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12 May 2017
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 5-11 May 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 5-11 May.

7FEA-1494575716_2016presslogosMAIN.jpg Rolls-Royce agrees three-year pay deal for Rotherham-based staff
Employee Benefits: Motoring manufacturing organisation Rolls-Royce has agreed a three-year pay deal for 120 staff at its Rotherham-based advanced blade casting facility (ABCF). Read story

37% of employee assistance programme calls relate to anxiety and depression
Employee Benefits: Just over a third (37%) of calls to an employee assistance programme (EAP) relate to employee anxiety and depression, according to research by employee wellbeing organisation Lifeworks. Read story

Hot Topic: State pension age rises, part two
HR Magazine: The state pension age should rise to 68 by 2039, according to recommendations in the Cridland report. Read story

IR35 tax rules ‘too complicated’ for HMRC staff to understand 
People Management: PRISM claims it has seen ‘at least a dozen’ instances where taxman has misled contractors over expenses entitlement. Read story

GIP return to work stats improve – Grid stats
Corporate Adviser: GIP insurer’s early intervention and rehabilitation services are now returning more than one in four workers back to work, according to industrywide group risk statistics published today. Read story

Employees not supported through mental health issues
HR Magazine: Line managers routinely overestimate how well their workplace supports mental health and wellbeing. Read story

Blenheim Palace launches wellbeing programme
Employee Benefits: Stately home Blenheim Palace has introduced a new wellbeing scheme for its 250 permanent Oxfordshire-based staff. Read story

50% of line managers feel they could spot the signs of a mental health problem
Employee Benefits: Half (50%) of line manager respondents feel confident they could recognise the signs that a member of their team was having trouble coping with a mental health problem, according to research by the Mental Health Foundation and Unum. Read story

US judge dismisses student athlete’s minimum wage and overtime pay claim
Employee Benefits: A US district judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit that sought to provide the minimum wage and overtime pay to American football players for university sports teams in the US. Read story

General Election 2017: The pensions manifesto the industry wants to see
Professional Pensions: With political parties drawing up their manifestos for the snap general election, James Phillips explores the industry's greatest desires for the future of pensions. Read story

Settlement agreed in 'scorched earth' Nortel battle after eight years
Professional Pensions: Members of the Nortel Networks UK Pension Scheme are due to receive more than £1bn after a settlement was agreed in a long-running court battle across two continents. Read story

Johnsons Shoes fined £40,000 for failing to meet AE duties
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has fined high street firm Johnson Shoes £40,000 after it repeatedly failed to enrol its staff into a pension scheme because it was "too busy”. Read story

Schemes urged to put pressure on BP and Shell over executive pay
Professional Pensions: Schemes have been urged to vote against executive pay proposals at both Shell and BP in protest against incentives to increase short term production. Read story

Are your employees abandoned at-retirement?
Reward Guide: Poor decisions are leaving the oldest workforce generation vulnerable. Read story

InterContinental Hotels Group introduces online retirement planning tool
Employee Benefits: Multinational hotel organisation InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has introduced an online retirement planning tool to help staff achieve their savings goals. Read story

DHL Supply Chain agrees pay deal for South Yorkshire-based staff
Employee Benefits: Logistics organisation DHL Supply Chain has agreed a 2.6% pay increase for warehouse employees based in South Yorkshire. Read story

£1.5bn paid in group risk claims in 2016
Employee Benefits: Nearly £1.5 billion was paid out by the group risk industry over 2016, up £100 million on 2015, according to research by industry body Group Risk Development (Grid). Read story

39% believe the Lifetime Isa will cause confusion among staff
Employee Benefits: Over a third (39%) of employer respondents believe the introduction of the Lifetime individual savings account (Lisa) will cause confusion for employees looking to save, according to research by Close Brothers Asset Management. Read story

Employers say staff should be responsible for financial education
HR Magazine: However, the majority still plan to help employees with financial advice and planning. Read story

LISA expected to cause confusion
HR Magazine: The Lifetime ISA (LISA) is designed to allow people to save for their first home, or for retirement. Read story

Tackling 'dirty data' is crucial for pensions dashboard to succeed
Professional Pensions: Research has revealed a majority of providers are missing invaluable customer information necessary for the pensions dashboard to succeed. Read story

Labour policy to raise income tax could see tapered allowance cut
Professional Pensions: Labour's proposal to raise income tax for higher earners could result in industry "horror" with the annual allowance taper being slashed by £70,000, Hargreaves Lansdown has warned. Read story

