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21 Oct 2016
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week

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 14-20 October 2016.

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Admiral introduces home-moving salary advance to support financial wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Admiral has introduced a home-moving salary advance scheme for employees. Read story

Adecco Group moves to monthly flex enrolment to enhance benefits engagement
Employee Benefits: Adecco Group UK and Ireland has moved from an annual flexible benefits enrolment window to monthly enrolment. Read story

Employee-wide leadership can motivate staff and drive business success
Employee Benefits: Employees at all levels of an organisation should present themselves as leadership role models to empower and motivate colleagues to achieve personal success within a business setting, helping an organisation to achieve its goals. Read story

Home Group and Asda celebrate achievements via digital peer recognition
Employee Benefits: Home Group uses a digital recognition programme to enable both peers and managers to celebrate individuals’ achievements and hard work by sending e-cards to employees across the business. Read story

Women in their 50s earn £8,504 a year less than men
Employee Benefits: Women in their 50s who work full time earn £8,504 a year less than a man working full time, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Read story

Pay rises: Should women's ability to negotiate matter?
HR Magazine: Should the ability of women to negotiate really be the most important factor in closing the gender pay gap? Read story

Hermes proposes CEO salary cap to combat remuneration concerns
Investment Week: Hermes Investment Management has reportedly proposed Britain's largest companies should cap the salaries of chief executives, following widespread concerns over excessive pay. Read story

Labour names Alex Cunningham as shadow pensions minister
Professional Pensions: The MP for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham, has been appointed as shadow pensions minister. Read story

Cridland raises issue of 'more personalised' retirement age
Professional Pensions: The government's independent state pension age reviewer John Cridland has said he will explore whether it is possible to "smooth the transition" between the working age and retirement in his interim report. Read story

AE contributions to hit £17bn in 2020
Professional Pensions: Auto-enrolled employees will be putting aside £8bn of savings for retirement by the 2019/20 financial year, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Read story

800,000 Lisa savers in 4 years – Govt
Corporate Adviser: Around 800,000 people will be saving through the Lifetime Isa by 2020/21, and the new vehicle’s impact on pension saving will be negligible says the Government. Read story

DB surplus of £358bn using ‘realistic’ assumptions
Corporate Adviser: An overall funding level of 133 per cent and aggregate surplus of £358bn mean UK defined benefit pension funds probably have more than enough money to pay all their pensions due, according to figures from First Actuarial. Read story

Edinburgh University proposes raft of changes to plug scheme deficit
Pensions Expert: The University of Edinburgh has proposed a number of changes to its defined benefit pension fund to make the scheme more affordable and sustainable, as its deficit has risen by a quarter. Read story

Employees feel talking about stress will damage careers
Reward Guide: Up to 70% of investment bankers believe admitting to stress would harm their careers, according to MetLife research. Read story

Japan’s Rakuten recognises same-sex partners for benefits
Reward Guide: Global employer, Rakuten, now provides same-sex couples and family with spousal benefits. Read story

Overpayments must be paid from six years before ombudsman complaint, court rules
Professional Pensions: A pensioner who was overpaid by his scheme must repay the excess benefits from six years prior to a complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO), the High Court has ruled. Read story

Titcomb: TPR needs to be strong and influential
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) needs to be “strong, decisive and influential”, its chief executive Lesley Titcomb has said. Read story

Just one in seven DC members are saving enough
Professional Pensions: Only 16% of defined contribution (DC) savers are saving enough to maintain their standard of living in retirement according to Aon Hewitt. Read story

Equal pay claims worth £100m to proceed following Asda tribunal ruling
People Management: Other retailers braced for fallout as 7,000 supermarket employees win right to bring cases. Read story

Government tsar criticises organisations’ ‘unconscious bias’ against older workers 
People Management: Andy Briggs calls for more flexible working options for older employees with caring responsibilities; Age UK says many are ‘scared’ to request different hours. Read story

Daniel Tomlinson: How can employers support wellbeing in the gig economy?
Employee Benefits: Working in the gig economy can be a liberating experience. Freed from the rigidities of the nine-to-five life, individuals find that they are able to enjoy work at a pace that suits them. For many, gig work and its associated flexibility is a wellbeing boost in and of itself. Read story

Louise Ward: How can employers support wellbeing in the gig economy?
Employee Benefits: The rise of the gig economy, where the workforce is ‘jobbing’ with different employers, is changing the traditional employment relationship. The gig economy workforce, like most self-employed people, have to take more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, especially in relation to their work. Read story

Ursula Huws: How can employers support wellbeing in the gig economy?
Employee Benefits: The explosive growth of the ‘platform economy’ has taken many by surprise. In a matter of a few months, organisations such as Uber, Handy, Deliveroo and Taskrabbit have sprung from obscurity to become household names, while employers seeking freelancers have stopped using specialist directories or searching in the Yellow Pages turning to sources such as Upwork or PeoplePerHour, which are only a mouse-click away. Read story

