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07 Jul 2017
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 30 June - 6 July

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 30 June - 6 July.

TPR warns over fake AE exemption certificates
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has warned employers to avoid becoming victim to fake auto-enrolment (AE) certificates after it revealed it had launched an investigation. Read story

PBUK: Employees need good guidance and education when accessing pension freedoms
Professional Pensions: Savers will make the wrong decisions if they are not appropriately guided when seeking to take advantage of the pension freedoms, according to Scottish Widows' Robert Cochran. Read story

What should be the priority for DB reform?
Professional Pensions: A panel at Pensions and Benefits UK discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the DB system. Michael Klimes reports. Read story

10 UK pension funds call on companies to be more transparent about workforce
Professional Pensions: Some of the country's largest pension schemes have joined a £6.1trn investor coalition urging firms to reveal more information about workforce management. Read story

DB funding levels improve 2% over June
Professional Pensions: All UK private sector DB schemes saw a £50bn improvement in funding levels on a funding measure in June, according to PwC's Skyval index. Read story

Paul Lewis: Scrap National Insurance contributions
Money Marketing: Is it time to scrap the National Insurance fund? Despite its name, it is not a fund and it is not insurance, though a fiction is carefully woven around it to make it appear as if it is both. Read story

Litchfield: The key to measuring wellbeing
Corporate Adviser: Four ONS questions can form the cornerstone of any employer’s workplace wellbeing assessment, a leading wellbeing expert told a conference this week. Read story

Million opt-outs predicted as AE faces pivotal two years
Corporate Adviser: A million eligible workers will have opted out of auto-enrolment pension schemes by 2019, joining 12 million self-employed and non-eligible workers, according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown. Read story

Over-confident savers back property before pensions
Pensions Expert: Almost half of UK savers continue to believe that property is the best way of providing for retirement, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics, which highlights the challenge facing government. Read story

Young people may opt out of auto-enrolment
HR Magazine: Nearly half (48%) said they may opt out once the planned increases come into effect. Read story

UK workers can’t cope with the financial impact of cancer
Reward Guide: In recent years employers have put a lot of emphasis on improving the mental health and wellbeing of their employees - but this has meant that physical ailments such as cancer have taken a back seat. Read story

Employees get more work done at home
Reward Guide: Productivity levels are higher outside the office for many companies, finds George Martin. Read story

Sick pay is the most valued benefit for self-employed
Reward Guide: Freelancers and self-employed workers prefer sick pay as a valuable statutory pay benefit. Read story

Fears of nursing recruitment ‘crisis’ as pressure grows to end pay cap
People Management: Senior politicians heighten calls to raise public sector pay, despite last week’s failed parliamentary vote. Read story

PWC narrows its mean gender pay gap to 13.7%
Employee Benefits: Professional services organisation PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has seen its mean gender pay gap narrow from 15.2% in 2016 to 13.7% for hourly fixed pay at April 2017. Read story

Bentley agrees 6.5% pay increase for Cheshire-based staff
Employee Benefits: Luxury car manufacturer Bentley has agreed a 6.5% pay increase for more than 2,000 employees based in Crewe, Cheshire, as part of a new pay deal. Read story

Microsoft rolls out global family caregiver benefit
Employee Benefits: Technology organisation Microsoft has launched a paid family caregiver benefit for its employees worldwide. Read story

John Hopkins University enhances family-friendly benefits
Employee Benefits: US-based John Hopkins University has enhanced its family-friendly benefits, introducing a new paid parental leave benefit and increasing the financial assistance offered to adoptive parents. Read story

Financial Ombudsman Service gains living wage accreditation
Employee Benefits: The Financial Ombudsman Service has been accredited as a living wage employer by the Living Wage Foundation. Read story

25% cite a company car as the deciding factor when taking a job
Employee Benefits: A quarter (25%) of employee respondents cite access to a company car as the deciding factor when taking a job, according to research by vehicle supply organisation OSV. Read story

Annuitants lose £765m income by not shopping around
Money Marketing: 50 per cent of annuity customers stay with their current pension provider and could be losing out on thousands. Read story