Altmann backs GIP incentive and slams bereavement benefit cut
Corporate Adviser: The Government should rethink its cut to bereavement benefits and employers should be given fiscal incentives to offer group income protection says Baroness Altmann. Read story

John Lewis Partnership puts aside £36m for minimum wage compliance
Employee Benefits: Retail organisation John Lewis Partnership has set aside £36 million for the year ended 28 January 2017 to cover costs and payments that may be incurred through a breach of compliance with national minimum wage regulations. Read story

Microsoft New Zealand enhances family leave benefits
Employee Benefits: Technology organisation Microsoft New Zealand has enhanced its family leave benefits, including the launch of a new fully-paid family time-away policy and the extension of its parental leave policies. Read story

42% view mental health as a key employee wellbeing challenge
Employee Benefits: Around two-fifths (42%) of employer respondents cite mental health as a key workplace health and wellbeing challenge over the next five years, according to research by Barnett Waddingham. Read story

Breastfeeding in Parliament is a win for working mothers
HR Grapevine: In a win for working women, an Australian Senator became the first woman to breastfeed in the nation’s Parliament – BBC reports. Read story

TPR to meet with LGPS members amid concerns funds ignore climate risks
Professional Pensions: Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) members will meet The Pensions Regulator (TPR) next month after lobby groups warned just 12 funds highlighted climate change risks in their investment strategy statements. Read story

The hidden traps of LISA
Professional Pensions: Malcolm McLean says while the LISA may be attractive for some people, as a long-term savings vehicle it falls far short of the traditional workplace pension. Read story

DB transfer values nudge record highs
Corporate Adviser: Transfer values touched record highs in April and fluctuated by more than 3.5 per cent across the month, meaning the value of a £10,000 a year income changed by £9,000, according to the Xafinity Transfer Value Index. Read story

Webb: Labour’s plan to scrap state pension age rise would cost £300bn
Corporate Adviser: The leaked Labour manifesto proposal to scrap the planned pension age rise will cost taxpayers around £300bn, says former pension minister Steve Webb. Read story

Every job needs to offer workers the chance to get a better one, says Taylor review head
People Management: Employers should focus on helping their staff take the next step in their careers to get the best from their workforce, a panel of experts has said. Read story

Labour: The leaked pension manifesto pledges in full
Professional Pensions: The leaked draft of Labour's general election manifesto includes a raft of pension proposals, including plans to amend the Takeover Code to protect pensioners and a pledge to enable the development of large efficient pensions funds. Read story

Three in ten believe employers should be able to renegotiate DB benefits
Professional Pensions: Almost a third (30%) of pension professionals support employers having more power to renegotiate benefits or reduce accrued rights, research from the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has shown. Read story

Alan Rubenstein: Don't lose sight of the bigger picture
Professional Pensions: The industry is at risk of being side-tracked by short-term funding data and high-profile defined benefit (DB) failures, the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) chief executive has warned. Read story

Global healthcare benefits costs expected to rise by 7.8%
Employee Benefits: Global healthcare benefits costs are expected to rise by 7.8% in 2017, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story

36% expect to work past the age of 65 due to insufficient pension savings
Employee Benefits: More than a third (36%) of respondents expect to work past the age of 65 because their pension savings will not be sufficient to allow them to afford to retire, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance. Read story

Poll: 18% communicate relevant benefits to mark Mental Health Awareness Week
Employee Benefits: Around a fifth (18%) of respondents are demonstrating their support for Mental Health Awareness Week (8-14 May 2017) by communicating relevant employee benefits to staff. Read story

More people than ever expecting to work past 65
HR Magazine: Low returns on savings, insufficient pensions and enjoying a job were all reasons given. Read story

Penguin Random House keeps its total reward offering up to date and informative
Employee Benefits: Penguin Random House keeps employees informed about their total reward package through its benefits portal. Read story

Adam Kingl: Rethinking reward for generation Y
Employee Benefits: One thing is for certain: employees are a lot less loyal than they used to be. Generation Y in particular, our youngest employees in their twenties and early thirties, seem to jump from employer to employer with an almost frightening rapidity. Read story

Nortel inches closer to PPF-plus as £5bn lockbox opened
Pensions Expert: The Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan is set to receive more than £1bn in assets from its insolvent sponsor Nortel in the coming months, after US and Canadian courts agreed to open a $7bn (£5.4bn) escrow ‘lockbox’. Read story

Blackford: Pension commission could restore consumer trust
Pensions Expert: In the second instalment of our 2017 election pensions spokespeople series, we hear from Ian Blackford, who is standing for re-election as the Scottish National Party representative for Skye, Ross and Lochaber. Read story