×
First-time login tip: If you're a REBA Member, you'll need to reset your password the first time you login.
20 Jan 2017
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 13-19 January 2017

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 13-19 January 2017.

F33D-1484908626_2016presslogosMAIN.jpg Brian Hall: Why the PM’s mental health review needs to tackle workplace
Corporate Adviser: The Prime Minister’s review of mental health needs to address the devastating impact preventable stress is having on workers says BHSF Employee Benefits managing director Brian Hall. Read story

Charlton Morris introduces unlimited holiday for senior consultants
Employee Benefits: Executive search firm Charlton Morris has introduced unlimited holiday for its senior consultants to help staff achieve a better work-life balance. Read story

Levi Roots Caribbean Smokehouse gains living wage accreditation
Employee Benefits: The restaurant will pay both permanent employees and third-party contractors who work at its Westfield Stratford City store the London living wage, which currently stands at £9.75 an hour. Read story

Health Shield to acquire Prevent
Employee Benefits: Health cash plan provider Health Shield is to acquire health screening and occupational health organisation Prevent. Read story

TTF calls on MPs to launch costs inquiry
Professional Pensions: Members of the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) have been urged to set up a broad inquiry into hidden costs and charges faced by pension schemes. Read story

AWE workers to strike over DB closure
Professional Pensions: Staff at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) will strike over the closure of the firm's defined benefit (DB) scheme at the end of this month. Read story

Three-quarters of employees crave more freedom at work
People Management: Ahead of Blue Monday next week – the so-called most depressing day of the year – a study by the ILM has found that more than half (53 per cent) of employees would consider leaving their job if the structure and culture of their organisation didn't change. Read story

Sipp misselling causes £36m FSCS levy for pension advisers
Corporate Adviser: Life and pensions intermediaries are being hit with a £36m supplementary levy from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) following a surge in claims about bad advice relating to Sipps. Read story

Healthcare trust surge boosts PMI sales: LaingBuisson
Corporate Adviser: An surge in demand for healthcare trusts has driven an increase in coverage of private medical cover across the UK in 2015, reversing the long-term decline in the sector. Read story

LafargeHolcim reconstructs DC scheme
Pensions Expert: Building materials giant LafargeHolcim has changed the default fund and administration of its defined contribution pension scheme following a value-for-money assessment. Read story

Leeds Trinity University launches health and wellbeing programme for staff
Employee Benefits: Leeds Trinity University has launched a new health and wellbeing initiative for its 450 academic and support staff. Read story

Parliamentary committee launches inquiry into workplace support for fathers
Employee Benefits: The Women and Equalities Committee has today (Monday 16 January 2017) launched an inquiry into how fathers can be better supported in the workplace to enable them to manage caring responsibilities more effectively. Read story

69% of fathers would consider childcare needs before accepting a new job or promotion
Employee Benefits: More than a third (69%) of employee respondents who are fathers would consider their childcare needs before taking a new job or promotion, according to research by Working Families and Bright Horizons. Read story

88% of those who have experienced mental health problems have felt distressed at work
Employee Benefits: More than three quarters (88%) of respondents who have experienced mental health problems in the last five years have been through times where they felt distressed at work, according to research by Unum and the Mental Health Foundation. Read story

One in five millennials likely to opt out of AE
Professional Pensions: More than 20% of 23 to 36-year-olds are likely to opt out of a workplace pension they have been auto-enrolled into, research by Dunstan Thomas suggests. Read story

Pensions fraud: Schemes report threefold increase in scams over past year
Professional Pensions: Nearly one in three pension schemes has been affected by fraud, with victims experiencing a threefold rise in scams in the last 12 months alone, latest RSM research reveals. Read story

Firefighters' case flags age discrimination quandary in pensions
Professional Pensions: An employment tribunal case about age discrimination against younger firefighters raises questions about intergenerational fairness in pensions, writes Michael Klimes. Read story

FTSE 100 should ditch dividends to de-risk DB schemes
Professional Pensions: The top 100 UK companies should forego 2017 dividend payments to open new avenues to scheme de-risking, JLT Employee Benefits has said. Read story

Should AE rate hikes be in line with staging dates?
Professional Pensions: AE staging dates are spread across seven years, but small businesses will have very little time to prepare for rate increases. James Phillips reports. Read story

Ibstock confirms DB closure
Professional Pensions: Ibstock will close its defined benefit (DB) scheme to future accrual from the end of the month, it has announced. Read story

Less than 1 in 10 receiving financial advice
Reward Guide: Only 8% of people currently speak to an adviser about financial decisions, according to a survey from Aegon UK – with nearly half of respondents admitting they make decisions alone. Read story

