At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 12-18 June 2020
The headlines you might have missed between 12-18 June 2020.
Majority of employees want to continue working from home
Corporate Adviser: More than six out of 10 people want to continue working from home after lockdown measures are eased according to new research. Read story
TPR uses AE powers over 35,000 times in first quarter
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) used its auto-enrolment (AE) enforcement powers more than 35,000 times in the first quarter of this year, with over 11,000 compliance notices dished out. Read story
86% of organisations measure employee engagement
Employee Benefits: 86% of organisations surveyed this year stated that they measure employee engagement levels, an increase from 80% in 2019. Read story
Samsung Electronics UK reports a 17.8% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Technology firm Samsung Electronics UK has reported a 17.8% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay as at April 2019. Read story
City of Edinburgh Council furloughs 425 staff on full pay
Employee Benefits: City of Edinburgh Council is furloughing 425 employees on 100% pay, due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
3 ways to help employees down tools for the weekend
HR Grapevine: Numerous studies have shown that staff are missing work routines, face-to-face interactions with colleagues, missing family and friends and, in some instances, the commute to the office. Read story
Fewer than one-third of UK employees feel a sense of belonging
Workplace Insight: Just 32 percent of UK office workers feel as though they completely belong within their company, despite this being essential in order for employees to feel motivated and loyal, according to new research. Over a third claim they have no bond with their employer at all. Read story
Improving diversity through practical changes
Pensions Age: With protests calling for greater racial equality occurring across the globe, improving diversity in the pensions industry has come under the spotlight. Pensions Age speaks to Andrien Meyers, on the practical steps the industry can take to improve diversity. Meyers is councilman at the City of London and head of treasury and pensions at the London Borough of Lambeth. Read story
Companies may try to ‘expand their use of contract vehicles’ due to COVID-19: Brian Kropp
HR Review: Brian Kropp, chief of HR research at Gartner spoke with HR Review and said that in response to COVID-19, companies may try to “expand their use of contract vehicles” and that almost a third of businesses “are planning on shifting some employees from traditional full-time employment models to zero-hour or more contingent contracts.” Read story
Over a million do not receive financial support from COVID-19 schemes
HR Review: Over a million workers are not eligible to receive financial assistance from the Government’s COVID-19 support schemes, with over half of these employees being freelancers or contractors as only Pay as You Earn (PAYE) salary is considered to be covered by the schemes. Read story
Negative inflation rates could cost pension funds £5bn
Corporate Adviser: The prospect of negative inflation in the months ahead — with the price of goods and services falling rather than rising — could put an extra £5bn funding pressure on DB schemes. Read story
Taylor Wessing defers 50% of bonus payments
Employee Benefits: International law firm Taylor Wessing has split bonus payments for the 2020/21 financial year to deal with the economic uncertainty of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
Burberry UK reports a 33.1% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Fashion retail brand Burberry has reported a 33.1% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay as at 5 April 2019. Read story
95% of organisations offer some form of mental wellbeing education
Employee Benefits: The vast majority (95%) of organisations offer some form of mental wellbeing education and support to their employees. This follows the trend we have seen, whereby awareness of, and a desire to support, mental wellbeing has risen up the corporate agenda. Read story
Slack to offer employees permanent remote working policy
Employee Benefits: Business communications platform Slack will introduce a permanent flexible working policy for the majority of its 1,664 employees, following on from the changes made during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
Govt urged to amend Insolvency Bill to avoid 'unintended negative consequences'
Pensions Age: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has urged the government to alter the upcoming Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill to avoid “unintended negative consequences”. Read story
Over 600,000 employees no longer on payroll during lockdown
HR Review: The number of employees on UK payroll has fallen by over 600,000 between March and May. Read story
Business leaders to permanently adopt flexible working post COVID-19
HR Review: Nearly three-quarters of business leaders plan to permanently adopt flexible and agile working post COVID-19. Read story
State pension could rise by 18.3pc under triple lock
Corporate Adviser: The State Pension could rise by 21.3 per cent over the next two years if the UK economy recovers rapidly once the Covid-19 lockdown ends. Read story
Half of employees look to boost savings after Covid shock
Corporate Adviser: Half of UK workers are looking to boost their financial resilience in light of the recent coronavirus pandemic. Read story
TPR extends Covid-19 easements but resumes some reporting requirements
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has updated its guidance for schemes navigating funding or governance difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. Read story
L&G pensions portal opens to 3.7 million people
Professional Pensions: Legal & General has switched on a “manage your account” portfolio for 3.7 million defined contribution (DC) scheme members across the UK. Read story
Calls for mandatory ethnicity pay reporting renewed as petition hits 100,000 signatures
People Management: Racism in employment one of the most prominent forms of racial inequality, say experts, as Black Lives Matter protests ramp up pressure to tackle the pay gap. Read story
Staff networks key to supporting BAME progression, employers told
People Management: Speakers at Westminster Employment Forum highlight that now is a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to address race inequality. Read story
Larchwood Care to provide full sick pay for social workers
Employee Benefits: Larchwood Care is to pay its social care workers in full if they have to self-isolate during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, effective immediately. Read story
71% of staff believe employers can help manage their health through technology
Employee Benefits: Just under three-quarters (71%) of employees believe their employer can help them manage their physical health through technology, according to research by Aetna International. Read story
