At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 13-19 April 2018
The headlines you might have missed between 13-19 April.
British Film Institute awards 1% pay increase
Employee Benefits: The British Film Institute (BFI) is to give staff a 1% consolidated pay increase, effective from May 2018. Read story
US court rules in favour of Uber in employment status case
Employee Benefits: A US district court has ruled that drivers for taxi organisation Uber’s high-end car division are independent contractors as opposed to employees, and are therefore not entitled to wages or overtime pay. Read story
How wide is the gender pay gap in pensions firms?
Professional Pensions: Investment and law firms have the highest median gender hourly gender pay gaps out of nearly 100 pension-related firms reporting, James Phillips writes. Read story
BT Pension Scheme sells majority stake in Hermes
Professional Pensions: The BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) is to sell two-thirds of its interest in Hermes Fund Managers, the investment company it founded 35 years ago, to American asset manager Federated Investors for £246m. Read story
Voluntary Benefits Best To ‘Fit Employee Needs’
Incentive and Motivation: A new survey from Willis Towers Watson found that about eight in 10 employees (79%) think voluntary benefits enrich existing core benefit plans by offering more personalized benefits to employees that fit their needs and lifestyle. Read story
How to attract and retain employees in 2018
Incentive and Motivation: For HR teams, recruiters and managers at companies looking to hire and retain employees in a climate of low unemployment and an acute skills shortage, knowing why employees may entertain other job offers is critical. We wanted to take a look at some of the key reasons people leave their jobs. Read story
Self-employed workers will be far worse off under universal credit, research suggests
People Management: Government must rethink changes to benefits system to avoid financial risk for ‘insecure’ workforce, says Citizens Advice. Read story
Top five retailers take action to reduce gender pay gap
Personnel Today: The UK’s top five retailers are making strides to reduce their gender pay gap, but there is still a way to go before male and female talent is represented fairly at all levels of their organisations. Read story
Group risk policies covered 380,000 more people in 2017
Health Insurance Daily: The number of people covered by employer-sponsored group risk policies increased by 3.1%, or 378,062, in 2017 to a total of 12.5 million, according to Swiss Re’s latest Group Watch report. Read story
Higher life expectancy means employees are not saving enough for retirement
Employee Benefits: Employees are not saving enough for retirement because they are pessimistic about their life expectancy, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Read story
ABI voluntarily reports 16.5% median gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has voluntarily reported its gender pay data with a 16.5% median gender pay gap and 19.6% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay. Read story
Fiduciary management performance standard launches
Professional Pensions: A ground-breaking disclosure standard to help trustees compare fiduciary managers in the selection process has been unveiled, putting an end to three years of talks. Read story
Is it time to rethink your rewards strategy?
Incentive and Motivation: James Malia, Director of Employee Benefits at Sodexo Engage, asks how organisations can make incentives work harder for their business. Read story
Closing gender pay gaps will not be a quick fix, experts warn
People Management: Analysis finds construction and finance industries have the largest gaps – but differences within sectors are harder to explain. Read story
Keeping fit at work
Reward: In honour of Diabetes Prevention Week, Kimberley Dondo finds out what employers can do to help with the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Read story
New retirees overly-pessimistic about life expectancy
Professional Pensions: Soon-to-be and recent retirees significantly underestimate their longevity, expecting a lower chance of survival to old age compared to official estimates, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Read story
Unison members 'narrowly' accept USS offer
Professional Pensions: Just over half (52%) of Unison members voted to accept a pledge to keep defined benefit provision in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) until at least April 2019 in an "above-average" turn-out. Read story
86% believe employers do not do enough to support mental wellbeing
Employee Benefits: More than four-fifths (86%) of respondents do not feel employees are doing enough to support employees with work-related stress, anxiety and other mental health issues, according to research by Westfield Health. Read story
40% of employees are happy with their benefits package
Employee Benefits: Just two-fifths (40%) of respondents are happy with the benefits package offered by their employer, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story
Just 5% of UK businesses have 'extensive' wellbeing programmes
HR Magazine: There's more to be done around wellbeing initiatives but UK offerings stand above the global average. Read story
Managing the fallout of gender pay gap reports
HR Magazine: The deadlines for employers in both the public and private sectors to publish gender pay gap information have passed. Read story
Should your company consider incentive travel to boost employee performance?
