At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 10-16 August 2018

The headlines you might have missed between 10-16 August.

67% feel employers could do more to encourage active commuting
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents believe that employers can make allowances to help encourage employees to have a more active commute, according to research by social enterprise organisation Free2cycle. Read story

Bournemouth University sees 40% of staff sign up for wellbeing and sustainability programme
Employee Benefits: Bournemouth University has seen 40% of its 2,000 employees sign up and participate in its employee wellbeing and sustainability programme. Read story

Ryanair pilots in Germany strike in dispute over collective wage agreement
Employee Benefits: Pilots based in Germany who work for airline Ryanair and are members of the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) trade union are on strike today (Friday 10 August 2018) in a dispute over the creation of a collective wage agreement and a general agreement around terms and conditions, including working schedules. Read story

House of Fraser scheme expected to enter PPF assessment but could buy out benefits with insurer
Professional Pensions: House of Fraser's defined benefit (DB) pension scheme is expected to enter Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment, but may be able to buy out benefits with an insurer. Read story

Views of online state pension forecasts grow to 8 million; 36% growth over past year
Professional Pensions: Around eight million state pension forecasts have been viewed online since the digital service was launched in February 2016, Professional Pensions analysis reveals. Read story

What are the best ways to reward employees?
Incentive and Motivation: The success of an organization depends on the employees it has. Top employees are hard to find and expensive to hire. Organizations are therefore keen on keeping the acquired top talent. Read story 

Cambridge Design Partnership launches employee ownership trust
Employee Benefits: Technology consultancy organisation Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has launched an employee ownership trust. Read story

The Santander Group extends physical activity benefit to 200,000 global employees
Employee Benefits: Banking organisation The Santander Group has extended its wellness programme to offer more than 200,000 global employees access to a physical activity benefit. Read story

Nike to face lawsuit around pay inequity at US head office
Employee Benefits: Footwear and sports apparel organisation Nike is to face a federal class action lawsuit for pay inequity and gender discrimination. Read story

New BHS scheme completes £800m buyout with PIC
Professional Pensions: Approximately 9,000 members who transferred to the BHS2 Pension Scheme last year have had their benefits fully insured through a buyout with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). Read story

Whistleblowing to watchdog jumps 35% in 2017/18
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) enforcement activity hit a record high in 2017/18 after it intervened in twice as many cases as the previous year, Clyde & Co research has found. Read story

House of Fraser sale prompts worker rights concerns
HR Magazine: Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has agreed to buy House of Fraser for £90 million, prompting concerns around the future treatment of workers at the department store chain. Read story

SES Water cites Ofwat price review in proposed scheme closure
Pensions Expert: SES Water, formerly known as Sutton and East Surrey Water, has opened a consultation with members on the closure of its defined benefit section to future accrual, citing efficiencies demanded by water regulator Ofwat. Read story

Business must improve support for over-50s workforce, finds study
Personnel Today: More than half of over-50s feel unsupported at work although millions of employees are planning to work longer than they had previously expected and despite the emergence of a widening skills gap in the UK, according to new research. Read story

Employees risk move to contracting to find flexibility
Incentive and Motivation: Improved work-life balance and higher earnings are the top reasons UK workers are going solo and pursuing careers as contractors – however there are risks. Read story

TPR and FCA launch awareness campaign on pension scams
Employee Benefits: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have launched a joint awareness campaign to raise understanding of pension scams and the tactics employed by potential scammers. Read story

Morgan Stanley launches near-site workplace nursery benefit for London and Glasgow staff
Employee Benefits: Investment banking organisation Morgan Stanley has introduced a near-site workplace nursery benefit for 5,000 employees based at Canary Wharf, London and 1,000 staff in Glasgow. Read story

PPF index: DB deficit falls 27% to £62.8bn
Professional Pensions: Private sector defined benefit (DB) schemes were 96.3% funded on a Pension Protection Fund (PPF) compensation basis at the end of July, according to the lifeboat fund's monthly index. Read story

Pension scams cost victims £91,000 each
HR Magazine: As regulators launch a campaign to warn against pension scams, HR also has a vital role in protecting employees. Read story

Recruiter who refused to accept pay cut awarded £17,000 for unfair dismissal
People Management: Slashing pay and hours ‘fundamentally breached’ employment contract, judge rules. Read story

Ros Altmann: FCA should ban firms from using leads generated by cold-calling
Money Marketing: The FCA should ban firms from using leads generated by cold-calling to better protect the public, former pensions minister Ros Altmann says. Read story

