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

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 9-15 June 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 9-15 July.

DC9B-1497543394_2016presslogosMAIN.jpg  Hung parliament reaction: Pensions impact
Corporate Adviser: A host of planned changes to the pensions landscape now look unlikely as the Conservative’s ability to push through laws has been restricted following the hung parliament delivered by the General Election. Read story

The future of workplace design
HR Magazine: An effective workspace environment is no longer a nice-to have, and it’s workers who are driving that change. Read story

Hung parliament sparks Brexit and worker rights uncertainty
HR Magazine: A hung parliament election result has caused uncertainty over Brexit and those enhanced worker rights pledged by all major parties’ manifestos. Read story

European court hands down opinion on unpaid and untaken leave for workers
Employee Benefits: The advocate general at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that a UK worker is entitled to holiday pay and that untaken leave may be carried over until it can be used. Read story

Australian minimum wage to rise to $18.29 an hour
Employee Benefits: The national minimum wage in Australia is to increase by 3.3% to $18.29 (£10.65) an hour from 1 July 2017. Read story

How worker's £27k unpaid holiday compensation win affects HR
HR Grapevine: In a boost for employees’ rights, a former window salesman has been awarded £27,000, winning a compensation claim for holiday pay he didn’t receive during his tenure – the Guardian reports. Read story

Opinion: Self-regulation is the key to productive home-working
People Management: Ian P Buckingham discusses new research that should pave the way for more of us to ditch the commute and work more efficiently outside the confines of the office. Read story

Reshuffle: Former Treasury chief made DWP sec of state
Corporate Adviser: Former chief secretary to the Treasury David Gauke has been named as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, replacing Damian Greene. Read story

Pensions slip down the agenda after election
Pensions Expert: If Theresa May’s Conservatives succeed in forming a lasting government, their immediate policy concerns regarding pensions are unlikely to change. Read story

New fathers ‘being let down’ by parental leave provisions
People Management: UK lags behind 28 other countries, says report; experts call for a ‘shift in attitude’ around Shared Parental Leave. Read story

How the markets will react to a weak government
Professional Pensions: Political uncertainty is back after the shock general election result, with the markets pricing in a softer Brexit. Watch out for the impact on sterling and gilt yields, warns Stephanie Baxter. Read story

AA members to move to CARE section as deficit jumps 81%
Professional Pensions: Final salary members of the AA UK defined benefit (DB) scheme are to move to a career average segment in a bid to stem the deficit. Read story

BNP Paribas wins the Grand Prix at Employee Benefits Awards 2017
Employee Benefits: BNP Paribas won the coveted Grand Prix award at the Employee Benefits Awards 2017. Read story

Hinkley Point C staff to receive interim bonus payments
Employee Benefits: Members of the trade union Unite who are working on the construction of Hinkley Point C, the EDF Energy-led nuclear power station project, are to receive bonus payments as part of an interim agreement while the facility is under construction. Read story

36% believe wearables can enhance productivity in the workplace
Employee Benefits: More than one-third (36%) of employee respondents cite increased productivity as a benefit of using wearable technology in the workplace, according to research by office search engine organisation Office Genie. Read story

Employers freeze pay to fund National Living Wage
HR Magazine: Employers have frozen or reduced pay to meet requirements, although some have extended the NLW to all staff. Read story

TPR warning on DB valuations and dividend payouts
Corporate Adviser: DB schemes being valued this year will be more impacted by market conditions than schemes in earlier tranches, in part because sponsors are paying out more dividends and less deficit repair contributions (DRCs) says the regulator. Read story

Keeping ahead of the pack
Professional Pensions: David Hutchins of AllianceBernstein (AB) explains how the firm's target-date funds kept a lead through a challenging market environment. Read story

Pinterest to introduce adoption and surrogacy benefits
Employee Benefits: Social media organisation Pinterest is to launch new family-focused benefits to help support employees with the financial costs associated with adoption and surrogacy. Read story

City of Vancouver becomes a living wage employer
Employee Benefits: The City of Vancouver, Park Board, and Vancouver Police Department in Canada have been certified as living wage employers, paying all employees and external contractors a minimum of $20.62 (£12.23) an hour. Read story

61% offer flexible-working initiatives
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (61%) of employer respondents offer flexible-working initiatives, compared to 54% in 2016, according to research by Employee Benefits and Staffcare. Read story

TPR releases tranche 12 funding data and sets expectations for DB schemes
Professional Pensions: TPR releases tranche 12 funding data and sets expectations for DB schemes. Read story

'Bulldog' regulator in Brexit world may see trustees push harder for cash
Professional Pensions: The combined force of a more heavy-handed regulator and market conditions in a post-Brexit world will cause some defined benefit (DB) trustees to put greater demands on their scheme sponsor, Barnett Waddingham predicts. Read story

