At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 14-20 July 2017
The headlines you might have missed between 14-20 July.
FCA fines compliance officer £75,000 over DB transfer failings
Professional Pensions: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined an individual compliance oversight officer £75,000 for "failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence" with regard to pension transfers in his role at two firms. Read story
CPS: Reform AE tax to help low earners and save £10bn per year
Professional Pensions: The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has called on the government to reform incentives for auto-enrolment (AE), which it estimates could save the Treasury £10bn annually. Read story
GMP equalisation should be axed, says industry
Professional Pensions: Respondents say GMP equalisation is too complex, costly, and should be binned. Read story
Locum GPs call for pensions admin overhaul
Pensions Expert: Locum GPs are calling for an overhaul of their pensions administration as sporadic correspondence and scant communication cause confusion. Read story
44% have left a job because of a bad boss
HR Magazine: More than four in 10 (44%) people have left a job because of the behaviour of their boss, according to research from BambooHR. Read story
Does salary sacrifice still have a place in your benefits strategy?
Reward Guide: Director of Fleet Evolution, Andrew Leech, examines the changes to salary sacrifice. Read story
Repeal Bill: No immediate change for workers’ rights
Personnel Today: EU-derived legislation such as the Working Time Directive, TUPE and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will continue to apply once the UK formally leaves the union, it has been confirmed. Read story
21% will exercise GDPR rights to have data removed from past and present employers
Employee Benefits: More than one-fifth (21%) of respondents plan to exercise their rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to have their data removed from current and previous employers, according to research by analytics organisation SAS. Read story
Royal Mail offers defined benefit and defined contribution pension deal
Employee Benefits: Royal Mail has proposed a new pensions deal comprising defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) options for members following the planned closure of its current defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual in 2018. Read story
Richard Parkin: DB transfers aren’t black or white
Money Marketing: I think we were all pleased to finally see the FCA’s consultation on defined benefit transfers. Read story
Environment Agency fund in surplus with ESG
Pensions Expert: Strong investment returns have lifted the Environment Agency Active Pension Fund into surplus, as it challenged the industry to collaborate to improve uptake of environmental, social and governance-related strategies. Read story
SMEs choose to share the wealth with their employees
Reward Guide: Employers are choosing to gift nearly £1000 of rewards a year to employees. Read story
One in three employees couldn’t pay the bills if they fell ill
People Management: Those with the most caring responsibilities are among the least likely to withstand financial shocks, survey finds. Read story
Experts praise Goldman Sachs for relaxing ‘outmoded’ dress code
People Management: Banking giant introduces casual workwear policy in bid to attract top IT talent. Read story
Small scheme funding levels falling five times faster than larger peers
Professional Pensions: The funding levels of smaller schemes fell at a rate nearly five times faster than their larger peers, latest analysis by Goldman Sachs Asset Management reveals. Read story
Government to appeal LGPS ethical investment ruling
Professional Pensions: The government has been given permission to appeal a High Court ruling which deemed its investment guidance for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) unlawful. Read story
Nashville Metropolitan Government introduces paid family leave benefit
Employee Benefits: The Metropolitan (Metro) Government of Nashville and Davidson County has launched a paid family leave benefit for its employees. Read story
How to find the balance between flexible working and “always on”
Personnel Today: Research has shown that many workers value flexible working over a pay rise. Sarah Thompson asks how can employers ensure that being able to log on from anywhere does not lead to people never turning off? Read story
DB solvency fears driving transfers
Corporate Adviser: Fears over the future solvency of defined benefit pensions is fuelling high demand for transfer advice say advisers. Read story
FCA: Advice gap on pensions is a major challenge
Money Marketing: FCA John Griffith-Jones counts the pensions advice gap as among the most “significant, long-term challenges” for financial services firms. Read story
Tenet: How to best manage the DB transfer window
Money Marketing: Defined benefit pension transfers continue to be in the spotlight following the FCA’s recent consultation on pension transfer advice. Read story
Frank Field: Consolidating DC pots is challenge but benefits are considerable
Professional Pensions: The UK must do much more to consolidate scattered pots over the coming years as the benefits for savers are massive says MP Frank Field. Read story
TPR warns it 'will not hesitate' to use s72 prosecution powers
Professional Pensions: The regulator has promised to toughen its approach against those who withhold information it needs for investigation, James Phillips writes. Read story
Keeping it in the family
Reward Guide: How do you manage children, elderly dependents and work, all while taking some time for your own mental wellbeing? Helen Swire investigates. Read story
University of Winchester to pilot wellbeing and sustainability programme
Employee Benefits: The University of Winchester will run a pilot programme involving 950 employees to encourage behaviour change around staff health and sustainability. Read story
Google to supply a limited employee data set for gender pay investigation
Employee Benefits: Technology organisation Google is to supply the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) with a limited set of US employee data to comply with an ongoing audit investigating a potential pay disparity between male and female staff. Read story
50% feel their benefits package is not always tailored to their needs
Employee Benefits: Half (50%) of employee respondents feel their employee benefits package is not always tailored to their needs, according to research by Unum. Read story
Motivating employees without money
Incentive and motivation: It’s the unspoken holy grail of any business – the ability to motivate employees without money. We can all see the benefits of a whole culture built on capturing every moment that matters with a meaningful reward, but time gets in the way or budgets get stretched. Read story
What do rewards have to do with lipstick sales?
