At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 10-16 February 2017
The headlines you might have missed between 10-16 February 2017.
Frank Field: Insolvency Service 'has raised its game' on BHS
Professional Pensions: Frank Field has praised the appointment of a specialist counsel by the Insolvency Service (IS) as part of its enquiry into the demise of British Home Stores (BHS). Read story
Pension Schemes Bill needs MAF as 'bullet-proof test', says Smart Pension
Professional Pensions: The Pension Schemes Bill should provide for a shortened authorisation process for schemes which have achieved the Master Trust Assurance Framework (MAF), Smart Pension has said. Read story
Industry believes DB members should have access to the new advice allowance
Professional Pensions: Defined benefit (DB) schme members should have access to the government's new £1,500 advice allowance, the industry has said. Read story
Boss 'makes it rain' by dropping staff bonuses from balcony
HR Grapevine: Most employees would love to feel greater appreciation from their boss. Whether this takes the form of a simple thank you, involves an increase in compensation and benefits, or even a bonus – nearly all of us would happily accept. Read story
Asda, Novartis and PepsiCo among the UK’s Top Employers for 2017
Employee Benefits: Asda, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK, PepsiCo UK and Ireland (pictured), and Travis Perkins are among the 78 organisations that have been recognised in 2017’s Top Employers UK list, compiled by the Top Employers Institute. Read story
Howard Kennedy achieves 11% increase in take up of healthcare scheme
Employee Benefits: Commercial law firm Howard Kennedy has seen an 11% increase in take up of its healthcare scheme following the introduction of several new benefits. Read story
68% of employers in south west England offer salary sacrifice pension arrangements
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (68%) of employer respondents in the south west of England enable staff to contribute to their workplace pension via a salary sacrifice arrangement, according to research by Benefiz. Read story
DCIF finds quality gap in master trust investments
Corporate Adviser: A significant gap in quality of auto-enrolment master trust investment exists with those aimed at smaller employers almost exclusively in passive equities, research from the DC Investment Forum has found. Read story
First Actuarial versus the world: DB’s glass half full or half empty?
Corporate Adviser: When it comes to pension funding, it seems the glass is very much half empty. These days you are never too far from the words ‘soaring DB pension scheme deficits’, yet few talk about the huge amounts of money being paid in by employers, or the valuable benefits being paid out to members. Read story
A little gratitude goes a long way
Reward Guide: British bosses are failing to recognise the importance of expressing gratitude to their staff, impacting staff retention figures, reports Kimberley Dondo. Read story
Impact of the pensions advice allowance
Reward Guide: DC members will be able to use a tax-free ‘pensions advice allowance' - but is it too good to be true? Read story
DWP outlines AE rules for post-staging employers
Professional Pensions: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is consulting on a set of proposals for how new companies will engage with the auto-enrolment (AE) regime. Read story
WPC calls for stronger governance rules for large private firms after BHS
Professional Pensions: The Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has urged the government to introduce new extra duties on big private companies and directors to prevent another BHS failure. Read story
Court of Appeal rules against Pimlico Plumbers in worker-status case
Employee Benefits: The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Pimlico Plumbers by upholding that plumber Gary Smith is a worker rather than a self-employed contractor, entitling him to workers’ rights such as access to reasonable adjustments and holiday pay. Read story
26% of benefits professionals do not have access to mental wellbeing support
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (26%) of HR and benefits professional respondents do not have access to mental wellbeing support from their employer, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story
38% of financial services employers plan to change their parental leave policies
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (38%) of employer respondents in the financial services industry plan to change their organisation-wide parental leave policies over the next 12 months, according to research by Mercer. Read story
Natanje Holt: The silos stopping providers from innovating
Corporate Adviser: Breaking down silos within providers is key to solving the UK’s long-term saving problem says Bravura Solutions retirement expert Natanje Holt. Read story
Industry accuses Treasury of lack of data to justify £4k MPAA
Pensions Expert: HM Treasury’s consultation on reducing the money purchase annual allowance will close on Wednesday, drawing fierce criticism that the policy lacks data to back up its introduction and could unfairly hurt savers. Read story
Cottage Delight switches payroll system to meet current and future business needs
Employee Benefits: With a series of complex staff rotas and pay bands to administer, the organisation decided its payroll systems were in need of an upgrade. Read story
Responsibility of proving worker status may shift to employers
People Management: Online tool could help workers determine their employment status, as Taylor review’s chair calls for improved quality of work to become ‘national goal’. Read story
Xafinity eyes acquisitions as it plans to float on LSE
Professional Pensions: Xafinity has announced it will float on the London Stock Exchange from 16 February in a bid to grow the business and "disrupt" the wider consultancy market. Read story