CEO pay rises by 11% creating ‘substantial’ pay gap
Personnel Today: The average FTSE 100 CEO pay package increased by 11% between 2016 and 2017, while full-time workers saw only a 2% rise in median earnings, analysis by the CIPD and the High Pay Centre has revealed. Read story

Embracing AI for greater pensions engagement
HR Magazine: Artificial intelligence could revolutionise the way people engage with their pensions, making life easier for both employees and employers. Read story

Proportion of DB schemes targeting buyout trebles in past five years
Professional Pensions: The number of DB pension scheme trustees targeting a buyout with an insurer has increased significantly in the past five years, latest research from Willis Towers Watson shows. Read story

State pension checker success shows extent of demand for dashboard
Professional Pensions: Jonathan Stapleton says the success of the government's check your state pension service shows just how popular a dashboard could be if it can be launched. Read story

Total pay increased by 0.1% in real terms since June 2017
Employee Benefits: Total pay for employees in Great Britain, including bonuses, increased by 0.1% in real terms between April to June 2017 and April to June 2018, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story

55% of employers have increased salaries to improve staff retention
Employee Benefits: More than half (55%) of employers who are experiencing difficulties in retaining employees over the past 12 months have increased staff salaries, according to research by The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) and The Adecco Group. Read story

New Zealand primary school teachers and principals strike in dispute over pay
Employee Benefits: Primary school teachers and principals who are members of the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) trade union are undertaking strike action today (Wednesday 15 August) in a dispute over pay. Read story

Steve Bee: The elephant in the room on workplace pensions
Money Marketing: Employers providing DC pensions pay far less into them than those providing DB schemes. Read story

Tom Kean: Pensions dashboard has always been destined for disaster
Money Marketing: The pensions dashboard: now there is a good idea, surely? Well, actually no, it is not. To be fair, it sounds like a good idea – a one stop shop where you can see all your various pensions in one place, neat and tidy, lovely and shiny. Read story

Primadell accountant pleads guilty to pensions auto-enrolment non-compliance
Employee Benefits: An accountant working on behalf of Primadell, the organisation that runs Gran Caffe Londra in Knightsbridge, has pleaded guilty to falsely informing The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that employees had been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme. Read story

Redington reduces mean gender pay gap by 21.4% in one year
Employee Benefits: Financial services organisation Redington has reduced its mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay by 21.4%. Read story

Northern Gas and Power and Skyscanner among 2018’s best employers for work-life balance
Employee Benefits: Utilities organisation Northern Gas and Power, travel website Skyscanner (pictured) and employment agency Goodman Masson are among the organisations featured on the Highest Rated Companies for Work-Life Balance 2018 list, compiled by recruitment organisation Glassdoor. Read story

Now Pensions making 'huge progress' to rectify admin issues
Professional Pensions: Now Pensions has made "huge progress" in resolving legacy administration issues - switching systems and completing unit adjustment for a "large proportion" of members, it says. Read story

Airways Pension Scheme defers appeal decision to September
Professional Pensions: Trustees of the Airways Pension Scheme (APS) will not make a firm decision on whether to appeal the Court of Appeal's judgment on discretionary increase payments until September. Read story

Royal London's new group pension sales fall 30%
Professional Pensions: Royal London saw its new group pension business decline over the first half of 2018 as the rollout of auto-enrolment (AE) drew to a close, according to its interim results. Read story

Schemes must play part in war on scams
Pensions Expert: Pension schemes and providers have been urged to increase member awareness of scam tactics and tighten data security, amid the revelation that average losses from fraudulent and inappropriate inducements eclipsed the size of the average pension pot in the UK. Read story

Rail unions attack Grayling over CPI pay deal suggestion
Personnel Today: Rail unions have reacted angrily to transport secretary Chris Grayling’s assertion that costs in the rail industry – including pay awards – should be pegged to the consumer price index (CPI) rather than the retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation. Read story

Would you take your staff to a festival as a perk?
HR Grapevine: Would you take your staff to a festival to reward them for their hard work? PR agency Bottle decided to treat their workforce to an all-expenses paid four-day trip to Wilderness Festival, supplying everything from food, glitter and ponchos to get staff into the spirit of the trip. Read story

Lifetime ISA could be key benefit for employees
Incentive and Motivation: The Treasury Committee has called upon the Government to abolish the Lifetime ISA (LISA) stating that it has received strong criticism over its ‘complexity, its perverse incentives, its lack of complementarity with the pensions saving landscape and its apparent lack of popularity with the industry and pension savers’. Read story

Average worker must toil for 167 years to earn a FTSE 100 leader’s annual pay
People Management: CIPD discovers pay gaps still persist despite impending ratio reporting rules. Read story