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28 Apr 2017
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 21-27 April 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 21-27 April. 

Reward, pensions and employee benefits press stories 15 Most employers intend to offer LISAs and WISAs
HR Magazine: LISAs and WISAs look set to become an integral part of workplace savings, but have faced criticism from some. Read story

Case study: Attracting and retaining talent up North
HR Magazine: How Sky Betting and Gaming attracts and develops top talent in Yorkshire. Read story

Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club staff to receive up to 20% bonus
Employee Benefits: Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club is to award its 1,080 permanent and match-day staff bonuses of up to 20%. Read story

EY US sees 38% of new fathers take six weeks or more paternity leave
Employee Benefits: More than a third (38%) of US-based new fathers at professional services organisation EY are taking paternity leave for six weeks or more, following the introduction of enhanced parental leave benefits. Read story

29% of baby boomers cite work-life balance as top consideration when looking to move jobs
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (29%) of baby boomer employee respondents view work-life balance as the most important factor when considering a change in job, according to research by Hays. Read story

Executive pay falling for the first time, says report
People Management: Almost half of executives will see no salary increase this year; some larger businesses beginning to publish pay ratios. Read story

Lowest paid staff 'at highest risk of burnout’
People Management: Healthcare and service sectors report highest levels of pressure in study. Read story

TPR promises 'focused, faster and more frequent' interventions
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has committed itself to acting faster and more often where defined benefit (DB) schemes are underfunded or it suspects avoidance. Read story

Snap election makes triple lock attractive target for reform
Professional Pensions: PP research shows state pension triple lock is most likely to be affected. Read story

JLR meets members halfway with Care switch
Pensions Expert: Jaguar Land Rover is switching its defined benefit schemes from final salary to a career average revalued earnings structure, as companies look to cut costs and manage risk while keeping employees on board. Read story

One in five reward professionals rank comms ‘terrible'
HR Magazine: Almost a quarter said they had never measured the effectiveness of their employee benefits communications. Read story

Government consults on employer debt in multi-employer DB pension schemes
Employee Benefits: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to employer debt legislation for employers in non-segregated defined benefit (DB) multi-employer pension schemes. Read story

65% want to see changes to equal pay and discrimination laws after Brexit
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (65%) of employer respondents would like to see changes to discrimination and equal pay laws once the UK has left the European Union (EU), according to research by GQ Employment Law. Read story

Aon Hewitt sub-contracts admin for three public schemes to Equiniti
Professional Pensions: Aon Hewitt will sub-contract the administration of three public sector schemes to Equiniti as part of its move out of the standalone pension administration services market. Read story

Ending triple lock could cost Tories a third of over-55 voters
Professional Pensions: Failing to commit to retaining the triple lock could cost the Conservative Party more than a third of votes from people aged 55 and over, a survey has revealed. Read story

Govt drops retrospective MPAA cut
Corporate Adviser: The Government is dropping the retrospective reduction of the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) that would have seen 500,000 people who exercised pension freedoms restricted in their pension saving. Read story

Business must choose its digital future
HR Magazine: A BITC event explored how automation and AI should be rolled out in the workplace. Read story

British Steel scheme 'has £2bn surplus' on best estimate assumptions
Professional Pensions: The British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) could have a £2bn surplus when using best estimate investment return assumptions, analysis by First Actuarial has suggested. Read story

Facebook and Microsoft among 2017’s highest-paying UK organisations
Employee Benefits: Facebook, Microsoft, and Salesforce are among the top 10 highest-paying organisations in the UK, according to research by Glassdoor. Read story

Government launches gender pay gap viewing service
Employee Benefits: The Government Equalities Office has launched an online gender pay gap viewing service to enable the public to see the information that organisations have published so far to fulfil their gender pay gap reporting obligations. Read story

53% feel appreciated at work
Employee Benefits: More than half (53%) of US employee respondents feel appreciated at work, according to research by Attacoin and Survata. Read story

More than half left worn out by work
HR Magazine: Parents were more likely to be at risk of being drained by their work than childless employees. Read story

Government delays money purchase annual allowance and pensions advice legislation
Employee Benefits: The government is to delay legislating for the reduction to the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA), and the introduction of the £500 tax-exempt employer-arranged pensions advice allowance. Read story

64% believe employers offer benefits that staff do not want, need or use
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents believe that organisations invest in expensive benefits that employees neither want, need or use, according to research by Michael Page. Read story

NEST's loan won't be repaid until 2038; debt to double in next 9 years
Professional Pensions: The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) will not break even until 2026, at which point its debt to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will have hit £1.2bn. Read story

Tories may commit to triple lock in 2017 manifesto
Professional Pensions: The Conservative Party is considering retaining the triple lock protection for the state pension, according to reports. Read story

800,000 people 'overpaying tax' on pensions due to wrong codes
Professional Pensions: Nearly a million savers could be paying more tax on their pension than required, simply because they have been given the wrong tax code, Royal London has claimed. Read story

Hargreaves Lansdown: 80% of employers failing to help workers build adequate pensions
Professional Pensions: Eight of ten employers are not doing enough to help staff accrue adequate pension pots for retirement, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown. Read story

DWP gives green light to contracted-out transfers
Professional Pensions: The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will amend legislation to allow contracted-out benefits to be transferred into a scheme which has never been contracted-out. Read story

'Frustrated' Field says Green must publish BHS settlement deal and warning notice
Professional Pensions: Frank Field is pressing Sir Philip Green to publish undisclosed details about the settlement he reached with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) on British Home Stores (BHS) at the end of February. Read story

Pension freedom withdrawals cut through £10bn barrier
Professional Pensions: More than £10bn has been accessed flexibly since the introduction of pension freedom in 2015, the latest HM Revenue & Customs statistics have shown. Read story

Are working fathers being failed?
People Management: Legal expert Andy Graham explores how employers can better support dads at work. Read story

Ashurst, PepsiCo and Vodafone are among 2017’s top employers for women
Employee Benefits: Accenture, Ashurst, EY, Lloyds Banking Group, PepsiCo UK and Ireland, and Vodafone are among the organisations that feature in The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women 2017 list, compiled by The Times and Business in the Community (BITC). Read story

DX to face legal action over minimum wage and holiday pay 
Employee Benefits: Mail and parcel delivery organisation DX is to face legal action over the entitlement of its delivery drivers to employment rights, such as being paid the national minimum wage and holiday pay. Read story

Savers access £10.8bn through pension freedoms
Employee Benefits: Retirement savers have accessed approximately £10.8 billion through the pension freedoms since the pension reforms were introduced in April 2015, according to data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Read story

38% believe a culture change is needed to address sedentary behaviour at work
Employee Benefits: More than one-third (38%) of respondents believe that a complete culture change is required to encourage staff to spend less time sitting at work, according to research by Active Working. Read story

Case study: WHSmith's approach to mental health
HR Magazine: High street stalwart WHSmith wanted to mark its 225th anniversary with a project with a difference. Read story

Aviva: Rehab getting 88pc of workers back to work
Corporate Adviser: Almost 9 out of 10 employees who engaged with rehabilitation services offered through Aviva’s group income protection (GIP) products made a successful return to work, according to figures from the insurer released today. Read story