At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 14 August - 20 August 2015
How the gay marriage ruling impacts group benefits
Employee Benefit News:The Supreme Court’s early summer ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges affects more than just same-sex couples seeking equal marriage rights — it also impacts employers and the benefits they offer. Read story
Employers opposed to Tory volunteering pledge
HR Magazine: More than six out of 10 (61%) employers are opposed to the Conservative pledge of paid volunteering leave, according to research from Jelf Employee Benefits. Read story
Workers not using full holiday quota
HR Magazine: The average full-time worker only takes 22 days of their average 25 days allocated leave, according to research from Reed. Read story
Mortgages as an employee benefit
HR Magazine: In an active job market, employee benefits are attraction and retention battlegrounds. As firms compete to offer the most innovative schemes, there's a new kid on the benefits block. Read story
The benefits of safer driving for company fleets
WSB: Catherine Chetwynd explains how investing in road safety has benefits beyond the financial. Read story
Top 10 dog-friendly companies revealed by Glassdoor
HR Grapevine: With more and more companies implementing stranger employee perks, it’s no wonder that pets are starting to get involved. Read story
LateRooms.com launches long-service awards
Employee Benefits: LateRooms.com has launched a long-service awards scheme, which will award long-serving staff with either a £150 or £250 voucher for a Red Letter Days experience. Read story
British Airways gives staff allotment
Employee Benefits: British Airways has offered employees allotment plots at its headquarters near Heathrow Airport to help improve their general health and wellbeing. Read story
Parexel accredited for cancer support
Employee Benefits: Biopharmaceutical firm Parexel, which employs 18,660 staff, has been recognised for the support it provides to staff and their families in detecting cancer and supporting those coping with the disease. Read story
64% of Londoners use holiday for health appointments
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (64%) of London-based respondents take a day of annual leave in order to attend health appointments, according to research by healthcare provider Bupa. Read story
Waste of money and intimidating: Why retirees shun pensions advice
Corporate Adviser: Only one in five savers accessing pension freedoms are prepared to pay for advice, new research suggests. Read story
The health insurers passing on the IPT rise to employers
WSB: The vast majority of employers will be hit with the full force of the insurance premium tax (IPT) rise by health insurers, WSB can exclusively reveal. Read story
CEO pay soars during recession
WSB: Executive pay is continuing to climb at the expense of ordinary workers, rising by over £800,000 in four years since the recession. Read story
Alarming concerns about employee financial security
WSB: Employers could do more for wellbeing in the workplace. Kristian Brunt-Seymour looks at research which indicates financial security is a particular issue. Read story
Rival Colour gains living wage accreditation
Employee Benefits: Printing firm Rival Colour has been accredited as a living wage employer, committing to paying staff the living wage rate of at least £7.85 an hour. Read story
Busy second quarter puts bulk annuity market on track to hit £10bn
Professional Pensions: A string of mid-sized transactions have made for a record-breaking second quarter in the bulk annuity market, according to data from LCP. Read story
DB deficits exceed combined annual salary of UK workers
Professional Pensions: The £900bn deficit in UK defined benefit (DB) schemes would require more than a year’s salary from every person in the UK to fix, according to Hymans Robertson. Read story
Hike in public sector employee pension contributions nets Treasury £2.9bn
Professional Pensions: The decision to increase public sector employee pension contributions is expected to net the Treasury an extra £2.9bn in 2014-15, according to official figures. Read story
Newham Council’s SPV plans called in by scrutiny committee
Professional Pensions: Plans to release public funds on setting up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for Newham Pension Fund have been called in by the council’s overview and scrutiny (OS) committee following concerns. Read story
Radian boosts staff engagement
Employee Benefits: Housing association Radian has seen its employee engagement levels increase from 58% in 2010 to 84% this year, according to ratings calculated by business performance firm ORC International. Read story
59% believe they do not require pensions advice
Employee Benefits: Over half (59%) of respondents believe they do not require pensions and retirement advice when planning to make a withdrawal from their pension pots, according to research by money.co.uk. Read story
98% of US employers plan pay rises for 2016