DB schemes in 'early win' as deficit falls in January
Professional Pensions: The aggregate deficit of the UK's defined benefit (DB) schemes fell by £27.4bn during January, almost eliminating the growth seen in December. Read story
Facebook extends paid bereavement and family leave benefits
Employee Benefits: Social media organisation Facebook has extended its bereavement leave policy, introduced six weeks of paid family leave for employees to care for a sick relative, as well as three days of paid family sick time. Read story
City of Seattle to enhance paid family leave benefits
Employee Benefits: The City of Seattle is to extend its paid parental leave policy to up to 12 weeks and introduce four weeks of paid family leave. Read story
48% rank private medical insurance in their top three most valued benefits
Employee Benefits: Just under half (48%) of employee respondents rank private medical insurance in their top three most valued benefits, according to research by Ellipse. Read story
Phased retirement better for wellbeing
HR Magazine: Poor retirement wellbeing was found to be associated with a lack of control over the retirement decision. Read story
Marc Jones: Key compliance considerations for employers dealing with tips for staff
Employee Benefits: Concerns have been raised about employers’ treatment of tips, gratuities and service charges to workers and the transparency of such practices to both customers and workers, which has been the subject of recent government consultation. Read story
Lessons on employee ownership
HR Magazine: Workers on boards may no longer be government policy, but there are lessons to be learned. Read story
Aon Hewitt to withdraw standalone pension administration service
Professional Pensions: Aon Hewitt has announced it will no longer offer standalone pension administration services in the UK market. Read story
BrewDog introduces global paid puppy leave
Employee Benefits: Craft beer organisation BrewDog has introduced paid puppy leave for all staff, allowing employees to take a week of paid leave to help settle a new dog into their home. Read story
23% of City workers feel able to discuss stress with their manager
Employee Benefits: Less than a quarter (23%) of City worker respondents feel able to discuss the stress they are under with their managers, according to research by MetLife Employee Benefits. Read story
Green Paper: Unum reiterates call for govt to introduce GIP tax breaks
Cover Magazine: Unum has called for the government to introduce a temporary tax incentive for employers that buy group income protection (GIP) to improve the working lives of people with disabilities and long term health problems. Read story
TPR's proposal to ban transfers to SSASs branded 'radical' and ‘worrying'
Professional Pensions: The regulator's call to ban transfers to small self-administered schemes (SSASs) to help crack down on scams has received little support from the industry. Read story
How can we deal with pensions fraud?
Professional Pensions: Anne-Marie Winton looks at the changing nature of pension fraud and what can be done about it. Read story
ACA warns merging pension guidance bodies will dilute quality
Professional Pensions: The decision to merge the three guidance bodies into one is unnecessary and could even reduce the quality of services, the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has warned. Read story
Bolton Young Persons Housing Scheme offers benefits to boost employee wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Bolton Young Persons Housing Scheme (BYPHS), a charity that helps homeless young people, has developed a comprehensive set of low-cost, employer-paid health and wellbeing benefits to ensure that the charity’s 52 employees are physically and mentally fit to cope with potentially harrowing and emotional caseloads. Read story
Employees want to know where pensions are invested
HR Magazine: Despite a lack of knowledge about pensions there is still an appetite to know where funds are being saved, finds Big Society Capital. Read story
Salary sacrifice changes: The serious silver lining
HR Magazine: While some may be mourning the loss of iPads, the changes could focus them on longer-term gains. Read story
Tata Steel employees vote to accept pensions proposal
Employee Benefits: Tata Steel UK employees who are members of the GMB, Unite and Community trade unions have voted in favour of the organisation’s latest pension proposal, which will see the closure of the British Steel pension scheme (BSPS) to future accrual. Read story
Debenhams tops government’s minimum wage non-compliance list
Employee Benefits: Retail organisation Debenhams has topped the government’s list of organisations that have underpaid staff the minimum wage after failing to pay £134,894.83 to 11,858 employees. Read story
Total pay increases by 1.4%
Employee Benefits: Total pay, including bonuses, increased by 1.4% in Great Britain between October-December 2015 and October-December 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story
The 10 worst jobs in the world
HR Grapevine: Touted as ‘one of the worst jobs in Washington’, Donald Trump has been unable to fill this position almost a month into his presidency. Read story
British Airways threaten to cut staff perks to stop strikes
HR Grapevine: Strikes have dominated recent news headlines as staff at certain companies have refused to work - citing low pay, unscrupulous employment structures and poor job security. Read story
Young firefighters lose pensions ruling at employment tribunal
Professional Pensions: The government did not discriminate against younger workers when it introduced transitional arrangements to the Firefighters Pension Scheme, an employment tribunal has ruled. Read story
Debenhams blames payroll error for topping minimum wage ‘list of shame’
People Management: Retail giant miscalculated number of weeks’ pay per year; HR departments must be confident in their systems, says payroll expert. Read story