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02 Aug 2019
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 26 July - 1 August 2019

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 26 July - 1 August. 

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Row between Now: Pensions, PensionBee and Smart over who is best value
Corporate Adviser: A row has broken out between Now: Pension, PensionBee and Smart Pension over which offers best value following the publication of a Now charges index showing its charges less than half the level of the other two providers. Read story

Unions call for greater action on executive pay and pensions gap
Pensions Expert: Unions called for policymakers to explore way of curbing bumper executive pay and pensions on Wednesday, as unequal remuneration falls under the cross-hairs of Frank Field’s Work and Pensions Committee. Read story

Employers urged to take same approach to physical and mental wellbeing
Health Insurance and Protection: Employers should take the same approach to physical and mental health to ensure they give their staff the best support, according to The Health Insurance Group. Read story

Business coalition calls for improvements to workplace health
People Management: In an open letter, published in The Times, the Working Well Coalition – a group of businesses, MPs and health experts – said employers have an important role to play in alleviating the challenges brought on by the rapidly changing world of work. Read story

Government approves extended redundancy protections for pregnant women
Employee Benefits: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has confirmed new legal protections against redundancy for pregnant women and new mothers, extending the duration of redundancy protection to six months from the date of return to work. Read story

Northern Ireland Civil Service staff strike in pay and conditions dispute
Employee Benefits: Staff employed by the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), who are members of the trade union Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (Nipsa), are today (Friday 26 July 2019) undertaking strike action in a dispute on pay and employee terms and conditions. Read story

Taxi drivers have received a 72% pay increase since 2008
Employee Benefits: Out of a selection of 200 UK occupations, taxi drivers have received the largest pay increase, of just over 72%, between 2008 and 2018, according to research by Comparethemarket. Read story

Budget is the main barrier to introducing new benefits
Employee Benefits: Budget is the main barrier to organisations implementing new benefits, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

Number of flexible benefits programmes continues to rise
Workplace Insight: New research from Aon, claims that flexible benefits programmes continue to be popular within organisations, despite communication challenges and a potential impact from 2018’s optional repayment arrangement (OpRA) regulations. Read story

One in three employers admit 'company culture is causing stress’
Cover: New research has revealed that 57% of employers realise they have to increase the focus on helping staff build resilience at work and only 40% believe they are doing enough. Read story

The tipping point for flexible working arrives
Workplace Insight: Although people have been talking about flexible working in one way or another for decades – the economist John Maynard Keynes declared in 1930 that technological advances would lead to a 15-hour working week – we may now be at the tipping point where work takes on an entirely different character. Read story

Corporate Adviser report prompts parliamentary question
Corporate Adviser: Corporate Adviser’s Master Trust & GPP Defaults report has prompted a writtenparliamentary question, with Labour’s Angela Eagle MP asking the government whether it plans to water down the pension charge cap. Read story

EY, London City Airport and Schroders sign up to new Good Work Standard
Employee Benefits: Professional services organisation EY, London City Airport and asset wealth firm Schroders are among the employers that have signed the Good Work Standard, a new benchmark that recognises businesses for implementing and maintaining high employment standards, such as paying staff at least the voluntary London living wage. Read story

SAS and United Colours of Benetton among India’s top mid-sized workplaces for 2019
Employee Benefits: Software organisation SAS India, retail business United Colours of Benetton India, manufacturing firm Mahindra Intertrade and education organisation Max Skill First are among the businesses recognised on India’s top 50 great mid-size workplaces 2019 list, compiled by the Great Place to Work Institute India, in association with BW BusinessWorld. Read story

Three-fifths cite attracting and retaining talent as top objective for 2019
Employee Benefits: Almost three-fifths (56%) of employers cite attracting and retaining talent as the top objective for their benefits strategy in 2019, compared to 82% in 2018, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits. Read story

Seven in 10 respondents offer benefits through optional remuneration
Employee Benefits: Seven in 10 (70%) respondents in 2019 offer benefits through optional remuneration arrangements for all staff, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

Pension funds join class action against five banks
Pensions Age: A number of pension funds have joined a class action that has today, 29 July, filed against five banks that unlawfully manipulated the foreign exchange market between 2007 and 2013. Read story

FCA weighs up U-turn to ban contingent charging on DB transfers
Professional Pensions: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on plans to ban contingent charging on defined benefit (DB) transfer advice for the second time in less than a year. Read story

Median salary for graduate jobs rises by 1.25%
Employee Benefits: The median salary for graduate job roles has increased by 1.25% in the last year, rising from £27,654 to £28,000, according to research by Incomes Data Research (IDR). Read story

Culina Group employees have spent £600,000 on retail discounts since 2016
Employee Benefits: Warehouse, distribution and transport organisation Culina Group has seen its 7,000 UK and Ireland-based employees spend more than £600,000 on retail discounts via its employee benefits platform since February 2016. Read story

