At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 5-11 November 2021
Here are the headlines you might have missed between 5-11 November 2021.
28% of young savers opting out of pensions to save elsewhere
Pensions Age: More than a quarter (28 per cent) of 18-24-year-olds have chosen to opt out of their workplace pension to save money in other ways, with many showing more interest in cryptocurrency, according to research from NerdWallet. Read Story.
62% of staff said employers took interest in wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Nearly two-thirds (62%) of UK employees still working from home said their employer has taken a genuine interest in their wellbeing and mental health during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read Story.
43% of employers plan to offer more eco-friendly cars
Employee Benefits: New data has found that four in 10 (43%) UK companies said introducing more environmentally friendly vehicles is top of their list of car benefit changes in the next 12 months, up from 33% in 2020. Willis Towers Watson’s 2021 Car benefits survey report, which questioned 620 UK organisations, highlighted that in 2021, another 40% were planning to do this by varying the make and models of cars allocated. Read Story.
Number of gig economy workers triples over past five years
Personnel Today: Of working adults in England and Wales, 14.7% told researchers they worked for a gig economy platform at least once a week, compared with 11.8% who said the same in 2019 and 5.8% in 2016. The workers were polled by the University of Hertfordshire and Britain Thinks for a TUC report, which warned that “spiralling” gig economy work would lead to more workers on low pay and in poorer working conditions. Read Story.
Workplace ethics improved during Covid, poll finds
People Management: Ethical standards in the workplace have improved since the start of the pandemic, a poll has found, but many employees still fear reprisal for reporting misconduct. The Ethics at Work 2021 report, conducted by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), found that 35 per cent of UK employees said their organisation’s response to coronavirus has improved their opinion of how ethically the company behaves. Read Story.
UK's largest occupations driving gender pay gap
HR Magazine: Eight in 10 (83%) of the UK’s most popular jobs, including those in retail, care and admin, have a gender pay gap in favour of men. Despite a survey showing that over half (57%) of UK employees believe no wage gap exists where they work, a CIPHR study of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data found that the reality is different. Read Story.
Millions of workers feel rushed back to the office before being ready
Workplace Insight: With more than 13.5 million workers having returned to their place of work for at least one day a week, more than four million say that they do not feel entirely safe doing so, claims new research by Direct Line Life Insurance. Some 5.5 million workers would work from home permanently if given the option and 3.6 million feel as though they are being rushed back in by their employer. Read Story.
£64bn of pension money at risk as savers fail to update contact details
Pensions Age: Savers could lose track of an estimated £64bn in pension savings due to out of date contact details, with just 37 per cent of savers updating their addresses with their pension provider prior to moving home, research from PensionBee has found. The survey revealed that whilst 67 per cent of savers understood that by not updating their provider of a change of address they run the risk of losing track of their pension savings, almost a third (32 per cent) of pension savers expected their pension provider to still be able to find and contact them. Read Story.
Three-quarters of job adverts still fail to mention flexible working, research finds
People Management: Nearly three-quarters of job vacancies are still failing to offer flexible working, research has found, despite the wholesale changes to working practices caused by the pandemic over the last two years. In its latest annual labour market snapshot, Timewise found just 26 per cent of UK job vacancies advertised some form of flexible working such as remote working, home working or part-time hours – an increase of just 4 percentage points since 2020. Read Story.
DWP confirms DC flat fee ban
Corporate Adviser: The DWP has committed to banning flat fee charges on certain workplace pensions worth less than £100 from April next year. The government has announced regulations that will implement a de minimis on the charging of flat fees as part of a combination charge beginning in April 2022, ensuring that a member’s pension savings of £100 or less will be protected from flat fee charges. Read Story.
Disability pay gap narrows to 16.5%
Personnel Today: The UK’s disability pay gap has narrowed slightly, but mandatory disability pay gap reporting is needed to drive further progress, according to the TUC. The trade union body’s analysis of Labour Force Survey statistics found that non-disabled workers earn 16.5% more per hour than those that meet the definition of disabled under the Equality Act, down from the 20% it reported last year. Read Story.
One in four have experienced workplace discrimination
HR Review: Around a quarter of employees have reported experiencing discrimination whilst at work, with ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ employees most afflicted by this. Despite many companies putting more emphasis on diversity and inclusion policies, around one in four employees (23 per cent) have been victims of workplace discrimination. Read Story.
Tougher deterrents needed to stop minimum wage breaches
Employee Benefits: BEIS records big rise in minimum wage avoidanceThe government’s policy of ‘naming and shaming’ organisations that break minimum wage rules is an effective deterrent against non-compliance, but tougher financial penalties are needed to further minimise incentives for underpayment. Read Story.
74% of staff say closing gender pay gap is important
Employee Benefits: Gender pay gap widensNew data has revealed that 74% of working adults believe closing the gender pay gap is important and should be a priority for governments and employers. WorkEqual, a campaign to raise awareness of workplace gender inequalities, marked Equal Pay Day 2021 yesterday (8 November) by releasing the findings of an online survey that showed 85% of women think it should be a priority compared to 63% of men, with older men more likely to agree than younger men. Read Story.
75% of staff struggle to focus due to money worries
Employee Benefits: New research has highlighted that three out of four employees are so worried about finances that they are struggling to focus at work. Workplace money coaching service Octopus MoneyCoach, which published its findings at the start of the Money and Pensions Service’s annual campaign Talk Money Week (8-12 November), reviewed nearly 350 staff sample case studies. It discovered that 83% thought about money at least every week and 8% had no one to talk to about it. Read Story.
