At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 29 March - 4th April 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 29 March - 4 April.
People with mental health problems 'more likely to be in debt'
Health Insurance Daily: People with mental health problems are three-and-a-half times more likely to be in problem debt than those without mental health problems, an analysis suggests. Read Story.
Quarter of cancer patients receive no return-to-work support after diagnosis
People Management: Many cancer patients are either not receiving the support they need to return to work, feel forced to hide their symptoms or are being pressured into returning to work before they are ready, a leading cancer charity has said. Read Story.
The MOST popular work perks revealed
HR Grapevine: New research by Perkbox has shed light on what are deemed to be the most popular workplace perks. The study of 2,315 working professionals revealed extracurricular clubs as the most favourable workplace perk, with a pool table ranking as the second most popular work treat. Read Story.
Sitting down ‘killing 70,000 Brits a year’
Health Insurance Daily: Inactivity is killing nearly 70,000 people in the UK every year, a study has found. Around 30% of British adults spend at least six hours a day seated during the week – a figure which goes up to 37% at the weekends. Read Story.
Junior doctors receive enhanced pay for shared parental leave
Employee Benefits: The NHS Staff Council has endorsed new rules on shared parental leave for junior doctors, allowing more trainee medics to qualify to take shared parental leave, as well as receive an enhanced rate of pay above statutory levels. Read Story.
Over half of UK employees use personal devices for basic HR admin
HR Review: Over half (56 per cent) of UK employees are completing basic HR admin tasks on their own device rather than a work device. These are the results of a recent survey, which looks into the extent of the digitisation of the workplace. Read Story.
One in 10 pensioners approached by scammers
Pensions Age: One in 10 people over the age of 50 with a pension plan believed that they had been approached by scammers attempting to access their savings, new research from Succession Wealth has revealed. Read Story.
Minimum wage boost won't end in-work poverty
HR Magazine: Increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage welcomed, but experts say organisations must do more to support employees on low pay. Read Story.
Nervous retirees seek advice about pension options
Corporate Adviser: New research shows that retirees’ biggest concern about utilising pension freedoms is running out of money, with more than half favouring risk reduction over generating higher returns. Read Story.
Band earnings warning as contributions increase
Corporate Adviser: The Government is facing calls from the pensions industry to reform auto-enrolment contribution rules, to help boost overall levels of pension savings. These calls come as the AE minimum contribution levels are due to rise from 5 to 8 per cent on April 6. Read Story.
National Living Wage increases for 2million workers
HR Grapevine: Nearly 2million workers will receive a boost in pay today, as the National living Wage rises by nearly five per cent - ITV reported. The hourly rate for adults will increase from £7.83 to £8.21 as part of the national move, which will boost the average pay of workers by £690 over the course of 12 months. Read Story.
Shift work ‘increases coronary artery disease risk’
Personnel Today: Shift work has a harmful effect on cardiovascular function, with the risk of developing coronary artery disease increasing the longer an employee carries out this type of work, research has found. Read Story.
Money worries strife for many getting worse
Health Insurance Daily: Financial worries plague nine in 10 British people, with 63% worrying about their finances on a monthly basis, research shows. Read Story.
Women work harder but progress less at work
HR magazine: Women are pushing themselves harder at work to get ahead than men but aren't getting noticed for their efforts, according to research. Lee Hecht Harrison found that women push themselves further, with 60% of women saying they always work hard compared to just 45% of men saying the same. Read Story.
Employers failing to give staff a voice at work
HR magazine: Employees feel unable to share their concerns on workplace issues, which is affecting their wellbeing and job satisfaction. The Centre for People, Work and Organizational Practice at Nottingham Trent University asked respondents which issues they experience in the workplace, and whether they feel able to raise them. Read Story.
'Gaslighting' epidemic hits the UK workplace
HR Grapevine: More than half of people questioned in a recent study by MHR confirmed that they have experienced what they consider to be gaslighting in the workplace. A Twitter poll of 3,033 workers aged between 18 and 54 found that 58% of respondents have faced at least one gaslighting experience in their professional lives – a further 12% claimed that they weren’t sure if their experiences counted as gaslighting. Read Story.
What a Way to Make a Living: Workers Rate Their Relationship with Their Boss at Only 6.6/10, Survey Reveals
Onrec: If you find yourself arriving home after a long day at work only to spend a solid 10 minutes ranting about your boss, you’re not alone. A new study has revealed that on average, British employees rate their relationship with their employer at only 6.6/10. Read Story.
