At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 7 - 13 February 2020
The headlines you might have missed between 7 - 13 February 2020.
Family-friendly policies can increase focus, productivity and reduce absent rates
HR Review: Family-friendly policies at your company can increase the focus and productivity of your employees and reduce the amount of time they miss from work. Read story
Limited RPI change now factored into company pension disclosures
Professional Pensions: Companies with large pension schemes have already made budget allowances in advance of proposed changes to the Retail Prices Index (RPI), Willis Towers Watson (WTW) says. Read story
HMRC confirms changes to IR35 will only apply to services provided after 6 April 2020
Employee Benefits: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has today (7 February 2020) announced changes to the operation of the off-payroll working rules (IR35) coming into force after 6 April 2020; this comes as a result of the government’s ongoing review into the implementation of the reforms, which is due to conclude this month. Read story
Two-thirds use awareness days to prompt mental health discussions
Employee Benefits: A poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 30 responses, found that awareness days, such as Time to Talk, and Blue Monday aid 67% of respondents in prompting mental health discussions among their employees. Read story
AWH Group Pension Scheme completes £2.3m buy-out
Employee Benefits: The AWH Group Pension Scheme has completed a bulk annuity buy-out transaction worth £2.3m. Read story
Gardner Leader gives 135 employees unlimited paid holiday
Employee Benefits: Law firm Gardner leader has launched an unlimited paid holiday policy for all of its 135 employees, rolling the scheme out to four offices across the South East and London. Read story
40% of employers say they face a challenge when supporting the needs of higher earners
Employers News: Recent pensions research from Smarterly has found that 96% of companies have had to come up with employee benefit initiatives to deal with higher earners including offering cash alternatives. The need has come about since the 2016 regulation change came into play which means that anyone earning over £150k finds themselves limited in the amount they can contribute to a pension scheme, unless they want to pay a higher tax charge. Read story
Pensioner poverty on the rise again
Pensions Age: Pensioner poverty has once again begun to increase following a five year decline, the JRF's annual report on UK poverty has revealed. Read story
Feedback on employee strengths rather than weaknesses deemed more valuable
HR Magazine: Feedback on employee strengths could have more of an impact on their performance than focussing on their weaknesses, according to co-founder of Act2Manage Robert Dobay. Read story
Call for ban on zero-hour contracts as work poverty rises
HR Review: UK employment may be at a new high, however, the number of people who have a job but live in poverty went up again for the third year in a row, reinforcing the call to ban zero-hour contracts. Read story
Chancellor contemplates cuts to higher rate pensions tax relief
Professional Pensions: Speculation is growing that chancellor Sajid Javid is seeking to raise revenue by cutting the tax relief on pension contributions for high earners from 40% to 20%. Read story
TPR holds back from mandating use of professional trustees
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced new measures around the appointment of professional trustees following concerns that poor governance is putting members’ savings at risk. Read story
Migration salary threshold set to drop
People Management: Home Office says details of ‘firmer and fairer’ points-based immigration system will be revealed following expert recommendations. Read story
Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund completes £1.6 billion buy-in agreement
Employee Benefits: The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF), worth approximately £3 billion, has reached a £1.6 billion buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). Read story
Unions reject 2% pay offer from Local Government Association
Employee Benefits: Three unions representing council employees in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have rejected a 2% pay offer by local government employers that would affect more than a million local employees. Read story
Third of staff at THIS firm struggle with money
HR Grapevine: Concerns over finances and whether there will be enough money for the month to cover the costs of living is a worry that many Brits have to contend with. Read story
Savers unable to fully locate 4/10 pensions on dashboard
Pensions Age: Nearly 4 in ten (39 per cent) pensions would not be fully located by savers on the pensions dashboard and “drastic” data cleansing is needed, according to PensionBee. Read story
AXA UK to consult DC scheme members on master trust transfer
Pensions Age: AXA UK is to launch a consultation with members of its defined contribution pension scheme on a proposal to close the scheme and transfer to Willis Towers Watson’s Lifesight master trust. Read story
Former charity head jailed for £250k pension fraud
Pensions Age: The former chief executive of a charity and trustee of its pension scheme has been sentenced to five years in jail for defrauding the scheme out of over £250,000. Read story
Employers missing out by not communicating employee benefits before recruitment
