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09 Apr 2021
by Annie Makoff

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 2-8 April 2021

Your quick-read round up of the reward and benefits stories appearing in the press in the past seven days.

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The headlines you might have missed between 2-8 April 2021.

Employers failing to consult staff on return to office plans
Engage Employee: New research findings highlight how under-prepared European office workers are to adopt the new ‘work from anywhere’ model.  The representative Targus survey in France, Germany and the UK, shows people are willing to set foot in offices again but expect greater flexibility and trust to work from other locations. Read Story.

58% of part-time employees have workplace pensions
Employee Benefits: Just over half (58%) of all part-time employees in the UK have workplace pensions, compared to 86% of full-time workers, according to new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Read Story.

New Covid-19 risk assessment return-to-work guidelines launched
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: SOM (the Society of Occupational Medicine) and the University of Glasgow have combined to launch new Covid-19 return-to-work guidelines that, for the first time, take account of community prevalence, vaccination status and previous Covid-19 infection in the risk assessment. Read Story.

Call for more social prescribing to tackle pandemic loneliness
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: Access to social prescribing services must be expanded to help tackle the mental health consequences of loneliness and isolation caused by Covid-19, according to a report published by two medical royal colleges. Read Story.

Third of employers say remote working has boosted productivity
HR Review: The CIPD has outlined several steps organisations must bear in mind when it comes to ensuring hybrid working is a success, maintaining employee productivity. According to new research by the CIPD, employers have largely seen a benefit in productivity due to the shift to remote working. Read Story.

Statutory sick pay sees an increase to £96.35 a week
HR Review: Statutory Sick Pay has now increased from £95.85 to £96.35 a week, an increase of 50p. As scheduled, SSP in the UK has risen by 50p, from £95.85 a week to £96.35, an amount that an employee can get for up to 28 weeks. The amount of sick pay offered has been a prevalent focus for many workers during the pandemic. Read Story.

Millions of UK workers never want to return to the office
HR Magazine: More than 2.5 million UK employees say they will never feel comfortable going back into the office, according to new research. This equals 8% of the working population, with a further 26% wanting to ban speaking about furlough if they have to return to the workplace and 26% not wanting to talk to colleagues about a COVID-19 vaccination. Read Story.

Long COVID represents significant threat to workforce
HR Magazine: New data from the Office for National Statistic (ONS) has found more than a million people in the UK were experiencing long COVID in February this year. An estimated 674,000 people said their symptoms have negatively impacted on their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities, showing signs of a new way coronavirus may be impacting the workplace. Read Story.

Workplace interruptions may help people feel a sense of belonging
Workplace Insight: In those heady pre-lockdown days, the most common complaint about office life, and especially open plan office life, was the inability to get work done without distraction. Now a new paper from researchers at the University of Illinois suggests that the interruptions may have served some purpose in the way they helped people feel a sense of belonging in the workplace. Read Story.

Employee buy-in crucial to digital transformation success
Engage Employee: Many businesses are failing to keep their workforce at the heart of their digital transformations, leading to employee dissatisfaction and hindering the success of digitalisation initiatives, new research has found. Read Story.

Investors more likely to turn to media than advisers for financial help
Corporate Adviser: Investors are more likely to rely on the financial media, than financial advisers when it comes to managing their money, according to new research. Read Story.

NHS launches mental health hubs for mothers
Cover magazine: The 26 new hubs will support new, expecting and bereaved mothers, offering care and treatment for a range of mental health issues from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after giving birth to others with a severe fear of childbirth. Read Story.

Financial services workers call for flexibility
Personnel Today: More than half of employees in financial services would like to see changes to their working week post-Covid, according to a survey by consulting firm Deloitte. The consultancy asked 2,000 financial services workers what their working preferences would be after the pandemic, and found that 54% would like alternative working patterns such as flexible hours or the option to work remotely. Read Story.

Lawyer backs health insurance in long Covid battle
Healthcare and Protection: UK employers should consider taking out health or income protection insurance due to the growing threat posed by long Covid. This is the warning from leading law firm Irwin Mitchell in light of a new report from the ONS published earlier this month. Read Story.

UK at “real risk” of falling behind EU on workers’ rights
Reward Strategy: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has challenged the UK government to match upcoming EU improvements on workplace rights. The call comes three months after the UK-EU deal came into force. The TUC says that the EU has various initiatives in the pipeline which will benefit workers once they become law in Member States – but points out that the UK has no similar legislation on the way. Read Story.

