At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 5 - 11 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 5 - 11 April.
Shared parental leave should be ‘overhauled’
Personnel Today: Shared parental leave is unaffordable for most working families and should be overhauled, according to the TUC. On the fourth anniversary of its introduction, the union body said that increasing paternity leave could help half a million dads spend more time with their new babies. Read Story.
Risk of errors high in UK gender pay gap reporting
Personnel Today: New research has cast doubt on the accuracy of about 15% of the gender pay gap information being collected by organisations. The failure to provide links to company reports has also been flagged. Read Story.
Government approves phased implementation of pensions dashboard
Employee Benefits: The government has approved a phased introduction of the pensions dashboard, advising that pension schemes need to start preparing now in order to hit a three to four year delivery timeline. Read Story.
Experts welcome the increase in pension contributions
HR Review: Pension auto-enrolment minimum contributions will rise to eight per cent on 6 April, with a minimum contribution of three per cent by the employer and five per cent from the employee. Ten million workers are now saving into a pension since the government introduced the auto-enrolment scheme back in 2012. Read Story.
Korn Ferry sets out the new rules for reward
HR Review: In a report launched today, global organisational consultancy, Korn Ferry, reveals how leading organisations are reshaping their approach to reward to retain and engage the best people in the face of impending talent shortages. Read Story.
Remote working boosts self-employed flexibility and productivity
Workplace Insight: Remote working boosts flexibility and productivity among the self-employed, new research by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) and People Per Hour claims. The report suggests that freelancers overwhelmingly viewed remote working positively, with nine out of ten (87 percent) working remotely at some point in the last year. Read Story.
Digital inclusion empowers women but does not lead to better jobs
Workplace Insight: All European regulatory frameworks cite technology as a key factor in promoting competitiveness and innovation, and right alongside it is its greatest tool, the population’s digital inclusion. Read Story.
Stark variation in cancer survival across England
Health Insurance Daily: There is a wide variation in cancer survival rates across England, figures show. Nearly a third of cancer patients diagnosed in Leicester city centre will die within a year, making it the worst performing group in the country by this measure – its 12-month survival rate is 67.7%. Read Story.
Few Female Directors Even In Socially Aware Businesses
The Global Recruiter: Research from the Directory of Social Change has indicated that the majority of UK company directors – from a sample of companies with community investment programmes – are shockingly still overwhelmingly male. Read Story.
Heart attack deaths fall by 63% in two decades
Health Insurance Daily: The rate of heart attacks in Britain fell by 63% between 1989-91 and 2013-15 from 2,740 per million people to 1,010, research shows. Read Story.
Alzheimer’s ‘could affect twice as many people as thought’
Health Insurance Daily: Alzheimer’s disease could affect twice as many people as current estimates suggest, researchers have warned. Scientists at The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have been re-evaluating the prevalence of the disease using brain imaging to give a definitive answer as to how many people are actually affected. Read Story.
Employers 'need to understand' risk of financial wellbeing – MetLife
Cover magazine: Employers have been urged to "understand" the risk of financial wellbeing after MetLife research found six in 10 (61%) senior HR executives have reported a rise in financial wellbeing issues affecting employee mental health. Read Story.
Permanent staff appointments decline as Brexit-related uncertainty intensifies
The HR Director: Heightened uncertainty towards the outlook underpinned the fastest decline in permanent staff appointments since mid-2016 in March. Brexit-related uncertainty also contributed to a further steep decline in staff availability. Read Story.
Zero-hour workers to receive payslips for the first time
HR Grapevine: Around 300,000 workers who previously did not receive a payslip will now be provided with one following the introduction of a new law. Starting this week, those on casual or zero-hours contracts will be given a payslip detailing the number of hours worked, to make it easier for workers to check they are being paid the correct amount. Read Story.
Average advertised UK salary rises to £35,058 per year
Employee Benefits: The average advertised salary for an employee in the UK is £35,058 a year, as at February 2019, according to research by job search engine Adzuna. Read Story.