Wearing face masks could be affecting the way we interact with others
Workplace Insight: Hiding the bottom half of the face with a mask could have a detrimental effect on our ability to socially interact and share other people’s emotions, new research suggests. A Cardiff University-led study claims people with facial paralysis, people seeing others who wear face masks, or even children sucking on dummies, could struggle to show empathy or detect positive social cues. Read Story.
Air quality concerns hindering return to five-day office week
Workplace Insight: Businesses whose personnel are resistant to resuming full-time office working should address the issue of workplace air quality. A survey of UK office workers claims that 80 percent would feel more positive about a return to a five-day office week if action was taken to measure and improve the quality of air in their workplace. Read Story.
UK locations where employees experience MOST discrimination
HR Grapevine: A new YouGov study has revealed that London is the city where employees face the most discrimination at work. According to their joint research with Indeed, 30% of workers in the capital face discrimination in their workplace. Staff in Northern Ireland and the Midlands follow closely behind, with 29% and 28% facing discrimination respectively. Read Story.
Majority of people are overwhelmed by data at work
Workplace Insight: People in the UK feel overwhelmed by the amount of data available to them when making critical decisions at work, according to a new study by Oracle NetSuite. The study, which includes insights from 2,000 people across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Nordics and the Middle East, claims that while people believe they have the data to be successful, they are overwhelmed by data quantity and plan to turn to a robot or machine to assist in the decision-making process during the next 12 months. Read Story.
68% of employers saw staff wellbeing decline
Employee Benefits: Two-thirds (68%) of UK and Irish organisations found that employee wellbeing deteriorated over the course of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, according to new research. Global technology and business solutions provider NTT conducted 1,146 interviews with respondents from across 23 countries for its 2021 edition of the Global workplace report, which explored the future of work as businesses around the world prepare for a post-pandemic reality. Read Story.
Sexual harassment on the rise as remote work blurs social boundaries
HR Magazine: Law firm Royds Withy King has warned of an uptick in sexual harassment at work due to more hybrid working. The firm is currently handling several cases that include instances of sexual harassment in remote video meetings and workplace chat forums. Read Story.
Workers feel hybrid arrangements don’t suit their preferences
Personnel Today: Only 28% of employees feel that the hybrid work models offered by their organisation suit their preferences, despite most offices now opening to workers. A survey of 530 European employers by law firm Littler found that 52% were proceeding with return to office dates, while 36% had delayed due to a range of factors including government guidance and vaccination levels. Read Story.
Shame about childcare responsibilities affects productivity, study finds
Personnel Today: Parents are less productive when they feel ‘ashamed’ about childcare eating into their working day, according to a Durham University Business School study. The research, which involved 200 working parents, considered productivity levels, emotional stability and amount of shame parents felt about their family responsibilities while home working. Read Story.
Fear of judgement stopping global employees using health benefits – Aetna
Healthcare & Protection: Fear of judgement is stopping employees from opening up about health concerns and using benefit schemes, according to research from Aetna International. The insurer’s survey of 3,520 workers across the UAE, UK, US and Singapore found many employees were reluctant to use benefits because they were worried about how management would react if they found out. Read Story.
Occupational medics slam government for unsafe pregnant worker advice, failing to address sick pay and lack of Covid leadership
Healthcare & Protection: The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) has issued a stinging rebuke to the UK government on its leadership for workplace health during the pandemic and warning that its latest guidance for pregnant workers is unsafe. Read Story.
DB pension schemes on target to pay 98.3pc of accrued benefits
Corporate Adviser: Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK can expect to pay 98.3 per cent of accrued benefits as of the end of Q3 2021, according to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). According to the provider’s DB Health Tracker, which monitors the current health of UK DB pension schemes, the average DB scheme can expect to fund 98.3 per cent of accrued pension benefits as of 30 September 2021. Read Story.
Pension savers unlikely to seek pension advice despite lack of knowledge
Pensions Age: Around 83 per cent of pension holders do not know what pension contributions they should be making to generate the retirement income they want to live on later in life, according to industry research. Read Story.
Staggering difference between employment rates of mums compared to dads
HR Grapevine: New data has shed light on a wide range of issues affecting working mothers and has found that they’re employed at lower rates than working fathers. Business comparison experts, Bionic, found that in April to June 2019 just over 75% of mothers with dependent children in the UK were in work. This is compared to 93% of fathers with dependent children. Read Story.
Most employees are not financially supported for long-term absence by employers
The HR Director: A quarter of employers do not financially support their employees when they are long-term absent from work according to research. Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD said: “We know that meaningful work provides a number of benefits, including a sense of purpose and fulfilment and social interaction, but fundamentally, we also know that most people are compelled to work to earn a living. Many households have no savings at all and would struggle to pay their mortgage, rent or meet other financial commitments within weeks or months if they were unable to bring home a salary. Read Story.
Majority of employers struggling to recruit and retain staff, poll finds
People Management: Firms are facing issues with onboarding and retaining employees, research has found, as experts advise businesses to tune into what their staff need and want. A poll of 160 HR leaders by Willis Towers Watson found that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) have had problems finding and keeping employees. Read Story.