At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 27th August - 2nd September 2021

Here are the headlines you might have missed between 27 August-2 Septmeber 2021:

Growing health concerns and preference for hybrid work among US employees
Workplace Insight: Envoy has released the results from its latest Return to Work report that gauges sentiment among 1,000 US employees who have returned to the workplace within the past year. Read Story.

87% of expat staff value healthcare benefits
Employee Benefits: 38% of employers do not know the cost of healthcare benefitsNew research has revealed that 87% of expatriate workers prioritise family healthcare-related employment benefits when considering a job abroad. A survey by international private medical insurance business Aetna International of 1,000 expatriates living in Singapore, UAE, Germany, and Mexico, found that 44% expect their employer healthcare cover to include their partner and, if applicable, those in their family who are relocating with them. Read Story.

Domestos bliss? WFH desks three times dirtier than toilet seats
Personnel Today: As employees nervously contemplate returning to the office for at least part of the week, they might like to reflect that they could well be gaining a cleaner workplace and replacing one that was much dirtier than they realised. Unless we have been scrupulously spraying, scrubbing and wiping our home work areas, and imposing our own “no food at the desk” policies, it seems many of us have spent the past 18 months working in thoroughly unsanitary conditions alongside myriad bacteria. Read Story.

‘Staggering’ rise in white collar drug and alcohol problems, says clinic
Personnel Today: Employers need to recognise that drug and alcohol issues among employees have risen during the pandemic, exacerbating physical and mental health problems stemming from lockdowns. An addiction treatment organisation in the UK told Personnel Today on 27 August that it had seen a “staggering” rise in white collar drug and alcohol dependency with one in 10 people being treated having a senior leadership role in an organisation. Read Story.

Department for Business champions workplace support for domestic abuse victims
HR Review: Joining the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse, the Government department has now called on other businesses to follow suit. As part of a wider consultation concerning what employers can do to enhance support for domestic abuse survivors, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has now joined the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) as a Beacon member. Read Story.

One in three working parents suffer due to lack of childcare
HR Review: Over a third (36 per cent) of parents struggle accessing childcare, and this has a negative impact on their working life. This is according to the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, who have found that government policy in relation to childcare is not working for the needs of working parents. Read Story.

Digital Right to Work checks extended until 5th April 2022
HR Review: Following the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s letter to the Home Office, the department has now confirmed that digital Right to Work checks will remain in place until 5th April 2022.  The Home Office has stated that digital Right to Work Checks will now be retained until 5th April 2022. Read Story.

Older people who work from home more likely to stay in the workforce, ONS finds
People Management: Working from home can keep older people in the workforce for longer, experts have said, as official figures show many workers over the age of 50 have made the switch to remote working during the pandemic. Read Story.

80% of organisations reject four-day week
Employee Benefits: poll - eight out of ten companies have no plans to introduce a four day working week, indicating little appetite among organisations for the policy. The latest Employee Benefits poll revealed that just 3% of respondents have implemented a four day working week, compared to 80% of organisations that said they had not even considered it. Read Story.

38% of staff won’t take legal action against employer
Employee Benefits: Nearly 40% of UK workers who feel they have reason to take legal action against their employer are deterred by the prospect of victimisation, a survey by law firm Leigh Day has found. Read Story.

More death benefits paid in first half of 2021 than all of 2020
Employee Benefits: Research has revealed that dependants of employees with insured employer-sponsored death benefits have received more financial payouts due to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in the first half of 2021 than the whole of 2020. Read Story.

Workplace relationships nose dive after a year of remote working
HR Magazine: Workplace relationships have taken a huge hit during the COVID pandemic, given 22% of UK workers meet their partner or spouse at work. Despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions, of the 1,000 office workers VenureScanner surveyed, just one in five expect to be fully office-based which it argued meant workers were missing out on vital in-person conversations. Read Story.

Covid-19 group life claims soar in H1, 2021
Corporate Adviser: Families insured with group life assurance have received more financial payouts as a result of Covid-19 in the first half of 2021 than in the whole of 2020, according to Group Risk Development (Grid) – with the average payment over £98,000. Read Story.

