At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 6-12 April 2018
The headlines you might have missed between 6-12 April.
One in five employers to contribute more than AE minimum
Professional Pensions: One in five automatically-enrolled members will benefit from generous employers who will pay more than their minimum 2% pension contributions, a survey by The People's Pension reveals. Read story
Six pensions changes for the new tax year
Professional Pensions: The new tax year brings a number of changes to the pensions world, not least the first round of phasing for auto-enrolled employees. Read story
Four in five employees to stay in AE pensions as rate rises
Professional Pensions: The majority of employees will stay opted into their automatic enrolment (AE) scheme despite their pension contributions tripling, Now Pensions research finds. Read story
61% believe driverless cars will feature in company car strategies
Employee Benefits: Under two-thirds (61%) of respondents believe that driverless cars will feature within organisations’ company car strategies. Read story
48% do not know auto-enrolment minimum pension contributions are increasing
Employee Benefits: Just under half (48%) of respondents are not aware that auto-enrolment minimum contributions are increasing, according to research by Barnett Waddingham. Read story
Danone rolls out global parental policy in Australia, Italy and NZ
Employee Benefits: Multinational food production organisation Danone has rolled out its global parental policy in Australia, Italy and New Zealand for 1,259 employees. Read story
Registers of Scotland hosts benefits fairs for 1,000 staff
Employee Benefits: Non-ministerial government department Registers of Scotland has held two benefits fairs for its 1,000 employees in order to promote its new employee benefits platform, existing benefits package and new salary sacrifice benefits. Read story
PWC introduces family-friendly benefits for US staff
Employee Benefits: Professional services organisation PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has introduced family-friendly benefits for its 45,000 US-based staff, including paid parental leave and family care leave. Read story
Businesses still falling foul of national minimum wage rules
HR Magazine: With different rules about what counts towards the NMW the regulations are not always easy to put into practice. Read story
Gender pay gap reporting: What should employers do next?
Personnel Today: With the deadline now behind us for gender pay gap reporting, it’s not time for employers to file the paperwork away until next year. Acas policy adviser Simone Cheng looks at why the real work starts now. Read story
Meet the businesses that pay women more than men
People Management: Struggles to recruit and promote male employees for the 14 per cent of firms that defy the gender pay gap trend. Read story
New guidance for agency workers emphasises employers must pay promptly
People Management: Acas says many are not aware of their rights or employment status. Read story
38% opt out of workplace pension because they cannot afford contributions
Employee Benefits: More than a third (38%) of respondents who have chosen to opt out of their workplace pension did so because they cannot afford to have the pension contributions taken from their monthly pay, according to research by Now: Pensions. Read story
FCC Environment recycling employees strike in sick pay dispute
Employee Benefits: Recycling employees at waste management organisation FCC Environment who are members of the trade union Unison are undertaking two weeks of strike action in a dispute over sick pay. Read story
Riverford Organic Farmers to launch employee ownership trust
Employee Benefits: Produce delivery organisation Riverford Organic Farmers is to launch an employee ownership trust from 8 June 2018. Read story
FCA mulls expanding IGC remit with social investing duties
Professional Pensions: Independent governance committees (IGCs) may see their remit expanded to include reporting on social investing issues under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans unveiled in its business plan today. Read story
Nic Cicutti: Start young to win the battle against pensions apathy
Money Marketing: There are positive signs we will prepare people better for retirement in the future. Read story
PPI: How tax and NI changes will reduce AE increases
Corporate Adviser: Tax and National Insurance threshold changes will wipe out most of the increase in employee auto-enrolment contributions that took effect last week, a Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) paper argues. Read story
Women more anxious asking for pay rises
HR Magazine: Techniques to overcome anxiety can help but organisations must also look to structural issues holding women back. Read story
Tourist board employers block scheme valuation
Pensions Expert: The British Tourist Authority and VisitScotland have yet to sign off on their scheme’s 2015 valuation as they are looking to secure guarantees from the UK and Scottish governments, in what has been described as a “torturous” process. Read story
Half of workers with cancer unaware of employers’ legal obligations
Personnel Today: More than half (53%) of employees living with cancer do not know that their employer has a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments for them to return to work, according to Macmillan Cancer Support. Read story
Top construction firms look to narrow gender pay gap
Personnel Today: The UK’s five leading construction companies by turnover have used the publication of their gender pay gaps to highlight initiatives designed to increase the numbers of women entering the industry and improve the career prospects of women already working for them. Read story
Over three million employees juggling care with work
Cover: Flexible working options supported by most employee benefit consultants, while just under half are for paid short-term leave benefits. Read story
MPs ask experts to review impact of higher minimum wage for zero-hours workers
People Management: ‘Acid test’ will be if government bolsters position of precarious workers faced with ‘unscrupulous employers’. Read story
Up to 30% of DB pension members over 55 moving to access pension freedoms