David Gauke accuses previous governments of 'tinkering' for short-term gain
Professional Pensions: The new work and pensions minister David Gauke has laid into past governments who "tinkered around the edges" with pensions policy. Read story

Ombudsman backs Standard Life over refusal to give second transfer value
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has stood behind the Standard Life staff pension scheme's decision to not issue a new transfer value, despite a member agreeing to pay for it. Read story

What has TPR learned from the BHS case?
Professional Pensions: The regulator's long-awaited section 89 document reveals what it learned after striking a deal with Sir Philip Green for the BHS pension funds. Michael Klimes reports. Read story

GKN defaulting DB members into transferring out
Corporate Adviser: The GKN Group Pension Scheme is transferring members’ defined benefit entitlements into cash without them having requesting a transfer. Read story

Sandwich generation not saving for retirement
Reward Guide: George Martin reports that the squeezed middle are using funds to support dependants rather than to save for the future. Read story

Building the business case for: discount vouchers
Reward Guide: For canny employers and their cash-strapped staff, collecting reward points can be a cost-effective way of boosting engagement. Read story

How does a dog-friendly office actually work?
People Management: Nestlé UK’s head of HR explains why having canine companions in the workplace is a win-win idea. Read story

Pinsent Masons, RBS and Vodafone among 2017’s Top Global Employers for LGBT staff
Employee Benefits: Accenture, Herbert Smith Freehills, Pinsent Masons, RBS (pictured), and Vodafone are among the 12 global organisations that have been named as 2017’s Top Global Employers for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) employees by LGBT equality charity Stonewall. Read story

Skanska agrees £300m pension longevity hedge
Employee Benefits: The trustees of construction organisation Skanska’s pension scheme have agreed a longevity hedge for the scheme, covering £300 million in member liabilities. Read story

84% believe summer perks increase productivity
Employee Benefits: More than three quarters (84%) of employee respondents believe that receiving summer perks makes them more productive, according to research by Peldon Rose. Read story

Addison Lee to face legal action over holiday pay and minimum wage
Employee Benefits: Taxi organisation Addison Lee is to face legal action over the status of its drivers and their entitlement to workers’ rights, such as holiday pay and the national minimum wage. Read story

Washington to legislate for paid family and medical leave
Employee Benefits: Washington has passed a bill to introduce a new paid family and medical leave benefit for employees based in the US state. Read story

FCA chief to pocket £65,000 bonus for first year’s work
Money Marketing: FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey was awarded a £65,000 bonus on top of his £330,000 salary for his first year’s work at the top of the regulator, accounts released today show. Read story

TPR issues compliance warning after handing out 173 fines
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator issued 173 fines to schemes and trustees during 2016 as a result of failures to prepare annual governance statements or complete scheme returns. Read story

Big reprieve for LGPS as regulator eases EU rules
Professional Pensions: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has eased new rules for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) after concerns they could pose barriers to infrastructure investment and even cause an asset fire-sale. Read story

Skills upgrade will solve ageing population problem, not more saving
Professional Pensions: Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) economist James Banks has warned the UK must upgrade the skills of workers and boost productivity to solve the social strains from an ageing population. Read story

AM market study: Godfrey presses FCA on dropping all-inclusive charge and independent committees
Corporate Adviser: Daniel Godfrey, the former Investment Association chief executive and co-founder of The People’s Trust, has questioned the regulator’s decision to drop an all-inclusive charge and to opt for independent board directors rather than an independent governance committee. Read story

Lady Judge: Employees want pensions in benefit package
Pensions Expert: Small and medium-sized employers who underestimate the value placed on pension benefits by employees are hindering their ability to attract and retain staff, former Pension Protection Fund chair Lady Barbara Judge has warned. Read story

Gauke calls for government and industry collaboration
Pensions Expert: In his first speech as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke called for consensus and collaboration to ensure a positive future for pensions, but admitted that it will take time to address some of the more challenging policy issues, from pensions tax relief to extending auto-enrolment to the self-employed. Read story

Minimum wage staff underpaid by £10.9m last year
People Management: Figure demonstrates need for campaign to make low-paid workers aware of rights and employers’ requirements, says reward expert. Read story

