At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 26th February-4th March 2021
The headlines you might have missed between 26th February-4th March 2021, including a round-up of Budget 2021 stories.
Budget 2021
Chancellor’s ‘meets the moment’ Budget sets sights on a more level UK economy
REBA: The government’s Build Back Better plan, released on the same day as the Budget, focuses on reskilling employees through employer-led initiatives, to boost productivity, improve job opportunities and level-up wages. REBA's Dawn Lewis considers what this means for reward and benefits professionals. Read Story.
National living wage to increase by £345 per year
Employee Benefits: Budget 2021: The national living wage (NLW) is to rise by £345 a year from April, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak confirmed in the Budget today (3 March). Under the plans, the existing rate of £8.72 an hour will increase by 19p to £8.91 – equivalent to £345 annually for a full-time worker. Read Story.
Budget 2021: workplace pensions boosted by furlough extension
Corporate Adviser: The decision by the Chancellor to extend furlough pay until September is good news for workplace pension and will help protect people’s longer-term savings. The pension industry has welcomed this decision, which is expected to be announced by Rishi Sunak’s in his Budget speech later today. Read Story.
Budget 2021: Women owed £3bn in underpaid state pensions
Corporate Adviser: The government is due to refund £3bn to women who have been underpaid state pensions according to the latest documents released by the Office of Budget Responsibility. The figures are contained in the OBR’s latest economic and fiscal outlook, which it publishes alongside the Budget. Read Story.
Budget: Furlough, fraud and flexibility
Reward Strategy: As part of today’s budget (March 3), chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a range of measures that will affect those working in pay and reward. Read Story.
HR relieved as furlough extended to September 2021
HR Magazine: The UK government has announced that the furlough scheme will be extended another five months until the end of September 2021. Now set to taper off in the summer as the economy starts to open up, employers will be expected to pay more of employees’ wages from July - starting at 10% and rising to 20% in August and September. Read Story.
Budget 2021: What do the new policies mean for employers?
People Management: People Management explains what HR professionals need to know about key areas of the announcement, including furlough, visas and apprenticeships. Read Story.
How will the Budget 2021 affect pay and benefits?
Employee Benefits: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his much-anticipated Budget speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday 3 March 2021. Below is a summary of the key announcements that could impact pay and benefits strategies. Read Story.
In other news:
Staff feel disconnected from group protection
Employee Benefits: Research by Legal and General has found significant levels of employee disconnect with group protection, with only 16% of those polled believing employee assistance programme (EAPs) are very relevant to their health needs. Read Story.
Furlough numbers in all sectors increased sharply in January 2021
HR Review: Figures released by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed that 4.7 million staff were furloughed during January 2021. This was an increase of 0.7 million in comparison to statistics from December 2020, showing that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been vital for employers during a time of further restrictions due to the impact of COVID-19. Read Story.
Only a quarter of workers feel that Covid-19 has negatively impacted their career
HR Review: Despite the difficulties and devastation brought about by the pandemic, more workers felt that the pandemic had positively impacted their career rather than negatively impacted it. New research by Citrix, a software company that provides server, application and desktop virtualisation, has shown that only a quarter of workers (25 per cent) believed that COVID-19 had a negative impact on their working life and career. Read Story.
Quarter of Brits addicted to checking work emails when on their phones
Workplace Insight: Almost one year on and a third lockdown in, it seems the pandemic has Brits re-assessing and taking more control of their work-life balance, however not everyone seems to be so successful. A 2021 survey conducted by money.co.uk, claims 25 percent of the UK workforce still can’t keep themselves from checking work emails regularly when they’re on their phones. Read Story.
Workers hatred of Mondays and Fridays threatens post Covid-19 environmental dividend
Workplace Insight: With the Government setting out its roadmap for the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, workers are set to return to offices later this year. However, new working practices mean they will still split their time between the office and home. Read Story.
Acas calls for paid vaccine time off
Employee Benefits: The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is calling on employers to give their staff paid time off when they have Covid-19 (Coronavirus) vaccinations. In new advice, Acas wants organisations to provide the right level of support – which it said includes paid time off for staff to attend vaccination appointments or if they are off sick with vaccine side effects for a few days. Read Story.
Over 50s at risk of financial vulnerability during pandemic
Cover magazine: New data from insurer SunLife shows that the effects of the pandemic are exacerbating financial vulnerability among the UK over 50s. A survey carried out in December last year of over 1,000 people aged over 50 found that 27% of people in this age group are worse off as a result of the pandemic by £445 a month on average, the equivalent of £3 billion per month. Read Story.
40pc compound growth for virtual care in next 5 years – report
Healthcare & Protection: Virtual care is the next growth opportunity across the healthcare space and can expect to grow in the US by over 40 per cent a year for the next five years, according to analysis from Frost & Sullivan. Read Story.
