At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 21-27 May 2021

Here are the headlines you might have missed between 21-27 May 2021.

31% of UK women believe they have a good work-life balance
Employee Benefits: New research has revealed that just 31% of UK-based women believe they have a good work-life balance – a fall from 71% before the pandemic. Deloitte Global conducted a survey, entitled Women @ work: a global outlook, among 5,000 women in 10 countries – including 500 working in the UK – to understand the impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic on their personal and professional lives. Read Story.

Employers concerned about long-term mental health impact of pandemic
Employee Benefits: One in five (21%) employers are concerned about helping staff manage the long-term mental health impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, according to a WorkLife by OpenMoney survey. Read Story.

Return to the office could be bad for mental health
HR Magazine: A quarter (24%) of UK office workers believe physically returning to the workplace may impact their mental health in a negative way. This is because employees have enjoyed the freedom working from home allows them, according to new research by digital coaching company Ezra. The majority (88%) of employees said the impact of the pandemic and working from home had not been detrimental to their mental health. Read Story.

Time away from work hits women's confidence harder than men's, research finds
People Management: More than one in three workers experience a loss in confidence after spending a significant amount of time away from work, a study has found, with women almost twice as likely to be affected as men. Read Story.

OTS proposes CGT concession to divorcing couples
Corporate Adviser: The Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) has released proposals to that would extend the exemption from Capital Gains Tax enjoyed by divorcing couples and civil partners. A report from the OTS proposes extend the period over which separating and divorcing spouses and civil partners can retain the inter spouse exemption when transferring assets between each other on divorce by an extra two years. Read Story.

Quarter of female workers lie to take time off for premenstrual syndrome
HR Review: New research shows that many women still feel uncomfortable openly discussing menstruation in the workplace with around a quarter lying in order to take time off due to PMS symptoms.  New data by Yoppie, a period care products company, has shown that almost a quarter of women (23 per cent) felt the need to lie when taking time off for PMS symptoms. Read Story.

Half of Black professionals do not receive pay increases after salary negotiation
HR Review: New research finds that Black and minority professionals are found to be disadvantaged in their career in terms of salaries and job opportunities.  A new report from recruiter Robert Walters reveals the issues being faced by minority professionals, including low success rates when attempting to negotiate salaries.  Read Story.

Imposter syndrome pervades the workplace
HR Magazine: Employees are still experiencing imposter syndrome in the workplace, despite having a good company culture. The majority (96%) of respondents to a Roar Training survey said they had imposter syndrome, where someone experiences doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments. Read Story.

Poor knowledge of tax relief hampers pension saving
Corporate Adviser: One in four people would increase pension contributions if they understood tax relief better, according to new research. The survey by Royal London found that a significant proportion of people do not understand the basics of pension saving, with 27 per cent admitting they had never heard of tax relief on contributions. Read Story.

Only two in 11 gig economy employers guarantee staff minimum wage
Employee Benefits: New research from the Oxford Internet Institute has revealed that just two out of 11 platforms in the UK gig economy guarantee their workers receive the national minimum wage. Read Story.

FTSE 350 companies ‘could do better’ on employee voice
Personnel Today: Many major companies treat their corporate governance responsibilities on workforce representation as a “tick-box exercise” according to a review of current practices by the Involvement and Participation Association. Read Story.

Tribunals will likely increase when furlough scheme ends, experts warn
HR Review: Following the end of the furlough scheme later this year, experts have warned of an increased risk of litigation as redundancies loom large.  According to Renovo, an outplacement firm, employers must be mindful of how they approach redundancy processes to avoid litigation claims. Read Story.

Public concerned about risk of unemployment, day to day living costs, and economic growth
Workplace Insight: A large majority of the public are concerned about rising unemployment (82 percent), day to day living costs (80 percent), and low economic growth (77 percent), according to a PwC survey of 2,000 people across the UK. Pandemics and other health crises (84 percent), cyber crime (82 percent), and climate change (81 percent) were other key concerns according to the research, which looks at the UK public’s attitude to risk. Read Story.

Nearly half of employees are not confident in their organisation’s post-pandemic strategy
Workplace Insight: Humanyze, has announced the results of its Future of Work Survey that collected close to 1500 responses from knowledge workers around their experience working from home and outlook on the return to the office. Read Story.

Employees risk failing eyesight as eyecare claims slump – Health Shield
Healthcare & Protection: Employees have risked deteriorating eyesight by failing to maintain check ups with their optician during the pandemic. The warning comes from Health Shield, which revealed eyecare claims on its health cash plans, including appointments, glasses and lenses, fell by 28% in 2020, compared to the previous year. Read Story.

Rehab helps 95pc of GIP claimants back to work
Corporate Adviser: There is further evidence of the success of rehabilitation and claims management services offers by GIP providers, with Unum reporting that more than 95 per cent of those accessing this service returned to work. Read Story.

Working mothers now doing fewer hours or stopped working altogether
HR Review: Almost two-thirds of working mothers are now either working reduced hours or have stopped working entirely, new research shows. The pandemic has had a sizeable impact on working parents who have been forced to handle multiple responsibilities, both inside and outside of work. Read Story.

Home workers suffering from anxiety and fatigue
Employee Benefits: New research has revealed that staff who worked from home during the pandemic suffered from feelings of anxiety, fatigue and a lack of focus. The Working from home wellbeing study, conducted by the University of Stirling and workplace consultancy Positive Performance, surveyed more than 500 home workers by email and follow-up interviews over a three-month period to measure mental and physical wellbeing, ergonomics and employer-employee relationships. Read Story.