Snowballing auto-enrolment breaches see 1 in 7 miss staging date
Corporate Adviser: Auto-enrolment staging defaults are accelerating with one in seven businesses applying to Aviva for a workplace pension made their application after their staging date had passed, figures from the provider show. Read story

Surprise jump in inflation – Market reaction
Corporate Adviser: Year-on-year CPI inflation rose to 1.6 per cent in December, 0.2 per cent higher than market expectations, with the impact of the weak pound on the cost of imports largely responsible for the increase. Read story

Callcredit introduces any-time enrolment to increase engagement with flexible benefits
Employee Benefits: Data organisation Callcredit Information Group re-launched its flexible benefits package for its 1,000 UK-based staff in May 2015, creating its mobile-optimised benefits brand Benefits for People Like You. Read story

Tribunal rules against Ministry of Justice in pensions discrimination case
Employee Benefits: The London Central Employment Tribunal has ruled that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Lord Chancellor has discriminated against judges in relation to changes to  the judicial pension scheme. Read story

Lifetime Isa becomes law through Savings Bill
Employee Benefits: The Lifetime Isa (Lisa) has been passed into law after the Savings (Government Contribution) Bill received Royal Assent yesterday (16 January 2017). Read story

73% believe employers should do more to support employee health
Employee Benefits: Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents believe employers should be doing more to support staff who are struggling with their physical or mental health, according to research by Bupa UK. Read story

Altmann: Pension Schemes Bill a 'missed opportunity’
Professional Pensions: The government has missed out by failing to amend "draconian" section 75 debt regulations and tax relief for lower paid earners, Baroness Ros Altmann has said. Read story

Carer grandparents missing out on state pension credits
Corporate Adviser: More than 100,000 grandparents and other family members are missing out on valuable state pension credits for looking after their grandchildren while their mother returns to work, a Freedom of Information request has discovered. Read story

Is there an administration crunch for DB transfer analysis?
Professional Pensions: There has been a spike in requests for DB transfers following the pension freedoms and higher transfer values. Michael Klimes looks at how the industry is coping. Read story

BHS administration charges £1.3m higher than expected
Professional Pensions: Administration costs for British Home Stores (BHS) are £1.3m higher than estimates given last June according to documents published by the Work and Pension Committee (WPC). Read story

PLSA targets 'provocative' FTSE 350 executive pay
Professional Pensions: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has appealed to pension funds to tackle high executive pay in FTSE 350 companies. Read story

Theresa May’s Brexit speech: what will it mean for employment?
Personnel Today: Following Theresa May’s speech laying out the UK’s objectives for its exit from the EU, we round up the reaction from business groups, employment lawyers and unions. Read story

Adobe and Salesforce among best US workplaces in the technology sector
Employee Benefits: Adobe Systems, Edmunds, Salesforce and Ultimate Software are among the best US workplaces in the technology sector, according to Great Place to Work and Fortune. Read story

10% of employers believe their staff are saving enough for retirement
Employee Benefits: One in ten (10%) employer respondents believe their employees are saving enough for retirement, according to research by Wealth at Work. Read story

Industry finds no easy answers in dividends v deficits debate
Pensions Expert: Most FTSE 100 companies could clear their pension deficits in less than two years by withholding dividends, new research says. Experts have called for more focus on the contrast between dividend payments and deficit repair contributions, though others say there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Read story

AKQA engages employees with retirement planning through one-to-one support
Employee Benefits: With a predominantly younger workforce, generating interest in, and engagement with, pensions and retirement income can be a challenge for digital agency AKQA. Read story

One in five don't let shift workers turn down shifts
HR Magazine: Citizens Advice research finds many are too afraid of losing work to turn it down and are given less than 48 hours notice ahead of shifts. Read story

British Steel trustees reject Truell's bid to save scheme
Professional Pensions: The British Steel scheme's trustee board has turned down Edmund Truell's proposal to save the fund, calling it an unviable plan that would expose members to "unacceptable risk”. Read story

'Unnecessarily prudent' longevity estimates cost DB schemes £25bn
Professional Pensions: The collective defined benefit (DB) deficit could be slashed by £25bn if schemes used more accurate longevity assumptions, according to Club Vita. Read story

Lloyds Banking Group is 2017’s most LGBT-inclusive employer in Britain
Employee Benefits: Lloyds Banking Group is the most inclusive employer in Britain for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) employees, according to the Top 100 Employers list 2017, compiled by LGBT charity Stonewall. Read story

27% believe the salary sacrifice changes will damage employee engagement
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (27%) of employer respondents believe that the limitations on salary sacrifice arrangements will damage employee engagement and employee relations, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits. Read story

Total pay increases by 2.8%
Employee Benefits: Total pay, including bonuses, increased by 2.8% for employees in Great Britain between September-November 2015 and September-November 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story