Working parents spend £1,800 a year on unnecessary childcare
People Management: Employers need to be ‘open and transparent’ about unpaid leave for parents, legal expert says. Read story

Presenteeism remains a challenge for UK employers
Reward Guide: UK workers feel unsupported and judged for taking time off due to illness. Read story

No smoke without fire for non-smoking employees
Reward Guide: Non-smokers tend to resent smoking breaks of other colleagues, says George Martin. Read story

Minimum wage should cover some self-employed
HR Magazine: A Resolution Foundation report argues for a better pay deal for gig economy workers. Read story

Employees unaware of unpaid parental leave
HR Magazine: Unpaid parental leave is available to staff with a year or more's tenure, in addition to annual holiday allowance. Read story

Standard Life employee’s transfer value complaint is rejected by Pensions Ombudsman
Employee Benefits: The Pensions Ombudsman has rejected a complaint by a Standard Life employee regarding the provision of a second cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) within 12 months of a previous request. Read story

WESC Foundation launches salary sacrifice car scheme
Employee Benefits: Visual impairment services organisation the WESC Foundation has introduced a salary sacrifice car scheme for its 240 Devon-based employees. Read story

Serco staff at Barts Health NHS Trust strike over pay dispute
Employee Benefits: Members of trade union Unite who work for public services organisation Serco and are based at hospitals within Barts Health NHS Trust are taking strike action in a dispute over pay. Read story

Cold calling ban shelved, govt says
Professional Pensions: The upcoming Financial Guidance and Claims Bill will not include the pensions cold calling ban, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. Read story

Transparency means disclosure of costs and their impact
Professional Pensions: Disclosure codes for costs and charges on pension funds need to show both the amount and impact of costs, due to their compounding effect. Read story

Transfer values plummet to lowest level since November
Professional Pensions: Volatile gilt yields saw the estimated average defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) transfer value fall by £9,000 over June, Xafinity has said. Read story

Kim North: The risks of advising against DB transfers
Money Marketing: Never before has the need for clarity in investments been as important than it is these days. Read story

Modern employment tsar backs AE for self-employed plan
Corporate Adviser: Matthew Taylor, the man appointed to review modern employment practices, has thrown his support behind a proposal that the self-employed should have 4 per cent of their profits automatically diverted into a personal pension plan. Read story

Trustee standards group set up as TPR research shows third of schemes set no minimum credential requirement
Corporate Adviser: A group of industry bodies have come together with the aim of establishing a set of universally recognised Fit and Proper Protocols to be met by professional trustees. Read story

Zurich publishes GIP claims stats – 97pc paid
Corporate Adviser: Zurich paid out on over 97 percent of its new group income protection claims last year with employees benefitting from annualised payments averaging £37,900. Read story

Don’t get taken to tribunal – give your workers a break
People Management: Failing to ensure staff take regular breathers could decrease productivity and land employers in hot water. Read story

Addison Lee drivers challenge self-employed status
HR Magazine: The claim states that the taxi firm is wrongly classifying its drivers, who then miss out on benefits and protections. Read story

A – Z of voluntary benefits: Part one
Reward Guide: Voluntary benefits have changed rapidly over the past 15 years, as benefits that employees would have traditionally bought for themselves are now readily available through their workplaces. Read story

Cridland: Longevity as big an issue as climate change
Pensions Expert: Savers need to be more aware of the consequences of an ageing population on retirement saving, with providers, regulators and employers all having a part to play in improving engagement, say experts. Read story

Rangers Football Club loses appeal in employee benefits trust tax case
Employee Benefits: The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Rangers Football Club (RFC) in a case regarding income tax and national insurance liabilities for the organisation’s employee benefits trust (EBT) scheme. Read story

Firefighters to consult on four-year pay deal
Employee Benefits: Firefighters who are members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will consult on proposals for a four-year pay deal, which includes a 2% pay increase in 2017. Read story

FCA consults on proposals for staff incentives in consumer credit organisations
Employee Benefits: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on proposals designed to help consumer credit organisations manage risks associated with staff incentives and performance management processes. Read story