here are the facts about what employees need to know according to Instant Offices. Read story

Mental wellbeing needs more support offered in the workplace say managers
HR Review: More than three quarters of managers are calling for their business to offer more support and education around mental wellbeing in the workplace. Read story

UK equality watchdog to begin probing ‘implausible’ gender pay data
People Management: Firms reporting 0 per cent pay gaps in the firing line as EHRC says compliance with basic requirements has reached 100 per cent. Read story

Abbey House Hotel and Gardens provides mental health training for senior managers
Employee Benefits: Cumbria-based Abbey House Hotel and Gardens has trained three of its senior managers in mental health first aid, to support both the physical and mental wellbeing of its 100-strong workforce. Read story

Governor of Oregon signs paid family medical leave bill into law
Employee Benefits: The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown (pictured), has this month signed a new paid family medical leave bill into law, enabling Oregon-based employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby. Read story

Total pay has increased by 1.8% in real terms since June 2018
Employee Benefits: Total pay for employees in the UK, including bonuses, increased by 1.8% in real terms during the reporting period between April to June 2018 and April to June 2019, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story

Flexible working initiatives offered by 76% of organisations
Employee Benefits: Flexible working initiatives remain the most popular lifestyle benefit, offered by 76% of organisations overall, and as a core benefit for all employees at 50%, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

Number of non-AE employees increasing faster than AE workers
Pensions Age: The number of workers in auto-enrolment (AE) pension schemes has continued to steadily increase, with another 17,000 workers being auto-enrolled in July 2019. Read story

Retirement fund is top saving priority for Brits
HR News: Over half (58%) of Brits wish they had invested in their future and retirement at an earlier age, according to new research by savings and mortgage provider Nottingham Building Society, known as The Nottingham. Read story

Higher salaries do NOT equate to staff loyalty
HR News: Leading job search engine, Adzuna, has analysed data from 10,000* CVs to determine the average length of time employees stay in each role before going elsewhere and confirm if people earning higher salaries are in fact more likely to stay in a job for longer. Read story

Training and employee retention are the two main talent management concerns
HR Review: Just under a third of senior executives believe employee retention and training are the two main talent management concerns their industry will be facing until 2020. Read story

Quarter of employees with cancer ‘let down by employers’
Corporate Adviser: More than a quarter of UK workers diagnosed with cancer felt let down by their employer, with 28 per cent of employees saying they either received no support whatsoever of the support they did receive fell below their expectations, according to new research. Read story

How schemes can play their part in bridging the gender pensions gap
Pensions Expert: Childcare costs and commitments, as well as the absence of tailored communications, mean that many women are retiring with less than men. Read story

Hitachi completes bulk annuity transaction covering 120 pension scheme members
Employee Benefits: IT services organisation Hitachi has completed a pensions bulk annuity transaction with insurer Legal and General Assurance Society, protecting approximately 120 pension scheme members. Read story

Employees cite convenient location and flexibility as top workplace benefits
Employee Benefits: Employees value having a convenient office location (75%) and flexible working hours (71%) as their top workplace benefits, according to research by YouGov. Read story

The Stand Comedy Club commits to Fair Fringe charter to improve pay for 120 staff
Employee Benefits: The Stand Comedy Club has signed the Fair Fringe charter, pledging to improve pay and working conditions for its 120 employees that work during the popular annual music and arts showcase, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Read story

Is this the WEIRDEST wellbeing technique?
HR Grapevine: A comprehensive study recently conducted by WellSteps found that the return on investment (ROI) of workplace wellbeing programmes is 3.27 times higher than those without. Read story

Generous Workplaces: The Best and Worst Industries For Employer Pension Contributions
Employer News: Retirement plans are commonly better supported by workplace pensions than by the State Pension. But while auto-enrolment is a legal requirement for most, the differences in employers contributions can prove a major factor in comfort during retirement. Read story

Nest joins Star; Opperman urges others to join or face consequences
Pensions Age: The National Employment Savings Trust Scheme (Nest) has joined Star, the government-backed initiative aimed at reducing DC pension transfer times, bringing 8 million pension pots with it. Read story

Research reveals five main causes of poor workplace productivity
HR Magazine: Poor systems, office politics and sickness absence negatively impact productivity, according to research by e-days. Read story