Less than half of UK firms have a wellbeing strategy
Employee Benefits: Despite being nearly a year into lockdown, less than half of businesses (44%) have a wellbeing strategy in place, according to Aon research exclusively shared with Employee Benefits. Read Story.
Structural racism is evident in the labour market, says TUC
HR Review: The TUC found that, during the pandemic, unemployment rates for BME workers has risen at twice the speed of the unemployment rate for white workers. A new analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed that, between the final quarter of 2019 and the final quarter of 2020, BME unemployment has risen from 5.8 per cent to 9.5 per cent – an increase of almost two-thirds. Read Story.
UK employees have put in £24bn worth of unpaid overtime during Covid-19
HR Review: According to new research by the Trades Unions Congress (TUC), UK employers claimed £24 billion worth of free labour over the last twelve months due to the amount of employees undertaking unpaid overtime. Read Story.
Female directors in finance earning 66% less than men
Personnel Today: Top female directors in the UK’s largest financial services firms earn on average two-thirds less than their male counterparts, research by law firm Fox & Partners has uncovered. Average pay for female directors at FTSE 350 financial services firms is £247,100, while male directors are paid £722,300. Read Story.
Experts call for fewer video meetings as research identifies causes of ‘Zoom fatigue’
People Management: Researchers have identified a number of physiological causes of so-called ‘Zoom fatigue’ – the tangible feeling of tiredness that follows a day of video meetings – leading to calls from experts for businesses to take the issue more seriously and avoid back-to-back virtual calls. Read Story.
46pc of workplace Covid-sufferers ‘struggling to recover’ – Grid research
Cover magazine: One in five employees say they are struggling to cope with Covid-19 restrictions and 26 per cent disclosed that their mental health has deteriorated due to the pandemic, according to new employee research for Group Risk Development (Grid). Read Story.
One in four employees suffering from mental health deterioration
Cover magazine: The survey of 1,126 employees in January this year found that 26% of respondents said that their mental health has deteriorated due to the ongoing pandemic. Read Story.
Apprenticeships levy ‘has failed on every measure’ says CIPD
Engage Employee: Employer investment in training has fallen since the introduction of an apprenticeship levy, an HR body says. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said since the levy was introduced in 2017, apprenticeship starts have fallen and fewer have gone to young people. Read Story.
Two thirds of small businesses predict return to business as usual in 2021
Workplace Insight: There is real optimism amongst small businesses owners that their businesses will return to pre-COVID normality by the end of the year, claims Tide. Read Story.
Progress for women in work back at 2017 levels due to COVID-19
Workplace Insight: Progress for women in work could be back at 2017 levels by the end of this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analysis conducted for PwC’s annual Women in Work Index, which measures female economic empowerment across 33 OECD countries. Read Story.
New study reveals the importance of CSR to employees
Engage Employee: A new study into corporate social responsibility and its impact on overall UK employee engagement brings into sharp focus how CSR has become more important to employees since the start of 2020, the importance of consulting employees before launching an initiative, and the top 5 CSR initiatives employees would like their organisation to invest in. Read Story.
Skill shortages faced by three-quarters of companies within HR
HR Review: A new report by Search Consultancy, a multi-discipline recruitment company, has found that skills shortages are a wide-spread problem for organisations within HR, with 73 per cent facing this scenario. Read Story.
‘Generational shift’ in mental health attitudes – Bupa Global
Healthcare and Protection: The coronavirus pandemic has caused a ‘generational shift’ in attitudes towards mental health according to the latest research by Bupa Global. Read Story.
Insurers expand critical illness market share in 2020
Cover magazine: Insurers are taking advantage of remote working and social distancing policies to increase their market share of critical illness policies, according to new data. GlobalData's 2020 UK Insurance Consumer Survey shows that during 2020, insurers increased their market share of policy sales to 42.4%, up from 34.1% the year prior. Read Story.
Workers with recurring conditions take 17 days off sick a year
Personnel Today: A survey of 2,300 UK-based full-time workers by pain relief firm Biofreeze found “general illnesses”, such as cold or flu, accounted for 43% of all sick days taken by employees in 2020, with an average of five days off per worker. Read Story.
Pawternity leave among the perks employees really want
Employee Benefits: Work perks have long been used by employers to inject a feel-good factor into the lives of employees and as a tool to retain top talent, but benefits such as paid pawternity leave haven’t always made the cut. Read Story.
Big disconnect revealed in healthcare benefits provision
Employee Benefits: Research among 2,000 UK employees and HR decision-makers has revealed a big disconnect between what is expected from staff and the benefits provision they receive. Read Story.
Sickness absence falls despite pandemic – ONS
Corporate Adviser: Despite the pandemic, the UK sickness absence rate has fallen to 1.8 per cent in 2020, the lowest recorded level since the data time series began in 1995, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read Story.
Work is the silver lining to the pandemic for employees
Workplace Insight: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought anxiety to many, but people are positive about their work, claims a new survey from The Myers-Briggs Company, which looks at how people’s personality type influences their feelings about the pandemic. Read Story.