Create four additional bank holidays for UK staff, TUC urges
HR Review: This comes after research conducted by the body discovered that the UK has the lowest entitlement to public holidays in the whole of Europe. The Trades Union Congress has called on the Government to create four new bank holidays for staff in the UK. Read Story.

Bosses now offering cash rewards for employee loyalty
HR Review: Employers are shifting the way that they recognise and reward loyal employees due to staff now remaining with a single employer for significantly less time than before. According to figures from XpertHR, businesses are more inclined to offer monetary rewards for long-serving staff, instead of company memorabilia. Read Story.

Excessive workload causing “unmanageable stress” for UK staff
HR Review: With staff putting in longer hours as a result of the shift to homeworking, this rise in workload is leading UK staff to become chronically stressed.  A new report released by Cigna Europe indicates that one in three UK staff (32 per cent) working from home have been putting in longer hours since the start of COVID-19. Read Story.

Women who take maternity leave face microaggressions in the workplace
HR Review: New research finds that many women face sexist comments and microaggressions at work during their pregnancy.  According to a new study conducted by researchers at London South Bank University, around half of women surveyed felt that taking maternity leave had a negative impact on their career. Read Story.

Toxicity in the workplace experienced by seventy percent of UK employees
Workplace Insight: Culture in UK workplaces has come under scrutiny after a recent study claims that seven in ten (70 percent) Brits shared they’ve experienced toxicity in a working environment at some stage of their career. Read Story.

Third of firms have improved mental health support during Covid, poll finds
People Management: Experts welcome increased focus on psychological wellbeing, but warn line managers must also be equipped to offer help in the longer term. More than a third of UK employers have said the mental health support they offer has improved since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a recent poll.  Read Story.

Dissatisfaction with leaders but no ‘great resignation’ finds global study
Personnel Today: Satisfaction with leadership is low and there is an increasing disconnect with employees with only a third of non-managers feeling they are getting due recognition. This was among the findings of a global study looking at attitudes among workers and leaders as organisations prepare to start hybrid working as the Covid crisis continues. Read Story.

Hybrid working boosts productivity for 82% of staff
Reward Strategy: With hybrid working becoming the norm for more businesses, it seems that employees have been able to increase their productivity levels thanks to the split between the workplace and home. In fact, new research has found that 82% of workers feel as productive or more than before the pandemic. Read Story.

One in five employees in favour of mandatory reporting on physical, wellbeing initiatives
Cover magazine: One in five employees in favour of mandatory reporting on physical, wellbeing initiatives. A new report from Nuffield Health finds employees are increasingly demanding over support for and employer responsibility towards physical and wellbeing. Read Story.

Pensions industry doubtful of dashboard delivery timescale
Corporate Adviser: A big majority of pensions professionals are sceptical that the pensions dashboard, currently scheduled for 2023, will be delivered on time. More than three quarters of respondents surveyed by the Pensions Management Institute were not confident that the dashboard would be completed on schedule. Read Story.

Lawyers urge caution over instating “work from anywhere” policies
HR Review: In a move to offer staff more ways of flexible working, many employers have chosen to allow their workforce to work remotely from a location of their choice. However, employment solicitors warn that this could have some unintended, negative consequences. Over the past year, many firms have looked for ways to continue offering workplace flexibility which has arisen from the pandemic and the consequent shift to homeworking. Read Story.

Low-paid workers most likely to be impacted by hidden jobs gap, report warns
HR Review: A new report published reveals that record vacancies and a recovery in the labour market hides a significant jobs gap which is most likely to impact people in mid to low-paying roles.  A new analysis by thinktank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warns that a hidden jobs gap could derail the transition to a full-employment market, a term used to describe a labour market which has better paid jobs and offers more security. Read Story.

UK workers unsure how to help colleagues experiencing abuse
HR Magazine: Less than half (40%) of British workers said they would not know how to help a colleague experiencing domestic abuse, indicating the need for visible support across UK workplaces. A further 14% said they were unsure whether they would be confident or not, leaving just 46% confident in dealing with abuse. Read Story.