Employee Benefits: Almost all (98%) of US-based respondents are planning pay increases for their staff in 2016, according to research by Towers Watson Data Services. Read story
Table tennis, golf and rowing on offer in employer's wellbeing programme
HR Grapevine: A governing body has taken an active interest in it's staff's interest in staying active, with the introduction of new employee wellbeing benefits. Read story
Royal London chief warns of 'real risk' to saving under ISA-style pensions
WSB: Taxing pensions like ISAs could provoke a significant fall in savings levels, the chief executive of insurer Royal London has warned. Read story
Thousands of carers could be paid below NMW
Pay and Benefits: Care workers who are not paid for the time they spend travelling between appointments could be receiving less than the national minimum wage (NMW), it has been claimed. Read story
Jelf in Marsh takeover talks
Corporate Adviser: Employee benefits and financial planning firm Jelf Group has confirmed it is in talks with Marsh over a potential takeover. Read story
State Street launches post-freedoms retirement fund
Corporate Adviser: State Street Global Advisors has launched a post-retirement fund designed to meet the growth in drawdown following the pension freedoms. Read story
Shareholders sue Towers Watson over Willis merger
Employee Benefit News: The all-stock $18 billion merger between Towers Watson and Willis Group Holdings is a bad deal — according to some Towers Watson shareholders. Read story
Deficits could rise 20-fold on holistic balance sheet
Professional Pensions: Reported deficits of FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) schemes could be set for a 20-fold increase if an EU-wide holistic balance sheet (HBS) is introduced, warns Barnett Waddingham. Read story
TUC welcomes tax relief green paper
Professional Pensions: The government’s green paper on tax relief has been welcomed by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Read story
Many employers failing to engage with retirement processes
Professional Pensions: Many employers are failing to help workers make retirement decisions, with three in ten not knowing where employees were getting information on the April pension reforms, according to research. Read story
Quarter of a million more older workers
WSB: There are 235,000 more people between the ages of 50 and 64 in work than a year ago, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Read story
What employers need to know about changes to childcare
WSB: The government's tax-free childcare programme has been delayed until 2017. Professor Chris Rowley examines the regimes being introduced and still available. Read story
US court rules Yelp reviewers are not employees
Employee Benefits: US District Judge Richard Seeborg has dismissed a class action against Yelp in which a group of reviewers sought to be considered employees and therefore be compensated as such. Read story
The legal minefields of tax-efficient benefits
Employee Benefits: Before employers start to think about the tax efficiency of their employee benefits offering, they need to consider the business rationale for their policies. Read story
40% want pensions to be taxed like Isas
Employee Benefits: Some 40% of respondents want pensions to be treated in a similar manner to individual savings accounts (Isas) because they would prefer to be taxed while working rather than in retirement, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Read story
Working longer hours increases stroke and heart disease
WSB: Employees who work longer hours have a greater chance of suffering a stroke or coronary heart disease. Read story
Bovis Homes' DB pension scheme moves to £9.8m surplus
Employee Benefits: Bovis Homes’ defined benefit (DB) pension scheme has moved from a deficit of £0.7 million to a surplus of £9.8 million, its first half 2015 interim results revealed. Read story
Employees not doing enough for health and wellbeing
Cover Magazine: UK employees are not doing enough to improve their health and wellbeing, with 20% of men and 15% of women not getting their “five-a-day.” Read story
Watchdog urges trustees to act on DC governance and charges
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has urged defined contribution (DC) trustees to ensure they are on track to meet charge capping and governance requirements introduced in April. Read story
Ombudsman accepts LGPS member’s complaint over early access to benefits
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has ruled in favour of a deferred member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) who sought early access to her pension. Read story
FCA pressed to highlight tax hit as savers cash out to put money in the bank
Professional Pensions: Royal London has urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase awareness of the tax implications of cashing out a pension pot at retirement. Read story
‘Bogus’ self-employment deprives workers of holiday pay and pensions
CIPD: Citizens Advice Bureau finds employers ‘struggle’ with conflicting definitions of employee. Read story