Incentive and Motivation: What are the benefits of incentive travel? We caught up with Rob Holden, the Director of Sales for British Outback Adventures & Events, a company renowned for providing companies with a unique suite of innovative corporate team building events, employee engagement programs, group activities, training and education programs, all designed to build camaraderie, boost morale, and enhance productivity to see his take. Read story
Britain gets first pay rise in a year as average wage growth outpaces inflation
People Management: But people ‘should not confuse the small improvement in real wages with a sudden rebound in UK economic fortunes’ as unemployment falls further. Read story
RSA: Set pension tax relief at 30% to help self-employed
Money Marketing: A flat tax relief rate of 30 per cent should be introduced to help the self-employed and low to middle earners to save more for retirement, according to the Royal Society of Arts. Read story
Total pay increases by 0.1% in real terms
Employee Benefits: Total pay for employees in Great Britain, including bonuses, increased by 0.1% in real terms between December 2016 to February 2017 and December 2017 to February 2018, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story
YellowDog sees 20% take-up of employer-paid cycling scheme
Employee Benefits: Software organisation YellowDog has seen 20% of its 22 Bristol-based employees take-up its employer-paid cycling scheme since it was introduced in December 2017. Read story
Kroger enhances education, pay and pension benefits
Employee Benefits: Food retail organisation Kroger has enhanced its employee benefits offering for US employees to introduce new education benefits, increase employer pension contributions and accelerate pay rises. Read story
Pensions dashboard could face 15 million requests
Money Marketing: The pensions dashboard could face requests from 15 million consumers when it goes live and must be built accordingly, according to technology provider Origo. Read story
RBS agrees to pay up to £3.5bn to shore up pension fund
Professional Pensions: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has signed an agreement to inject up to £3.5bn into its main defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, in preparation for ring-fencing legislation. Read story
High Court rules no limitation period on recovering pension overpayments
Professional Pensions: The High Court has ruled that there is no statutory limitation period in which to recover pension overpayments under a defined benefit (DB) scheme, as long as this is by adjusting future payments. Read story
Savers misjudge lifespans, as experts call for comms overhaul
Pensions Expert: Savers are underestimating their life expectancy, with ‘survival pessimism’ potentially driving the unpopularity of annuities, according to a new report. Read story
Rise of the ‘total rewards’ era with flex benefits most wanted for employees
Incentive and Motivation: Employees and employers prefer variable pay and flexi benefits with salary, according to a new report by human resources firm TeamLease Services. In fact, the variable pay for senior management has risen to 25-30 percent from 18-20 percent. We took a look at some of the interesting stats from the research. Read story
Starbucks shutting down 8,000 US stores for racial sensitivity training
Reward: International coffeehouse Starbucks is set to close more than 8,000 of its cafes in the US to provide racial sensitivity training after a recent scandal. Read story
67% of employers do not offer financial support or guidance
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents do not provide financial support or guidance for their employees, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits. Read story
Royal Bank of Scotland to pay £3.5bn into DB pension fund
Employee Benefits: The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to pay £3.5 billion into its main defined benefit (DB) pension scheme in order to prepare for ring-fencing legislation effective in January 2026. Read story
The Environment Agency named top employer for workplace mental wellbeing
Employee Benefits: The Environment Agency has been named as the number one employer for workplace mental wellbeing in the Workplace wellbeing index awards 2017-2018, compiled by mental health charity Mind. Read story
Pensions least complained about products in financial services
Professional Pensions: Decumulation and pensions were the least complained about products in the second half of 2017, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Read story
Is it time to rethink your rewards strategy?
Incentive and Motivation: James Malia, Director of Employee Benefits at Sodexo Engage, asks how organisations can make incentives work harder for their business. Read story
Study reveals breakdown in workplace recognition
Incentive and Motivation: A new study from global employee engagement company, Reward Gateway, which surveyed 500 workers and 250 senior decision makers across the UK, has revealed that only 19% of employees feel completely informed about their employer’s corporate mission and only 23% of employees feel completely informed about the values of the organisation they work for. Read story
Employee Engagement: Q&A
Reward: Reward asked two industry experts for their views on benefits strategy, why employee feedback matters when it comes to building better engagement, and how technology is driving the future of reward. Read story
Buckingham Palace blasted for job ad paying below Living Wage
HR Grapevine: A job advert for cleaners at Buckingham Palace shows that the London Living Wage hasn’t yet been endorsed by the Royals, with the going rate £2.03 under the recommended rate. Read story
National Insurance should be invested into wellness
Cover: Employers are not doing enough to support employees mental and physical health as NHS struggles, research by Westfield Health has found. Read story