At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 26 May to 1 June 2017

The headlines you might have missed between 26 May - 1 June.

Fifteen-fold surge in big DB to DC transfers post pension freedoms
Corporate Adviser: DB to DC transfer activity has increased fifteen-fold where big pots are involved since pension freedoms took effect in 2015, while a third of retirees will take transfers if given advice and clear communications. Read story

BT considers offering trustees contingent asset deal
Professional Pensions: BT may allow the trustees of its pension schemes to take over some of its assets in the case it fails to meets its pension obligations, the firm has suggested. Read story

Conservative manifesto gets stamp of approval
Professional Pensions: The industry believes the Conservative proposals for pensions are the best approach, with some stating the commitment to ditch the triple lock is a 'bold but correct' move. Read story

British Airways granted leave to appeal in pensions case
Employee Benefits: British Airways (BA) has been granted leave to appeal a High Court ruling that found in favour of the Airways Pension Scheme (APS) trustees’ power and decision to award discretionary pension increases. Read story

39% rank the intranet as a very valuable technology for benefits
Employee Benefits: More than a third (39%) of employer respondents rank their intranet as a very valuable form of benefits technology, according to research by Employee Benefits and Staffcare. Read story 

90% face challenges communicating benefits
Employee Benefits: Nine in 10 (90%) employer respondents face challenges when communicating employee benefits to staff, according to research by benefits communication portal provider Mybenefitsatwork. Read story

How ice cream could solve a staffing crisis (and six other tips for hot weather working)
People Management: With the mercury soaring to its highest point so far this year, staff may struggle to keep their cool. Whether it's taking measures to make the workplace less stuffy or providing fun seasonal perks, employers need to make sure employees feel comfortable to keep productivity levels high. Read story

What are the pros and cons of payroll outsourcing?
Employee Benefits: Payroll processing is a complex and time-consuming, critical business task, which is why many employers decide to outsource the job to dedicated payroll service providers with the latest technical resources, and enable their staff to add value elsewhere in the business. Read story

Ace Work Gear sees benefit of outsourcing payroll
Employee Benefits: Construction safety workwear organisation Ace Work Gear outsourced its payroll two years ago. Read story

Colin Jackson: Payroll – do it yourself or outsource?
Employee Benefits: Paying staff accurately and on time every time requires a deep understanding of complex legislation and that, in turn, requires investment. For many organisations, the questions are: should that investment be in-house or is it cost-beneficial to outsource? Should all processes be outsourced or just some of them? Read story

Wincanton runs ETV to drive liabilities down
Pensions Expert: The Wincanton Pension Scheme has embarked on an enhanced transfer value exercise in an attempt to further cap its obligations, after trivial commutations wiped £3.8m from its liabilities. Read story

SPL take-up remains low
HR Magazine: Research thought to be the biggest of its kind found lack of awareness and affordability are still key issues. Read story

Older workers not supported in the workplace
HR Magazine: Only 12% thought older people were appreciated and respected at work. Read story

Getting the best out of staff who fast
HR Magazine: Fasting for Ramadan needn't mean lost productivity, as long as a supportive, flexible approach is taken. Read story

Royal Academy of Arts sees 51% of staff engage with pensions online
Employee Benefits: Royal Academy of Arts has seen 51% of its employees register to view their pension online following the launch of a new pension scheme and workplace savings platform. Read story

31% of Canadian employers plan to invest more in health and wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Just under a third (31%) of employer respondents in Canada intend to invest more in employee wellbeing and health education over the next year, according to research by healthcare organisation Sanofi. Read story

How West Midlands saved millions of pounds through cost transparency drive
Professional Pensions: The West Midlands Pension Fund is well on the way to full transparency, and has already used it to challenge managers on fees and exit high cost funds, CIO Jason Fletcher tells Stephanie Baxter. Read story

UK pension shortfall to hit £26trn by 2050
Professional Pensions: A $224trn (£174.2trn) combined deficit could hit the six largest pension systems if action is not taken now to address longevity risk, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned. Read story

BT mulls DB closure after deficit hits £8.6bn
Professional Pensions: BT may close its defined benefit (DB) scheme to future accrual in a bid to stem its ballooning deficit, according to reports. Read story

