At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 5-11th March 2021
The headlines you might have missed between 5th-11th March 2021.
Half of employers don’t have a financial wellbeing policy
Workplace Insight: Despite the financial hardship wrought by COVID-19, half of employers (49 percent) don’t have a financial wellbeing policy. This is according to the latest Reward Management Survey from the CIPD (which 420 employers responded to). Read Story.
Over half of employees feel leaders are acknowledging their work
HR Review: New research shows an upwards trend when it comes to the amount of employees who feel that their work output is being recognised by leaders but there are still critical ways companies can improve. Read Story.
Prompting employers to state flexible working options leads to 20 per cent boost in ads offering flexibility, analysis finds
People Management: Thousands more jobs roles could be listed as being flexible if employers were more transparent about the availability of flexible working, a study has found, which could in turn boost the number of applicants. Read Story.
Equality minister calls for flexible working to be ‘normalised’
Personnel Today: Minister for women and equalities Liz Truss has urged employers to ‘normalise’ flexible working to help maintain equality and reduce regional inequality as the UK recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Read Story.
‘Urgent need’ to address UK obesity amid Covid outcomes warning
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: There is an “urgent need” to address obesity levels in the UK, the Royal College of Physicians has warned, in response to findings that there is a clear link between obesity and higher death rates from Covid-19. Read Story.
Half of severe Covid patients also suffered injury to the heart
Personnel Today: Injury to the heart has been found in half of Covid-19 patients discharged from hospital after suffering severe illness from the virus, according to research. Read Story.
Younger women face £100,000 gender pensions gap
Personnel Today: The average woman in her twenties will have to work almost 40 years longer than her male counterpart to build up the same pension, according to a report by Scottish Widows. Read Story.
Employers urged to better support female staff or risk ‘setting the clock back’ on equality
People Management: Employers have been urged to provide women with more opportunities to reskill, warning that the coronavirus pandemic could “set the clock back” on gender equality in the workplace. Read Story.
UK women in tech say gender roles have regressed 10-20 years
Engage Employee: Gender roles have been set back significantly since the COVID crisis began stated 57% of respondents to a new survey of the UK tech industry to coincide with International Women’s Day today Monday 8th March. Read Story.
Women workers silent on menopause problems – Vodafone research
Healthcare & Protection: Around one in three women who have suffered problems with the menopause say they feel unable to discuss these health issues with their employer. Read Story.
Two-fifths of women concerned about burnout post-pandemic
HR Review: On International Women’s Day, new research finds that two in five women are worried about burnout following the pandemic, calling for more support from HR teams to aid employee wellbeing. Read Story.
Almost half of staff wages cut or frozen as pandemic bites
Employee Benefits: Employee Benefits poll: A fifth of UK employers have cut staff wages as a result of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, with another 25% implementing pay freezes. According to the latest Employee Benefits straw poll, 20% of organisations have reduced their employees’ salaries in direct response to the impact of Coronavirus. Read Story.
Scepticism over gender pay gap remains high among British public
HR Magazine: Some members of the British public are still not convinced that the gender pay gap exists, with 18% of Brits saying the gap is an example of political correctness going too far. This scepticism results in Britons being classed among the least likely to prioritise tackling the gender pay gap as the country grapples with its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Read Story.
Engage staff or lose them warns healthcare consultant
Corporate Adviser: Towergate Health & Protection is warning employers they urgently need to improve engagement with employees as the economy moves out of lockdown. Read Story.
Thousands of workers to get 9% pay rise on 1 April
Employee Benefits: From 1 April 2021 thousands of low-paid workers will receive a pay rise of almost 9%, as the eligibility for the national living wage is widened to include 23- and 24-year-olds. Read Story.
‘Up to a million’ will need long Covid rehabilitation
Personnel Today: Senior health professionals have suggested that up to a million people will need treatment for long Covid, which will place additional pressures on the NHS for years to come. Read Story.
Working from home experience boosts demands for hybrid working
Workplace Insight: New data from Steelcase claims to highlight what the UK workforce is enjoying most about working from home, and which elements of work are suffering without access to the physical office. Read Story.
Government to consult on simplified workplace pension statements
Corporate Adviser: The Department of Work and Pensions has announced that it will shortly begin consulting on plans to introduce simpler annual benefit statements for workplace pensions. Read Story.
Frontline workers overlooked in employee engagement strategies
Workplace Insight: New research from Opinion Matters, commissioned by SocialChorus, claims there is a stark disparity between desk-based/wired and frontline workers when it comes to Digital Employee Experience (DEX) with a fifth of HR and Internal Communications (IC) respondents admitting to focusing on employees in the office, and just 12 percent prioritising deskless workers. Read Story.
Working from home impacting musculoskeletal health
Employee Benefits: The lasting impact of remote working could be an increase in musculoskeletal health issues, according to new research. A survey by Furniture At Work – which polled more than 2,000 employees who had been exclusively working from home – found that 54% admitted they were still not sitting at a properly designed desk or in a proper work environment. Read Story.
OECD countries all guilty of gender pensions gap
Personnel Today: Women in OECD countries receive around a quarter less income than men from the pension system. According to the organisation’s research into gender pensions gaps in member countries, women over 65 take 26% less retirement income than their male counterparts. Read Story.
Ineffective training means tech investment wasted
Personnel Today: Companies have increased investment in technology during the pandemic but ineffective training means they’re not getting the best out of it, a survey has found. CWJobs’ survey of UK businesses found that almost three-quarters have increased overall investment in technology tools, with an average of £1.48 million spent in 2020, up by around £400,000 compared to the year before. Read Story.
Over 4 in 5 working parents have suffered from fatigue when working from home
Incentive & Motivation: Statistics from a recent study show that many home-working parents in the UK have been in a cycle of fatigue, with remote working blurring the line between work and home life. Read Story.
Less than half of UK employers have a wellbeing strategy in place
Incentive & Motivation: Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has released research which provides an in-depth look at the health and wellbeing provisions offered by employers across the UK. Read Story.
Calls for government to protect disabled workers from unlawful redundancy
HR Review: At a TUC disabled workers conference, the union body urged the Government to take steps to ensure that disabled workers are not unlawfully targeted for redundancy. Citing ONS data, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) stated that the Government needed to do more to protect the rights of workers with disabilities, preventing them from being unlawfully made redundant. Read Story.
Half of employees want mandatory vaccinations before returning to the office, poll finds
People Management: More than half of employees believe Covid vaccinations should be made mandatory for workers returning to the office, a survey has found. The poll of 2,000 workers, conducted by Glassdoor, found 56 per cent thought there should be a requirement for staff to have had a Covid vaccination before they go back to the office. Read Story.
‘Shocking’ data reveals only one in five autistic people are in employment
People Management: Just one in five autistic people in the UK are in any form of employment, according to official data, prompting experts to urge the government to offer greater support and information to employers. Read Story.
Workers ‘desperate’ for wellbeing support
Employee Benefits: Research from global health services company Cigna has revealed workers are in serious need of more employer wellbeing support, with two-thirds claiming they are ‘desperate’ for bosses to find ways to help them cope with life’s challenges. Read Story.
HSE enforcement of Covid-secure guidelines too ‘light touch’
Occupational Health & Wellbeing: A think-tank has accused the government of downplaying the risk of Covid-19 transmission in the workplace – which could have accounted for 40% of coronavirus cases. Read Story.