DB deficits close as sterling weakens
Professional Pensions: The total deficit of defined benefit (DB) schemes improved marginally, latest Pension Protection Fund (PPF) data reveals. Read story

Real wages will soon hit ‘lowest point in two centuries’
People Management: Leading think tank says pay is stagnating, as ONS reveals largest hike in inflation in nearly four years. Read story

What does the latest holiday pay case mean for employers?
People Management: The EU opinion on holiday pay last week could have widespread implications, says Beverley Sunderland. Read story

Aon: Forget SalSac – get ready for OPRA
Corporate Adviser: Employers must face up to potentially significant and costly changes to salary sacrifice as the new Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OPRA) take effect says Aon Employee Benefits. Read story

Opperman named DWP minister as Harrington leaves after less than a year
Corporate Adviser: Former barrister and amateur jockey Guy Opperman MP has been named under secretary of state in the Department for Work and Pensions, as Richard Harrington exits the department after less than a year. Read story

New DB lead for PLSA
Corporate Adviser: Former APFA policy adviser Caroline Escott has been named as the new defined benefit and investment policy lead at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA). Read story

TPR warning on DB valuations and dividend payouts
Corporate Adviser: DB schemes being valued this year will be more impacted by market conditions than schemes in earlier tranches, in part because sponsors are paying out more dividends and less deficit repair contributions (DRCs) says the regulator. Read story

Shared parental pay: Is refusal to match enhanced maternity pay sex discrimination?
Personnel Today: Consultant editor Darren Newman asks if an employment tribunal was correct to hold that it was direct sex discrimination for a new father to be allowed to take only two weeks’ leave on full pay, when female staff were entitled to 14 weeks’ enhanced maternity pay. Read story

Danby Bloch: Maximising tax breaks on casual earnings
Money Marketing: The £1,000 allowances aim to make life simpler and more certain for people with a little income from casual sources. Read story

UK wage growth ‘astonishingly weak’
Money Marketing: Real wages have seen the sharpest annual fall in three years, down 1.5 per cent year on year in April, the latest UK labour market figures show. Read story

DC schemes should consider hedging currency risk
Professional Pensions: Schemes have had a windfall gain by not hedging currency risk. Stephanie Baxter asks whether schemes should now begin to hedge to protect members. Read story

Ambition achieves 98% take-up of wellbeing week activities
Employee Benefits: Professional services recruitment organisation Ambition saw 98% of its 34 employees participate in at least one activity during its annual wellbeing week. Read story

Aon: Employers with group risk need to comply with OPRA regulations
Cover: Aon Employee Benefits has said that employers who were hoping for a reprieve from the changes to Optional Remuneration Arrangements (OPRA) will be disappointed and must take action to comply. Read story

Nick French: Why dynamic caution is best for DB transfer pots
Corporate Adviser: A conservative but dynamic approach is the best way to avoid risk of ruin with DB transfer pots. Offering institutional risk techniques to retail investors can help deliver that says Russell Investments managing director and head of UK wealth management Nick French. Read story

Panasonic provides electric company cars and free charging points to employees
Employee Benefits: Almost 20% of electronics manufacturer Panasonic’s 170-strong UK company car fleet is made up of hybrid or electric vehicles (EVs), supplied through provider Alphabet on a contract hire or salary sacrifice basis. Read story

Work affecting mental, physical and financial health of employees
HR Magazine: Half of UK employees say work has a negative impact on their physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. Read story

New York Uber drivers classified as employees in unemployment insurance case
Employee Benefits: A New York administrative law judge has ruled that drivers who work for taxi organisation Uber are employees rather than independent contractors in a case centred around the drivers’ eligibility for unemployment benefits. Read story

91% offer life assurance benefits
Employee Benefits: Approximately nine in 10 (91%) employer respondents provide life assurance or death in service, according to research by Employee Benefits and Staffcare. Read story

Age UK Nottingham and Nottinghamshire gains living wage accreditation
Employee Benefits: Age UK Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has been accredited as a living wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation. Read story

20% feel their benefits package supports their health and fitness goals
Employee Benefits: One-fifth (20%) of UK employee respondents feel that the benefits their employer offers help them to get fit and healthy, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits. Read story

‘Over-promoted’ medical practice manager wins constructive dismissal tribunal
People Management: Case highlights importance of performance management processes to prevent ‘resentment being stored up’, says legal expert. Read story

Guy Opperman named as minister for pensions and financial inclusion
Professional Pensions: Guy Opperman has been named as parliamentary under-secretary for pensions and financial inclusion following the post-election reshuffle. Read story

Tory policies on triple lock and state pension age most at threat
Professional Pensions: PP research shows government polies on triple lock and state pension age review are most likely to fall away. Read story