At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 14-20 September 2018

The headlines you might have missed between 14-20 September. 

49% think disability and ethnicity reporting will aid workplace equality
Employee Benefits: 49% of respondents agree that mandatory disability and ethnicity reporting will help tackle potential inequality in the workplace. Read story

A quarter think financial rewards impact their workplace wellbeing
Employee Benefits: A quarter (25%) of respondents think that financial rewards impact their wellbeing in the workplace, according to wellbeing charity for chartered accountants CABA. Read story

Half of employers believe a financial wellbeing strategy is key to employee wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Half (50%) of employer respondents view implementing a financial wellbeing strategy as key to improving employee wellbeing, according to research by Neyber. Read story

Coventry Building Society gives staff three days’ paid leave for family emergencies
Employee Benefits: Coventry Building Society’s 2,500 employees are being given up to three days’ additional paid leave to deal with life-changing events relating to their family or someone they care for. Read story

TPR: Smaller DC schemes struggling to demonstrate value for pension savers
Professional Pensions: Many smaller pension schemes are failing to demonstrate they provide good value for members, latest research by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) shows. Read story

L&G to pay redress over advice to leave DB scheme
Money Marketing: Legal and General could pay up to £150,000 in compensation to a client for the advice it gave them to transfer their accrued final salary benefits into a personal pension. Read story

Only one in three understand what the gender pay gap is
Personnel Today: Almost two-thirds of the British public incorrectly identified what the gender pay gap is and confused it with the issue of unequal pay, a YouGov survey has found. Read story

Young employees reliant on borrowing money
HR Magazine: Young people are dealing with spiralling debts and rising stress over finances, according to research by Neyber. Read story

Wage Councils could address endemic pay inequality in the UK
HR Magazine: There is a case for Wage Councils to help address in-work poverty in low-paid sectors. Read story

Workplace pension savers engage more when pot breaches £5,000
Employee Benefits: Workplace pension savers cross a boredom threshold and become more engaged with their pot once it breaches £5,000, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown. Read story

California Cartage Company to pay $3.5m in wages and benefits following investigation
Employee Benefits: Logistics organisation California Cartage Company has been ordered to pay over $3,573,074 (£2728363.58) in wages and benefits to 1,416 employees after the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) ruled that it had violated federal contract law. Read story

A third of employers offer an integrated wellness strategy
Employee Benefits: A third (33%) of employers offer an integrated wellness strategy, incorporating physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing, according to research by Employee Benefits and Health Shield. Read story

'Scrap AE in no-deal Brexit to help businesses', suggests home secretary
Professional Pensions: Home secretary Sajid Javid has called for auto-enrolment (AE) to be scrapped as part of a "shock and awe strategy" should the UK fail to reach a Brexit deal, according to reports. Read story

Pensions regulator promises tougher oversight for workplace schemes
Money Marketing: The Pensions Regulator will launch a new approach to the way it supervises workplace place schemes from next month to safeguard members’ benefits better. Read story

Marsh & McLennan to buy JLT in $5.6bn deal; Deal creates largest UK pensions consultancy by turnover
Professional Pensions: Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), the parent company of Mercer, has agreed to buy JLT for a total of $5.6bn (£4.3bn). Read story

More than half of young women would not challenge boss on gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Among young women in the workplace, 15% are disappointed by their employer’s efforts to tackle the gender pay gap, but more than half (53%) do not have the confidence to challenge their boss on the issue, according to research by Young Women’s Trust. Read story

New TPR approach to put pension schemes under greater scrutiny
Employee Benefits: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced a shift in its approach to workplace pension regulation, meaning schemes will face increasing scrutiny and a greater likelihood of intervention, from October 2018. Read story

Menzies staff at Luton Airport win 8.75% rise in pay negotiations
Employee Benefits: Staff employed by Menzies Aviation at Luton Airport who are members of the trade union Unite will receive a wage increase of 8.75%. Read story

Tackling gender pay at the BBC
HR Magazine: Who could forget the scandal that broke when it came to light that a certain red-headed radio DJ was earning almost five times as much as his highest-paid female colleague? Read story