Only a quarter of UK businesses have a wellbeing programme, new research reveals
Incentive & Motivation: Buck, a leading consulting, administration, and technology services firm specialising in pensions and employee benefits, has today revealed that only 26% of UK businesses have a wellbeing programme in place, compared to an average of 42% in the rest of the world. Read Story.
One person diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes
Health Insurance Daily: Obesity is fuelling an increase in the disease. One person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every three minutes in England and Wales, figures show. The number of new cases in England and Wales reached 202,665 in 2017 – the equivalent of about 23 people every hour, according to NHS data cited by the Daily Mail. Read Story.
Lack of basic IT training in new employee onboarding period ‘potentially catastrophic’ for UK businesses
Onrec: Recruiters and HR managers of UK businesses are being urged to make the provision of basic IT training mandatory during the onboarding process for new employees, or risk putting their company and its confidential data in danger of costly and “catastrophic” security breaches. Read Story.
Pension industry expects CDC schemes to fail
The Actuary: Most of the UK’s pension industry expects collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes to fail, a survey by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has found. Two-thirds of PMI members said CDCs would not succeed, with many warning that the newly approved schemes have come too late as defined contribution (DC) pots are now well established. Read Story.
Employers committing “wage theft” over holiday pay
HR Magazine: Employees don’t understand their holiday entitlement, with particular uncertainty around temporary workers’ rights according to BEIS research. Read Story.
Younger employees need clearer guidance on pensions
Corporate Adviser: Millennials have a “worrying lack” of awareness as to how pensions work, according to a new survey from Invesco. The company found the majority of those aged between 24 and 34 did not know what happens to pension savings, with over half (54 per cent) believing it is deposited in savings accounts and earning a fixed amount of interest. Read Story.
Advisers urged to change approach to attract millennials
Corporate Adviser: Three out of four people (73 per cent) say they would seek help from an IFA to help them predict how major life changes would impact their finances. When dealing with crisis events — be it personal, such as divorce, or external economic problems like a market crash — savers and investors said they would prefer help from a human rather than a robo-adviser or automated service. Read Story.
Money and Pensions Service to be 'heart' of improving nation’s financial wellbeing - Sants
Pensions Age: The Money and Pensions Service will be at the “heart” of improving the nation’s financial wellbeing when it publishes its national strategy in the Autumn of this year, its chairman Hector Sants has said. Read Story.
Just one in four UK businesses have wellbeing programmes, survey suggests
People Management: Only a quarter of UK businesses have a wellbeing programme in place, despite the vast majority recognising the positive impact it could have on both employees and the organisation, research has found. Read Story.
Businesses cannot rely on ‘inertia’ of auto-enrolment, warn experts
People Management: Businesses cannot rely on the “inertia” of pensions auto-enrolment to ensure employees save enough for their retirement, experts have told People Management. Read Story.
Workers paying ‘unnecessary’ tax on state pension - Royal London
Pensions Age: More than half a million (520,000) workers aged over 65 faced tax bills of up to 40 per cent after failing to defer their state pension, Royal London has found. Employees past state pension age who did not defer their state pension saw their total earnings rise over the tax threshold and their entire state pension was taxed, in some cases at 40 per cent. Read Story.
£250bn in pension pots could fuel older entrepreneurship
LondonLovesBusiness: From the age of 55 Olderpreneurs can use Pension Freedoms to access funds from their pension pots, but Clifton Asset Management points out that while using their tax free allowance to fund a business may be taking the right strategic decision, for larger pension investments, they should seek advice, and consider Pension-led funding (PLF), which has funded over 2,500 businesses. Read Story.
Women twice as likely as men to worry about meeting day-to-day living costs
HR Review: New research reveals that women are twice as likely to worry about meeting their day-to-day living costs than their male counterparts. The figure among female employees is 16 per cent compared to just 7 per cent among men. Read Story.
Black women earn less than white men for same roles in tech
HR Review: The gender pay gap in technology companies has narrowed from four per cent to three per cent over the last year, according to new research – although black and Hispanic women, older women and LGBTQ+ people still earn significantly less than non-LGBTQ+, white men. Read Story.
Seven in ten Brits claim online world affects their mental health
Workplace Insight: A new, nationwide study released today, has revealed over a quarter (28 percent) of Britons feel their phone or social media addiction is actively stopping them living life to the full, with as many as 83 percent saying they are desperate to spend more time in the real world, according to the report commissioned by the photographic tech company Popsa. Read Story.
‘Unconventional therapies’ offer employees wider mental health support
Health Insurance Daily: Developments in mental health support mean there is a much wider range of therapies on offer for employees. Nurse adviser service RedArc said many employers may believe that a talking therapy, such as counselling, is the main solution for mental ill-health, but that this will not be right for everyone. Read Story.