Employee Benefits: Between 20% and 30% of active defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members over the age of 55 are transferring out of their scheme in order to access pension freedoms as a result of receiving paid-for financial advice, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story
Local Government Association offers two-year pay deal
Employee Benefits: The Local Government Association has offered local authority staff in England and Wales a two-year pay deal, including pay rises of up to 16%. Read story
DB funding level drops on back of US-China trade war fears
Professional Pensions: The aggregate defined benefit (DB) funding level worsened in March, hitting its worst level since last August, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has said. Read story
Bentley workers vote for strike over DB closure plans
Professional Pensions: Bentley Motors staff have voted for industrial action over the planned closure of the defined benefit (DB) Rolls Royce and Bentley Pension Fund (RRBPF) to future accrual. Read story
Women’s Business Council launches gender toolkit for CEOs
HR Magazine: A toolkit aimed at male CEOs has been launched to share ideas on closing the gender pay gap. Read story
Top 5 tips on how to build a successful financial wellbeing strategy
Reward: Employers need to take a few things into consideration to build a strong financial wellbeing strategy and WEALTH at work are here to help. Read story
Almost 7/10 women believe they're paid the same as men
HR Grapevine: Almost seven in ten women believe that they're being paid the same as men at their company with a similar professional background, new research has found. Read story
28% of employers are looking to do more to support employee mental health
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (28%) of employer respondents who currently have clear policies and tools in place to support mental wellbeing are looking to do more in this area, according to research by Legal and General. Read story
12.5m people covered by group risk schemes in 2017
Employee Benefits: Nearly 12.5 million individuals were covered by group risk schemes at the end of 2017, according to research by Swiss Re. Read story
Tesco DB deficit plunges by £2.8bn after changing discount rate calculation
Professional Pensions: Supermarket giant Tesco has halved its overall defined benefit (DB) deficit after adapting its discount rate calculations to better reflect trends in long-dated corporate bond yields. Read story
Millennials contributing less towards retirement than in 2012
Professional Pensions: Half of millennials were saving into a pension in 2016 but the overall total of their savings has dropped, according to analysis. Read story
Quarter of workers say their job negatively affects their mental health
People Management: New CIPD survey suggests middle managers are particularly affected, while lower-paid staff lack training and development opportunities. Read story
Is ethnicity pay gap reporting next?
Reward: Gender pay reporting has revealed the extent of pay inequality within organisations but now some experts are calling for a review of the ethnicity pay gap. Croner Reward Manager and pay expert Suzanne Tanser explains what this might entail. Read story
Which were the sectors with the smallest gender pay gap?
Personnel Today: Construction and the finance industries have been revealed as having the widest gender pay gaps, but the identity of some of the better performers would surprise many, writes Adam McCulloch, even though some are dominated by men in terms of employee numbers. Read story
Employers urged to support employees with caring responsibilities
Health Insurance Daily: Employee benefit consultants believe working from home is important. Read story
Royal Mail director calls for new rules to establish ‘collective DC’ pensions
Money Marketing: The Royal Mail’s HR director has written to MPs on the work and pensions select committee outlining a legislative workaround for the company to set up a ‘collective defined contribution’ pension scheme. Read story
36% do not feel they are paid appropriately
Employee Benefits: More than a third (36%) of respondents believe they are not paid appropriately, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Read story
EAT rules shared parental leave pay and maternity pay are not comparable
Employee Benefits: The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the rate of pay for a male employee taking shared parental leave cannot be compared to a female employee on maternity leave pay because the purpose of the leave arrangement is different. Read story
TGI Friday’s waiters to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over tips and minimum wage
Employee Benefits: Waiters at American restaurant chain TGI Friday’s who are members of the trade union Unite, are to be balloted for strike action in a dispute over the organisation’s tip policy and minimum wage non-compliance. Read story
Pensions minister: Getting tough on employers that fail DB members
Money Marketing: Pensions and financial inclusion minister Guy Opperman discusses the Government’s DB white paper. Read story
Master trusts failing low paid earners on pensions tax relief
Professional Pensions: Low income earners in the majority of master trusts are missing out on tax relief on their retirement savings due to a legislative technicality, according to research. Read story
Catherine Howarth: Why AE is missing a trick with ESG
Corporate Adviser: Auto-enrolment is missing a trick when it comes to ethical, social and environmental investing, says ShareAction chief executive Catherine Howarth. Read story
Not discriminatory to refuse enhanced SPL pay says EAT
HR Magazine: It is not sex discrimination to refuse a new father enhanced paternity pay, the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has ruled. Read story
Rise in international assignments transforming duty of care policies
Reward: The increase of staff being assigned to assignments in riskier locations has businesses transforming their Duty of Care policies. Read story
Media organisations vow to narrow gender pay gap
Personnel Today: Much of the furore over the gender pay gap has concerned the messenger itself, with the BBC, as a public body, being under particular scrutiny. Despite relatively high proportions of women, pay imbalances have endured at media organisations, but their publication may be the trigger for cultural change as many signal their intention to launch 50:50 recruitment. Read story