Incentive and motivation: When you think of rewards, you probably think of travel, gift cards, promotional items or general ‘gifts’. Read story
BBC gender pay gap revealed
Reward Guide: Following on from the Government’s gender pay reporting regulations, which were put in place in April 2017, the BBC chose to publish salaries above £150,000 a year which revealed a vast gap between the company’s top male and female talent. Read story
Cuts to civil service redundancy pay ruled unlawful
People Management: High Court decision could prompt legal action from civil servants made redundant in past eight months. Read story
Govt brings forward increase in state pension age
Money Marketing: The Government has decided to bring forward the increase in the state pension age to 68 by seven years. Read story
Pensions could return twice as much as property, research finds
Money Marketing: Returns on investing in a pension could be twice as high as investing in buy-to-let property, according to new research. Read story
Low yields bite as UK slips in global retirement rankings
Professional Pensions: Brexit-related uncertainty and low bond yields have weakened the UK's retirement system, with the nation slipping in 2017 global rankings for retirement security. Read story
Treasury confirms LTA will rise in line with CPI from 2018
Professional Pensions: The Treasury has confirmed the government will go ahead with its plans to increase the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) in line with inflation from next April. Read story
TSB reports a 31% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Banking organisation TSB has reported a mean gender pay gap of 31% for hourly fixed pay across its UK-based workforce. Read story
Average UK pay to rise by 0.1% in real terms in 2017
Employee Benefits: The average overall salary increase for UK employees in 2017 is expected to be 0.1% in real terms, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story
Life events key to engagement, report finds
Pensions Expert: Moving house, getting a job or starting a family could be the best moments to get people saving, a new report says, but stresses the risks of engagement and continued role of default options. Read story
A – Z of voluntary benefits: Part three
Reward Guide: Voluntary benefits have changed rapidly over the past 15 years, as benefits that employees would have traditionally bought for themselves are now readily available through their workplaces. Kimberley Dondo reports. Read story
Industry reacts to government’s state pension age hike
HR Magazine: Business leaders have reacted to the government’s announcement that the pension age will rise from 67 to 68 by 2039. Read story
Employers don't understand what benefits workers want
HR Magazine: 18% of employees are dissatisfied with their package, and 50% think the offering isn't tailored to them. Read story
Are employees entitled to pay if they can’t get to work?
People Management: Louise Bloomfield examines the legal complexities around leave and wages for staff who can’t travel to the workplace. Read story
The DB transfer elephant in the room
Money Marketing: The issue of defined benefit pension transfer advice continues to dominate the adviser news agenda. Read story
Ros Altmann: The under the radar pension tax scandal
Money Marketing: I want to highlight a major pensions injustice concerning employers who choose an auto-enrolment scheme administered on a net pay basis. Read story
ILC: 'The UK pension system is sustainable but inadequate’
Professional Pensions: Some 18% of earnings need to be saved each year to achieve an adequate income, an International Longevity Centre (ILC) report has concluded. Read story
B&CE to transfer EasyBuild members to The People's Pension
Professional Pensions: B&CE is writing to employers and members of its EasyBuild stakeholder scheme as part of a plan to transfer the scheme's members to The People's Pension. Read story
Admiral sees over 200 staff take up eyecare e-vouchers under new benefit
Employee Benefits: Insurance organisation Admiral has seen more than 200 employees receive eyecare e-vouchers following the introduction of a new eyecare benefit for its 6,300 UK-based employees. Read story
44% can tailor benefits for globally mobile staff on an individual basis
Employee Benefits: More than two-fifths (44%) of employer respondents have the flexibility to tailor benefits packages for individual staff members going on international assignment, according to research by Axa. Read story
New Bill to give parents statutory paid leave to grieve death of a child
Employee Benefits: A new Bill has been introduced to Parliament that would enable employed parents to receive statutory paid leave to grieve after the death of their child. Read story
US marketing agency challenges staff to fundraise for summer ditch day
Employee Benefits: The day after an organisation-wide party can be notorious for seeing productivity slumps and lacklustre motivation, with employees often struggling to get in the right frame of mind for work following an evening of socialising with their colleagues. Read story