Disclosing salaries in job adverts could tackle gender pay gap
HR Magazine: Employers who advertise salary details in job adverts will help to tackle the gender pay gap, according to the Young Women’s Trust. Disclosing how much a potential applicant should make in the advertised role would lessen their chances of being under-paid or taken for granted. The women’s charity has therefore called on employers to include salary details when advertising job vacancies. Read Story.

Experts advise tech is the “front door to wellbeing”
Reward Strategy: Health and wellbeing experts are highlighting the need for employers to simplify their wellbeing technology to better support employee engagement. Read Story.

UK takes the lead in analysing people data
Reward Strategy: UK organisations are better at gathering and using insights about their people compared to many of their peers in Europe, new research finds. Read Story.

New research looks inside the UK ageism epidemic
Workplace Insight: New research conducted by McCarthy Stone, claims to expose the true scale of Ageist Britain, reporting that over a quarter (27 percent) of over 65s in the UK – equivalent to more than three million people – have been victims of ageism. 60 percent of UK adults believe it’s a problem that needs fixing. Read Story.

Ucas to make it easier to apply for apprenticeships
Personnel Today: Universities admissions service Ucas will make it easier for teenagers to apply for apprenticeships in a bid to tackle the “outdated stigma” of vocational qualifications. Read Story.

39% of UK employees want a bigger benefits and discounts offering
Employee Benefits: New research has revealed that 39% of UK staff believe a greater choice of discounts and perks would make them more satisfied with their employee benefits. Read Story.

Majority of people living in poverty are in work, report finds
People Management: The majority of people living in poverty in the UK last year were in working households, a think tank has claimed, as experts urge employers to pay the real living wage and implement financial wellbeing policies. Read Story.

Under-25s keenest to get Covid-19 vaccine
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: Nine out of 10 employees aged under 25 want to get the Covid-19 vaccine when it is their turn, making them the keenest group to receive the jab of any other age group under 55, according to a survey. Read Story.

Lockdowns have created ‘ergonomic timebomb’
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: Lockdowns have created an ‘ergonomic timebomb’ of musculoskeletal injuries and pain, especially among remote workers, according to a study. A report published by health insurer Vitality in partnership with the RSA’s Future of Work programme has found that home working and lockdowns have reinforced sedentary lifestyles and led to a 28% reduction in physical activity. Read Story.

Call to extend furlough if lockdown lifting delayed
Personnel Today: The government may need to consider extending the furlough scheme and other support measures if its roadmap out of lockdown is knocked off course by rising Covid-19 infection rates. Read Story.

UK HR teams still feeling pandemic pressure
Personnel Today: UK HR professionals are feeling the stresses of dealing with the pandemic more than their counterparts around the world, according to data from an employee experience platform. Read Story.

UK gender pensions gap averages 38%
Personnel Today: Research carried out by PensionBee has revealed that depending on age and location, the UK gender pensions gap is as high as 57%. The online pension provider found UK men have saved £24,236 towards their retirement compared to just £15,006 saved by UK women, which is a 38% gap in the size of their pension pot. Read Story.

Young workers feel confident demanding workplace flexibility post-pandemic
HR Review: A new report warns that top talent will leave firms as flexible workplace policies become increasingly important to the workforce.  Research by Barnett Waddingham, a UK professional services consultancy, indicates that staff expect the freedom to work how they want after the pandemic, and would consider leaving their jobs if it is not permitted. Read Story.

Hybrid working most likely preferred by older, wealthier, and married people
Workplace Insight: Research from Totem, an employee engagement and culture app, claims there is a hybrid working gap, suggesting older workers are more likely to prefer hybrid working models than younger people. Read Story.

A warning to employers that hybrid working will disproportionately impact their younger workforce
Workplace Insight: As the UK lockdown eases and the nation slowly returns to the office, energyhelpline.com has conducted research into the cost of hybrid working. With the nation settling into a mix between office and home-based working, workers are expecting to pay out £890 a month on various work-related expenditure, with outgoings such as travel, after work socialising and rising energy bills set to ramp up monthly expenses. Read Story.

Workers report worse mental health following pandemic
Workplace Insight: St John Ambulance is to launch a new workplace mental health qualification as eight out of 10 (81 percent) workers say their mental health is worse or more variable as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read Story.

Dashboard staging dates published
Corporate Adviser: The timetable for pension schemes to be ready to feed into the pension dashboard has been published in a call for input from the Pensions Dashboard Programme out today. The Department for Work and Pensions has reiterated its commitment that state pension be part of the dashboard functionality from day one in 2023, but the paper indicates that it will not be fully operational until 2025 at the earliest. Read Story.

Insurers must explain benefits better as employers focus on recruitment not health outcomes – ABI
Healthcare & Protection: Insurers should communicate the benefits of health cover more effectively to companies and individuals alike, access better data on the societal benefits of health and protection insurance and improve product innovation to attract more SME customers. Read Story.

Major RSA Matthew Taylor study finds homeworking leads to sedentary lifestyles
HR Magazine: Continued homeworking due to the ongoing pandemic has reinforced sedentary lifestyles and led to employees having significantly increased back and shoulder injuries and pain, according to a new study. The research, carried out by Matthew Taylor, CEO of the RSA, and health and life insurer Vitality, found a reduction in physical activity among UK workers of 28%. Read Story.