Buckingham Group to lift Covid-19 pay cuts
Employee Benefits: Construction organisation Buckingham Group is to return 130 employees to full pay from 1 July 2020. Read story
Execs scoop £5m bonus despite 14k staff being furloughed
HR Grapevine: The coronavirus pandemic has caused a wealth of financial uncertainty for both businesses and its staff members. Read story
How to create a welcoming workplace
HR Grapevine: June 2020 marks Pride Month, where the LGBT+ community celebrates in a number of ways, but how exactly should the workplace build an environment that is welcoming for LGBT+ staff? Read story
RedArc Nurses introduces multilingual interpreting to support health and wellbeing of employees who don’t speak English
Employer News: Users of their service will now have instant access to on-demand interpreters in over 200 languages, to assist with calls to RedArc. Read story
Need for UK employers to offer employee mental wellbeing support as remote working measures extend past lockdown
HR News: A survey of 2,000 UK consumers by digital health company BioBeats finds that nearly a quarter (21%) of UK employees say that their mental health will be negatively impacted by extending remote working measures post-lockdown. Read story
Employees do not feel as if they belong in their office
HR Review: Under a third of UK employees feel as they belong in the company they work for, with the fear that over 9 million workers being furloughed and the mass adoption of remote working could add to the feeling of employee disengagement. Read story
DB employers mandated to justify further payment holidays
Pensions Expert: Trustees of defined benefit pension schemes will have to report decisions to allow sponsors to skip or delay deficit payments to the Pensions Regulator from July, as the watchdog drew fire for not insisting on this transparency from the start of its Covid-19 easements. Read story
HMRC seeks powers to investigate furlough fraud
People Management: Employers urged to ‘check and double check’ claims, as bill being fast tracked through parliament proposes giving firms 30 days to admit errors. Read story
Government publishes further guidance on job retention scheme
Employee Benefits: The government has published further guidance on the Government Job Retention Scheme (GJRS), including more information about the new flexible furlough rules. Read story
Aer Lingus introduces 50% pay cuts and reduces hours for 4,500 staff
Employee Benefits: Irish airline Aer Lingus is to introduce 50% pay cuts and respective reductions to working hours for its 4,500 employees, to cope with the financial constraints of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, from 21 June 2020. Read story
76% of employers want to improve engagement in the future
Employee Benefits: Three-quarters (76%) of employers have a desire to improve employee engagement in the future. Read story
DMG Media reports 18.1% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: DMG Media, formerly known as media business Associated Newspapers, has reported an 18.1% mean gender pay gap for hourly pay as at 5 April 2019. Read story
Govt could ditch state pension triple lock despite manifesto pledge
Pensions Age: Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is considering breaking the Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge of keeping triple lock on state pensions due to the economic fallout surrounding the coronavirus, according to the Financial Times. Read story
Tackling Men’s Health Week in time of crisis
HR News: It is Men’s Health Week and as businesses are reopening, health risks and mental pressure are be increased on all – including working and furloughed men. Read story
Don’t expect a flexible work revolution
HR Magazine: Human beings are around three million years old, in one form or another. Sophisticated as we like to think we are, much of our behaviour follows patterns that have evolved over those three million years. Some of it is even older than that. Read story
Reaction: TPR superfund guidance welcomed against cautious backdrop
Professional Pensions: Consultants, trade bodies, and professional societies across the pensions industry have responded relatively positively to guidance from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) that has today signalled a clear start for defined benefit (DB) scheme consolidation across the UK. Read story
DWP: Nine in ten eligible employees save into pensions in 2019
Professional Pensions: The number of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension rose by one percentage point to 88% between 2018 and 2019, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics show. Read story
Third of employees asked to work while furloughed, survey finds
People Management: Employers claiming through the job retention scheme while expecting staff to continue working is a ‘blatant abuse of the system’, say experts. Read story
How should employers approach redundancies over the coming months?
People Management: People Management answers some key questions, including on whether businesses can lay staff off while still using the furlough scheme and how to run remote consultations. Read story
Citi reports 32.7% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Financial services business Citi has reported a 32.7% mean gender pay gap for hourly pay as at 5 April 2019. Read story
Seattle City Council legislates to increase pay for food delivery staff
Employee Benefits: Seattle City Council has legislated to ensure that front-line independent contractors working for food delivery services in Seattle will receive premium pay. Read story
Target increases hourly pay for 200,000 employees
Employee Benefits: US retailer Target is to permanently increase hourly pay for its 200,00 employees to $15 (£12) per hour from 5 July 2020. Read story
A third of workers feeling disconnected from company culture and colleagues
Workplace Insight: Employee recognition provider Achievers, have today released research taking a look at whether employees in the UK feel connected to their company’s culture and colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read story
How Kettering General Hospital has prioritised staff wellbeing since the Covid-19 crisis
Employer News: When the Covid-19 outbreak hit the UK in March, hospitals had to act rapidly to manage the crisis – recruiting additional staff, urging retired staff to return, reorganising wards and staff rotas and also ensuring the emotional and mental wellbeing of staff was looked so they were resilient and could deliver the best care for patients. Read story
Workplace pension participation up by a third since AE introduction
Pensions Age: Participation in workplace pension schemes has increased from 55 per cent to 88 per cent of eligible workers since auto-enrolment began in 2012, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions. Read story
Returning to work could create a mental health concern for HR
HR Magazine: As retailers and zoos re-open their doors this week, and the prime minister talks about plans to open restaurants and bars, there is economic optimism spreading into businesses. Read story