TPR turns up heat on climate risk
Corporate Adviser: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is increasing the pressure on scheme trustees to protect savers from climate risk with the publication of its expectations on compliance with new statement of investment principles (SIP) regulations. Read Story.

Employee privacy concerns undermining group protection relevance
Cover magazine: Privacy concerns are the main barrier to staff utilising group protection and added value services, according to new research from Legal & General (L&G). Read Story.

Thousands of organisations opt out of gender pay gap reporting
HR Magazine: The number of employers publishing their gender pay gap data has fallen in its thousands since 2018 according to new analysis from the CIPD. For 2020, just 2,440 businesses reported their data, compared with 6,150 in 2019 and 10,833 in 2018. Read Story.

Retail staff abused for implementing COVID-19 safety measures
HR Magazine: A new study has found two thirds (64%) of shop workers are frightened to implement COVID-19 safety measures due to the threat of abuse from customers. All non-essential shops in England are due to open next week, yet research from manufacturing company Reveal found retail staff are concerned for their wellbeing at work.  Read Story.

‘Historic’ IR35 reform comes into effect
HR Review: The controversial reform concerning IR35, off-payroll working rules, has now come into effect. Here is what HR needs to know. The reform to off-payroll working rules, also known as IR35, is likely to have a major impact on the way contractors are hired by businesses. Read Story.

Female directors paid £500,000 less than male counterparts
HR Review: According to new research, female directors at FTSE 350 firms are, on average, are paid half a million pounds less than directors who are male.  Research conducted by Fox and Partners, an employment and partnership law firm, found that women are less likely to be promoted to executive roles and are facing a large pay gap. Read Story.

New report reveals how a year of Covid-19 has seen employees embrace stress management
HR News: Employees have adapted to the changing pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic by embracing a range of mental health support, according to a global report by the world’s largest wellbeing platform, Gympass. Read Story.

Employers bringing healthy nutrition to their workforce during COVID-19 uncertainty
HR News: One in three people worldwide suffers from malnutrition today, making it a massive global concern impacting individuals, businesses, and economies alike – in both developing and developed countries. The health impacts of COVID-19 on workforces are bringing heightened concerns to businesses worldwide. In response, employers around the globe are increasingly investing in the nutritional health of their employees, realizing the strong return on investment that comes with a healthy workforce. Read Story.

Poll reveals 58% of people feel they shouldn’t be contacted out of working hours via social messaging apps
HR News: An online poll, undertaken by leading Comms and Engagement specialists Ryalto, has found that 58% of people feel it’s inappropriate for managers or colleagues to send work related WhatsApp messages out of working hours. Read Story.

43% of employers with wellbeing initiatives report ‘very good’ productivity
Employee Benefits: The health of employees and the British economy is dependent on employers spending much more of their benefits budgets on wellbeing initiatives, according to new report. Read Story.

Disabled job-seekers to receive government support to secure new role
HR Review: The Government have announced that they will be boosting the number of specialist advisers who aid disabled job-seekers to secure and stay in work.  The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have stated that there will be an increase to the number of specialist job advisers, with an additional 315 adviser roles to be added to job-centres by May 2021. Read Story.

Staff more willing to relocate after the pandemic
HR Magazine: The rise in remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the increased flexibility of employees, as they are now more willing to relocate for work. More than a third (37%) of UK employees said they are likely to move to a new location in the next year because they are now able to work remotely, according to new research by Microsoft. Read Story.

Employees afraid to return to workplace due to COVID-19 safety
HR Magazine: Employees are calling on employers to ensure COVID-19 safety procedures are in place before they return to the workplace. More than half (57.9%) of UK workers are afraid to return to the office due to concerns about cleanliness and COVID-related security, according to research from IoT company Disruptive Technologies. Read Story.

Working from home surveillance drives rise of digital presenteeism
Workplace Insight: Lockdown has meant the majority of UK office-based employees have taken up working from home arrangements over the last year, and it seems that many employers lack trust in their employees when they can’t physically see them. Read Story.

Nearly three quarters of UK businesses will now hire candidates from anywhere in the country
HR News: Over the past year, remote working has proven to be less of a hindrance and more of a benefit to a lot of UK businesses. As a result, business decision makers are more flexible when considering candidates for employment, with new research revealing that nearly three quarters (73%) are open to hiring people from anywhere in the UK, rather than just those local to their business. Read Story.