Dads want bigger childcare roles but just 1 in 10 take shared parental leave
HR Review: Just one in 10 fathers have taken Shared Parental Leave (SPL) since its introduction in 2015, even though 85 per cent wish they had taken more time off to look after their child. Read Story.
14 million working days a year 'lost to menopause'
Cover magazine: Almost a third of women working during the core menopause age (50-64) are taking time out of work to alleviate menopausal symptoms, researched commissioned by Health & Her has revealed. Read Story.
Money and Pensions Service launches with plea on financial wellbeing
Cover magazine: The service, initially named the Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB), was formed from the merger of The Pensions Advisory Service, the Money Advice Service, and Pension Wise. It provides guidance on money issues including pensions, investments and debt, and is now seeking input for its first national strategy for money and pensions and three-year corporate plan. Read Story.
Rise in stress at work linked to poor management
FE News: CIPD calls for greater investment in management training to curb stress at work. Nearly two-fifths of UK businesses (37%) have seen an increase in stress-related absence over the last year, with heavy workloads and poor management style to blame, according to a new report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth. Read Story.
Concerns grow over too-poor-to-retire employees
Corporate Adviser: Almost half of employers worry that older employees will have insufficient pension savings to be able to retire, prompting a call for them to review what they are aiming to get from their defined contribution (DC) scheme. Read Story.
A third of managers feel threatened by talented workers
HR Magazine: Managers who feel threatened by subordinates can cause huge damage to the workplace out of insecurity, according to a new study. Read Story.
Govt hails ‘extraordinary success’ of auto-enrolment
Money Marketing: Auto-enrolment has been an “extraordinary success”, the government has said, as a new report shows that small business workers have benefited significantly from the reforms. Read Story.
Hot desking affects wellbeing for eight in 10 office workers
Personnel Today: Eight in 10 office workers claim workplace seating arrangements – including hot desking – have a negative effect on their mental wellbeing. The prospect of not knowing where to sit every day was identified as the biggest stressor when it came to hot desking, a survey of 1,001 office workers found. Read Story.
Gender pay gap data: early analysis pay gap reporting looks disappointing
The HR Director: Analysis from CIPD found: The headline median figure in the gender pay gap has got slightly worse – rising from 9.2 percent to 9.6 percent – a year on year change of 0.4 percent. Read Story.
The irreparable eye damage of 24/seven screen time
The HR Director: British workers are spending 85 percent of their waking hours staring at screens. Nearly half (46 percent) of Brits admit that too much screen time during the day affects their sleep. Read Story.
Wellbeing stalls despite rising economic prosperity: ONS
Corporate Adviser: People’s personal happiness and wellbeing continues to remain flat, despite rising economic prosperity, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. Read Story.
Increased auto-enrolment contributions could have ‘substantial’ impact on smaller employers
People Management: Changes to auto-enrolment pensions will have a “substantial” effect on small businesses, the Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) has warned, after minimum contributions for employers rose from 1 per cent to 3 per cent last weekend. Read Story.
Is there a global lack of support for mental health?
Workplace Insight: Employers need to be mindful of the significant differences globally in how mental health is viewed and treated, when it comes to managing an international workforce, according to The Health Insurance Group. Read Story.
More than nine in 10 leaders believe they need to use benefits better to retain staff
Employee Benefits: The majority (94%) of employers believe that their organisation needs to better use benefits as a strategic lever to improve employee retention, according to research by Capita Employee Benefits. Read Story.
Most at risk of cancer ‘shunning a healthier diet’
Health Insurance Daily: Many over-55s aren’t aware of link between cancer and diet Only 58% of over-55s in Britain want to have a healthier diet than they currently do, compared to 77% of 18 to 24 year olds, according to a poll by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). Read Story.
Divorce requires ‘financial planning rethink’ even after no-fault legislation
Health Insurance Daily: People going through a divorce needs to rethink their estate, inheritance and tax planning even after changes to the legislation, according to Quilter. Read Story.