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25 Aug 2017
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 18-24 August 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 18-24 August.

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60% believe their employer should provide fresh fruit at work
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (60%) of employee respondents believe their employer should offer fresh fruit to staff in the workplace, according to research by British Summer Fruits. Read story

89% use salary sacrifice to buy technology they could not afford outright
Employee Benefits: Almost nine in 10 (89%) respondents who have purchased a technology product through a salary sacrifice scheme would not have bought the product elsewhere because they could not afford to buy the item outright, according to research by Let’s Connect, part of Personal Group. Read story

12m hit financially by family health crisis
Corporate Adviser: Three in ten UK adults have seen their finances hit as a result of temporary or permanent leave from work due to ill health, a cancer diagnosis or death within the family, research from Aviva shows. Read story

How has 2017 shaped employee benefits?
Incentive and Motivation: James Malia, Director of Employee Benefits at Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services shares his thoughts so far as we approach September. Read story

Rewarding Staff: Perfect 10 Profile
Reward Guide: When it comes to rewarding a workforce Perfect 10 has gone above and beyond to perfect their strategy.

5 most in-demand summertime perks
HR Grapevine: The British summertime is usually predictable – sub-standard, wet and grey – so to help staff through it some firms consider offering perks to keep morale high. Read story

Govt confirms cold calling ban after £43m lost to scams since 2014
Professional Pensions: The government has announced it will press ahead with "tough" measures to protect pension savers as figures reveal almost £5m was lost to scammers between January and May this year. Read story

Record-low savings ratio 'paints misleading picture' - research
Professional Pensions: UK households have not stopped saving to go on a debt-fuelled consumer spending spree, according to research from Royal London, despite official figures revealing the savings ratio is at a record-low. Read story

Jarrold and Sons completes £19m pensions buy-in
Employee Benefits: Retail organisation Jarrold and Sons has completed a £19 million pensions buy-in transaction. Read story

Metropolitan Police Service enhances income protection policy
Employee Benefits: The Metropolitan Police Service has enhanced its income protection policy to include access to personal nurse advisers. Read story

Industry attacks glacial cold call ban timetable
Corporate Adviser: The industry has welcomed Government measures against pension cold calling set out yesterday but has criticised the timetable for implementation, which former minister Steve Webb says could take until 2020. Read story

J&J finds remedy for MNT recruiting ailment
Pensions Expert: Johnson & Johnson’s wide-ranging communications campaign encouraging scheme members to stand as trustee candidates shows it is possible to find “good quality” member-nominated trustees. Read story

The surprising benefit of tech salary sacrifice
Incentive and Motivation: So when it comes to salary sacrifice, is there any point in making an investment in home technology – or has that ship sailed? Read story

May’s high pay crackdown abandoned
Money Marketing: The Government has backed out of plans to introduce more binding votes on how top executives are paid, according to reports. Read story

Former Lloyds bosses sue for unpaid bonuses
Money Marketing: Former Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Eric Daniels is taking the bank to court over failure to pay bonuses amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds. Read story

TPR to prosecute Chappell for not handing over information for BHS probe
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will prosecute Dominic Chappell for failing to give information and documents requested as part of the investigation into the sale of British Home Stores (BHS). Read story

Cold calling ban: Govt urged to clarify final rules and rollout
Professional Pensions: The government's proposals to clamp down on pensions cold calling are still lacking in detail and it needs to be much clearer about how they will be introduced, says the industry. Read story

Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives falls by almost 20%
Employee Benefits: The median pay for chief executive officers (CEOs) working in the UK’s top 100 organisations has fallen by almost 20% to £3.5 million in 2017 compared to £4.3 million in 2016, according to research by Deloitte. Read story

17% of staff aged over 55 struggle to manage work-life balance
Employee Benefits: Just under a fifth (17%) of respondents aged over 55 struggle to juggle their work with other aspects of their lives, according to research by Robert Half UK. Read story

Irish military recruits and privates to receive pay increase
Employee Benefits: The Permanent Defence Force in Ireland is to award a pay increase to general service recruits and privates following the introduction of a revised pay scale. Read story

Court of Appeal rules against ITV in pensions anti-avoidance case
Employee Benefits: The Court of Appeal has refused an appeal by television broadcasting organisation ITV, which sought to challenge additional evidence submitted by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in a long-running pensions anti-avoidance case. Read story

Brexit threat to UK state pension accrual
Corporate Adviser: UK citizens could lose the right to build up UK state pension entitlement while working in EU member states, a House of Commons Library note has confirmed. Read story

Arthritis to cost employers £3.43 billion by 2030
HR Magazine: The costs arise from lost working hours and days, and earlier retirement of sufferers. Read story

Office has no positive impact on happiness for two-in-five workers
People Management: The research by workplace and office design consultants Peldon Rose also discovered that just a third (36 per cent) of the 600-plus employees it surveyed enjoyed coming into work every day.

UK leading the world rankings in workplace savings and retirement income
Reward Guide: Despite concerns about employees affording to retire, it seems that UK employers are trying to ensure that their staff have a decent income when they finish work.

Increasing attraction, motivation and retention levels with a brand new car
Reward Guide: Commuting to work can be stressful and time consuming for the majority of the British Workforce, so what can employers do to help their staff get to work?

Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes gender pay gap
Personnel Today: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published details of its gender pay gap, showing that on average its female employees are paid more than men. Read story

Johnson and Johnson rolls out global parental benefits to 60 countries
Employee Benefits: Pharmaceutical organisation Johnson and Johnson has rolled out a global parental leave benefit to 60 of its operating locations in order to improve its maternity, paternity and adoption provision. Read story

Employer contributions key to AE popularity with millennials
Pensions Expert: Recent research has shown that millennials are welcoming auto-enrolment, prompting industry figures to highlight the positive role of employer contributions and the continued need for improved understanding of retirement saving. Read story

How to motivate low performing employees
Incentive and Motivation: According to recent research by VitalSmarts, a training company for business leaders. high-performing employees are responsible for over 60% of the work completed in their offices and are considered much more valuable to their companies than regular employees. Read story

OPRA will lead to 'significant' employee benefit changes
Cover: Aon Employee Benefits has said that tax advantages removed with new Optional Remuneration Arrangement (OPRA) rules, mean both employers and employees will need to be ready for tax charges. Read story

TPO plans to take on TPAS' dispute resolution process
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) is planning to bring The Pensions Advisory Service's (TPAS) dispute resolution process into its remit. Read story

16% of millennials would give up employer-funded gym membership for dogs
Employee Benefits: Just under a fifth (16%) of millennial respondents would sacrifice employer-provided gym membership in order to have their dog in the office with them, according to research by Purina PetCare. Read story

Game of Thrones stars avoid gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: According to a list compiled by entertainment title Variety, actors Emilia Clarke, Nikolaji Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington and Lena Headey all earn an estimated $500,000 for each episode. Read story

National Living Wage: Is it positive for temporary staff?
HR Magazine: While some aspects of the NLW benefit temporary workers, there are some negative side effects. Read story

The winners and losers of the new Tax-Free Childcare system
Reward Guide: The new system, called ‘Tax-Free Childcare’, is available online and the government will contribute 20p for every 80p that parents spend on registered childcare.

The positive impacts of shared parental leave: how to boost take up
HR Grapevine: Watchdog findings have this week suggested that problems in business could be reduced if flexible jobs were more readily advertised. Read story