'Lost' employees cost SMEs £28,436
Cover Magazine: It costs SMEs nearly £30,000, on average, to replace an employee according to research from AXA PPP healthcare. Read story

Tesco staff to take legal action over reduced pay
Employee Benefits: A group of long-serving Tesco employees are set to take legal action against the supermarket chain over a reduction in pay for working weekends, bank holidays and nights. Read story

Sallie Mae extends paid parental leave to 12 weeks
Employee Benefits: US-based college finance organisation Sallie Mae has enhanced its parental leave policy to offer up to 12 weeks of fully-paid leave for employees who are new parents. Read story

18% of working mums leave their jobs because of a declined flexible-working request
Employee Benefits: Almost a fifth (18%) of working mother respondents have been forced to leave their jobs because a flexible-working request has been turned down, according to research by workingmums.co.uk. Read story

Campaign for paid compassionate leave for bereaved parents
People Management: A private member’s bill, entitling all employees to two weeks' paid leave if they lose a child under 18, has been introduced in parliament. A second reading of the bill is due on 28 October. Read story

Labour: Delay LISA in face of ‘pensions time bomb’
Professional Pensions: Labour has called for the lifetime ISA (LISA) to be delayed until 2018 in a stark warning about the potential consequences for auto-enrolment (AE). Read story

Stephen Hackett: Just how bright is the future for tech-based flex benefits?
Corporate Adviser: Tech-based health and wellbeing looks like the next big thing, but do employers have the appetite to spend money on it post Brexit asks Broadstone director of corporate services Stephen Hackett. Read story

PLSA to undergo comprehensive governance review
Corporate Adviser: The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) is to undergo a comprehensive review of its governance to ensure it works on behalf of its members and all stakeholders, operates effectively and attracts the right people. Read story

Treasury axes secondary annuity market
Corporate Adviser: The Government has cancelled plans to introduce a secondary market for annuities because it cannot put in place sufficient consumer protections and because there would not be enough buyers to create a competitive market. Read story

Five golds in F&TRC workplace pensions ratings
Corporate Adviser: Aegon, Aviva, Friends Life, Royal London and Standard Life have all been awarded gold standard status as workplace pension providers in F&TRC’s ratings. Read story

Zurich commits to Women in Finance Charter
Employee Benefits: Insurance organisation Zurich has signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, which aims to improve gender diversity within the financial services industry. Read story

45% would welcome wearable technology in the workplace
Employee Benefits: Just under half (45%) of respondents would welcome the introduction of wearable technology in the workplace, according to research by PMI Health Group. Read story

Harrington: DWP will consider granting TPR new powers after BHS probe
Professional Pensions: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will consider giving The Pensions Regulator (TPR) additional powers should they be needed, pensions minister Richard Harrington says. Read story

Tribunals accept limits to flexible working after maternity leave
Personnel Today: In two recent unsuccessful cases, employment tribunals accepted that there is no absolute obligation on employers to accept new mothers’ requests to work flexibly on their return from maternity leave. Stephen Simpson rounds up recent employment tribunal decisions. Read story

Five ways employers can support employees who are carers
Personnel Today: According to recent research one worker in eight is a carer, while almost one in six has had to take time off work or work irregular hours because of caring responsibilities. Sarah Anderson sets out five ways to support carers in the workplace. Read story

Harrington: Treasury and DWP now closer on pensions
Corporate Adviser: The new pensions under-secretary of state’s close ties with David Gauke and Simon Kirby will lead to a more collaborative relationship between the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury, Richard Harrington told the PLSA conference. Read story

Next Stage utilises voluntary benefits to bolster recruitment and retention
Employee Benefits: Mental health home care organisation Next Stage introduced a voluntary benefits programme in January 2016, using the scheme as a key driver for recruitment and retention. Read story

Honeywell staff balloted on closure of final salary scheme
Professional Pensions: UK employees at Honeywell are being balloted for industrial action about the planned closure of the US-based manufacturer’s final salary scheme. Read story

Nationwide Building Society introduces retirement planning tool for staff
Employee Benefits: Nationwide Building Society has launched an online retirement planning tool for the 12,000 employees in its defined contribution (DC) pension scheme. Read story

Mayor of London orders pay audit at City Hall and Mayoral bodies
Employee Benefits: The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has ordered an audit into pay and employment practices at City Hall and Mayoral bodies to ensure all staff are paid the London living wage. Read story

31% of London-based staff feel least motivated at Christmas
Employee Benefits: Almost a third (31%) of London-based respondents feel least motivated at Christmas, over any other time of year, according to research by Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services. Read story

Total pay increases by 2.3%
Employee Benefits: Total pay, including bonuses, increased by 2.3% in Great Britain between June-August 2015 and June-August 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story