Nuclear workers accept 'best achievable' pension deal 
Professional Pensions: Nuclear specialists and managers have voted in favour of reforms which will see their retirement fund based on career average earnings rather than final salary from next April. Read story

SNP pledges to push for AE extension and survivor benefit equality
Professional Pensions: The Scottish National Party (SNP) has promised to put pressure on the next government to extend automatic enrolment (AE) to the self-employed and low paid. Read story

Wojciech Dochan: As a proportion of the working population, group risk has barely grown at all
Corporate Adviser: Is the group risk industry really growing its market penetration? A dig below the headline figures would suggest it is not says Busy Bees Benefits managing director Wojciech Dochan. Read story

Next government must tackle intergenerational pension issues
Professional Pensions: Changes to pension policy must be viewed "through the lens of intergenerational fairness" by a future government, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has argued. Read story

Emotional intelligence is key to boosting pension saving
Professional Pensions: Cold, hard facts are not getting people to save more for retirement and providers should instead appeal to emotions, a study has found. Read story

Over-55s are three times more likely to opt out, says Now Pensions
Professional Pensions: More than a fifth of over-55s have opted out of auto-enrolment (AE), Now Pensions' customer data has suggested. Read story

Could a new law on under-funding pensions be 'gesture politics’?
Professional Pensions: Steve Webb says policymakers should be careful not to legislate through the rear-view mirror. Read story

Tribunal rules holiday pay should include compulsory overtime for ambulance staff
Employee Benefits: An employment tribunal has ruled that compulsory overtime performed by ambulance employees when their shift overruns should be included in holiday pay calculations. Read story

Ontario to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour
Employee Benefits: Canadian province Ontario is to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2019. Read story

Flexible working where you'd least expect
HR Magazine: Many firms claim flexible working ‘won’t work’ for them. These examples prove there are options for everyone. Read story

Joe Aiston and Michael Chattle: Holiday pay claims decision upheld by the EAT
Employee Benefits: The law surrounding the calculation of holiday pay has seen a string of important cases recently; however this is an area of employment law where there is still a certain level of uncertainty for employers. Read story

Nigel Chambers: How to make DB transfer regulation better for all
Corporate Adviser: Those blocked from DB to DC transfers by the current regulatory system have as much to lose as those who transfer says CTC Software managing director Nigel Chambers. Read story

Rolls-Royce merges final salary schemes to reduce governance costs
Employee Benefits: Luxury car manufacturing organisation Rolls-Royce conducted a pensions change project over 2016 in order to reduce the extensive governance costs of running five defined benefit (DB) pension schemes concurrently. Read story

Sarah Miller: Key considerations for a pensions change project
Employee Benefits: There are three questions employers should ask before embarking on a pensions change project. Read story

Hoover to cut ties with pension scheme after RAA approval
Professional Pensions: Hoover has become the latest firm to cut its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme adrift after The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and Pension Protection Fund (PPF) approved the plan. Read story

Barnado's trustees to take indexation argument to Supreme Court
Professional Pensions: The trustees of the Barnado's pension scheme will head to the Supreme Court in a renewed bid to switch its indexation rules. Read story

National Milk Records to pull out of Milk Pension Fund
Professional Pensions: National Milk Records (NMR) is proposing to shareholders that it withdraws from the multi-employer Milk Pension Fund (MPF). Read story

Public sector contractors ‘accelerating their retirement’ over IR35 changes
People Management: Public sector contractors are choosing retirement over working under the recent IR35 changes, signalling troubling times ahead for the public sector. Read story

Court victory for thousands of women in Glasgow equal pay battle
People Management: Ring-fencing bonuses was discriminatory, says ruling; HR urged to be careful when making adjustments. Read story

Inchcape Retail UK introduces pay bands and revamps bonus scheme for technicians
Employee Benefits: Car retailer Inchcape Retail UK has introduced graded pay bands for its 950 UK-based technician staff. Read story

60% use digital communications to improve benefits engagement
Employee Benefits: Just over two-thirds (68%) of employer respondents use digital communication to improve employee engagement with benefits, according to research by Employee Benefits and Staffcare. Read story

Private sector staff feel more supported around mental health
Employee Benefits: Just under half (49%) of respondents working in the public sector felt supported when disclosing mental health problems, compared with 61% of those working for private sector organisations, according to research by mental health charity Mind. Read story