Financial and insurance organisations contribute most to employees’ pensions
Employee Benefits: Financial and insurance organisations are the employers that contribute the most into employees’ pension pots, paying an average of 9.5% of an individual’s salary into their retirement savings, according to research by Profile Pensions. Read story

London now has its own Good Work standard
Workplace Insight: The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched London’s Good Work Standard, pledging to make London ‘the best place to live and work’. Read story

PM warned that ‘punitive’ pension taxation is greatest threat to NHS
Pensions Age: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been warned that ‘punitive’ pension taxation is the greatest threat to the medical workforce. Read story

ACA calls for home purchase/pensions combi product
Corporate Adviser: Retirement savings products should facilitate penalty-free saving for a house deposit as well as pension says the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). Read story

PFS warning on ‘misleading’ FCA DB transfer template
Corporate Adviser: The Personal Finance Society (PFS) has warned that the FCA’s pension transfer advice cost template, set out in Annex 1 of its consultation, could mislead consumers. Read story

Public sector contractors to face 'real issues' following McCloud judgement
Professional Pensions: The changes likely to be required in public sector pension schemes following the McCloud judgement could have significant financial consequences for public sector outsourcing contractors, Aon says. Read story

Employers may have to cut benefits to fund pensions, experts warn
People Management: Businesses wary of further increases to minimum auto-enrolment contributions, as figures show which sectors are most generous on pensions. Read story

43% of UK managers do not have the tools to effectively recognise staff
Employee Benefits: More than two-fifths (43%) of UK managers stated that their organisation has not provided them with the tools and understanding to recognise staff effectively, according to research by Reward Gateway. Read story

Women and Equalities Committee puts discrimination responsibility on employers
Employee Benefits: The Women and Equalities Committee has recommended that the emphasis for raising workplace discrimination issues should lie with employers, public authorities and service providers, rather than individual employees. Read story

Gymshark sees 91% of staff log on to benefits platform since October 2016
Employee Benefits: As of July 2019, online fitness clothing and accessories retailer Gymshark has seen 91% of its 300 UK-based employees log on to its employee benefits platform since its launch. Read story

Access to on-site physio and massage therapy has increased by a quarter
Employee Benefits: Access to an on-site physiotherapist or massage therapist increased by 24 percentage points between 2018 and 2019, according to research by Employee Benefits. Read story

XpertHR launches menopause policy
Cover: Policy highlights common symptoms, sets out potential workplace adjustments and suggests internal support measures. Read story

Majority of staff hiding real reason for suspected mental health absence
Personnel Today: Eighty-eight per cent of organisations believe employees have taken sickness absence because of mental ill health over the past year, but the majority say staff do not tell them this is the reason for their absence. Read story

£2.75bn withdrawn from pots in Q2; 21% up from 2018 period
Pensions Age: Quarter two (Q2) 2019 saw £2.75bn withdrawn from pension pots under the pension freedoms rules, a 21 per cent increase on the same period in 2018, the latest data reveals. Read story

Majority of businesses yet to adjust pensions strategies in response to challenge of ageing workforce
HR News: Only a third of UK businesses have reviewed their pensions strategy in response to the challenge of the ageing workforce. This is despite the fact that more than half (60%) of workers in the UK admit to not having any kind of retirement goal in terms of either savings targets or age of retirement, and only 15% of UK workers are confident that they will have enough money saved in order to retire. Read story

Flexible working dads have more time to watch their children growing up
HR Review: Research conducted by Quinyx, a workforce management company has revealed that 17 per cent of working dads feel their current work schedule means they do not get to see their children growing up. Read story

Postal association to take legal action against US Postal Service in pay dispute
Employee Benefits: The National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) has filed a lawsuit against the US Postal Service for failing to align the pay of supervisors, managers and professional employees with federal law. Read story

British American Tobacco completes pension buy-in transaction worth £3.4bn
Employee Benefits: Cigarette and tobacco manufacturing organisation British American Tobacco has completed a pension buy-in transaction for its defined benefit (DB) scheme, totaling £3.4 billion. Read story

TPR warns small DC schemes of “unacceptable” performance
Pensions Age: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published research highlighting what it calls the “unacceptable” scale of under-performance in small pension schemes. Read story

Less than a third of eligible men now take any paternity leave – percentage declines for fourth year in a row
HR News: The number of men taking paternity leave is continuing to fall suggests research by EMW, the commercial law firm. Approximately 31% of eligible new fathers (203,000 men) used paternity leave in the last year* versus 32% (213,000 men) in the previous year. Read story

Burnout a risk for employees in Summer
HR Magazine: Increased workloads while colleagues are on holiday and busy social schedules are leading to high stress levels over the Summer, according to Westfield Health. Read story