Bridging the gender pay gap: Where now?
HR Magazine: Many companies have been named and shamed for high gender pay gaps. We explore whether they're now doing enough to narrow their gaps. Read story

JLR week reduced as Mini plant schedules one-month post-Brexit closure
Personnel Today: Around 1,000 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) manufacturing staff are to have their working week reduced from five days to three, in response to falling demand for diesel cars, while BMW has announced that its Mini plant will close for a month early next year as a no-deal Brexit precaution. Read story

CII reduces gender pay gap with targeted action plan
Cover: The CII's mean gender pay gap is now 16.64% - down from 28% in 2017 and below the sector average of 29% - and its median gender pay gap has fallen from 18% last year to 5.65%, the industry body has confirmed. Read story

EAP mental health enquiries have risen by almost a third since 2017
Employee Benefits: The number of mental health enquiries made to employee assistance programmes (EAPs) by UK employees has increased by 31% since last year, according to data from Personal Group and Health Assured. Read story

COSLA offers government workers 3% pay increase to avoid industrial action
Employee Benefits: The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has put forward a pay offer to the local government workforce, represented by trade unions Unison, Unite and GMB, in a bid to avert industrial action. Read story

Robin Ellison: Why regulators are getting it wrong
Professional Pensions: In a hard-hitting interview with Stephanie Baxter, the former chairman of Carillion Pension Trustees explains why he thinks a blame culture and too much red tape are damaging pensions and why he feels regulators are getting it wrong. Read story

Lib Dems seek £40k cap on tax-free pension lump sums; plan to scrap NI on contributions
Professional Pensions: The Liberal Democrat party has passed a motion pledging to cap tax-free lump sums under Freedom of Choice at £40,000 if elected into government. Read story

The other gender gap in business - what is the Equity gap?
HR Grapevine: All large UK firms are now fully aware of the gender pay gap - the percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women. Currently, the gender pay gap is around 9.8%, and many businesses are already finding ways to make it even smaller within their firm. Read story

Tiredness ‘reducing employee mental wellbeing’
Health Insurance Daily: More than a third (34%) of employees believe their mental wellbeing is reduced due to tiredness and fatigue, a poll suggests. Read story

Can office parties boost productivity?
Incentive and Motivation: According to experts, your typical office party doesn’t just lead to staff nursing hangovers the next day, it can actually lead to greater productivity and motivation. Read story

Two-thirds of SME bosses fear staff face benefits gap
Employee Benefits: Nearly two-thirds (63%) of small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) owners are concerned their staff face a benefits gap in comparison with the workforces of larger employers, according to a study commissioned by MetLife UK. Read story

52% of organisations offer eye care to employees
Employee Benefits: Just half (52%) of organisations provide employees with eye care at work, according to a study on behalf of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare. Read story

Noodles and Company to offer maternity leave transition programme with full pay
Employee Benefits: US restaurant organisation Noodles and Company has announced that from next year, expecting and postpartum mothers will be able to work an 80% schedule four weeks before and four weeks after maternity leave, while receiving full pay. Read story

PPF proposes levy for commercial consolidators; slashes general levy estimate by £50m
Professional Pensions: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is consulting on proposals to charge a "risk reflective" levy for commercial defined benefit (DB) consolidation vehicles. Read story

Pension transfers fall to £8.2bn in Q2
Money Marketing: The total value of pension transfers fell from £10.6bn in the first quarter of the year to £8.2bn in the second quarter, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show. Read story

Boom in zero-hours contracts contributing to high employment
HR Magazine: The number of UK workers on zero-hours contracts has more than tripled since 2012 and accounts for almost a quarter of employment growth, according to Adzuna. Read story

McDonald’s, Wetherspoon and TGI Friday workers to strike next month
Personnel Today: Workers at JD Wetherspoon, McDonald’s and TGI Fridays are to strike on 4 October over pay. Read story

Field asks TPR to learn lessons as Kodak zombie set to enter PPF
Pensions Expert: The chair of the Work and Pensions Committee has written to the Pensions Regulator asking it to reflect on lessons it should have learned from its handling of the Kodak Pension Plan, which this week announced it faced Pension Protection Fund entry. Read story