HR News: Only 22% of employers communicate their employee benefits offering before day one of employment, such as in an offer letter; and only 18% communicate the offering before recruitment, for instance in a job advertisement, shows research from GRiD. Read story
UK cities paying workers below average
HR News: The best and worst places for creatives to live, work and study across the UK has been revealed by Pooky. The findings show professionals in the creative industry are paid up to 82% less than the national average. Read story
Scheme to ‘name and shame’ businesses who pay under NMW receive amendments
HR Review: After a review by the Government, the scheme which “names and shames” businesses that fail to pay National Minimum Wage (NMW) will now resume with some amendments. Read story
Professional trustee accreditation to launch in April
Professional Pensions: The Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) will open to applications for professional trustee accreditation from the start of the 2020/21 financial year, following a number of delays. Read story
Half want employers to offer more financial wellbeing support
Employee Benefits: Half (50%) of employees want their organisations to offer more guidance around improving their financial situation, according to research by Wills Towers Watson. Read story
Phoenix Group recognised as exemplary carer-positive employer in Scotland
Employee Benefits: Pensions consolidator Phoenix Group has been recognised by non-profit organisation Carer Positive, operated by Carers Scotland, as an exemplary carer-positive employer in Scotland. Read story
Allianz Partners UK signs Time to Change mental health commitment
Employee Benefits: Insurance firm Allianz Partners UK has reinforced its commitment to addressing employee mental health by signing the Time to Change Employer Pledge. Read story
New M&S CFO pension to meet IA guidelines
Pensions Age: The newly appointed chief financial officer (CFO) of Marks and Spencer (M&S) will receive pension contributions in line with the rest of the company’s workforce. Read story
Presenteeism peaks during winter months
HR Review: Presenteeism peaks in the winter months of a year, which leads to a heightened impact on a businesses’ productivity and the quality of work produced. Read story
DC assets outpace DB during 2019 as global shift accelerates
Professional Pensions: Thinking Ahead Institute research shows that DC funds have more assets than DB across the world’s biggest markets. Read story
PLSA warns of 'unprecedented' government interference in climate strategies
Professional Pensions: Amendments to the pension schemes bill tabled in the House of Lords could hand the government “unprecedented” powers over schemes’ investment strategies, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has warned. Read story
Fewer than one in 10 employees using shared parental leave
People Management: Survey finds more workers plan to take advantage of SPL for future children, but experts warn a supportive culture is just as important as policies. Read story
Daimler rewards 130,000 employees in Germany with profit-sharing bonus
Employee Benefits: Automotive manufacturer Daimler is rewarding 130,000 members of staff based in Germany with a one-time bonus, based on its latest financial year results and to recognise employees’ hard work during 2019. Read story
MPs table Pension Schemes Bill amendments
Pensions Age: Members of Parliament have tabled Pension Schemes Bill amendments that include requiring schemes report their climate change strategies and to introduce a Pension Schemes Commission. Read story
40% of UK employees live payday-to-payday and half overspend each month, straining family relationships
HR News: Two-in-five (40%) UK employees say they are living payday-to-payday and have no emergency savings, and nearly a third (29%) have financial problems that are negatively affecting their lives, according to a study of more than 4,000 UK employees by Willis Towers Watson. Read story
DB transfers climb despite FCA advice clampdown
Corporate Adviser: Defined benefit transfers hit their highest level for a year despite repeated signals from the FCA that it is unsatisfied with transfer advice decision-making. Read story
Chancellor Javid resigns weeks before Budget
Professional Pensions: Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid has resigned just under a month before he was expected to deliver the first Budget of this parliament, making him the shortest-serving Chancellor for more than 50 years. Read story
PensionBee becomes accredited living wage employer
Employee Benefits: London-based online pension provider PensionBee has been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. Read story
Two-thirds of employers do not provide eye care benefits for all staff
Employee Benefits: Just over two-thirds (68%) of employers do not provide eye care for all staff, according to research by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare. Read story
Southwest Airlines profit-sharing scheme pays out for 60,000 employees
Employee Benefits: 60,000 employees at Southwest Airlines will be awarded a cumulative 12.2% of $667 million (£513 million), due to the organisation’s profit-sharing scheme. Read story
Govt to keep AE earnings trigger at £10,000
Pensions Age: The government has confirmed that the auto-enrolment (AE) earnings trigger threshold will remain at £10,000 in 2020/21. Read story
Accurate annual income statements tops pension priorities
Pensions Age: The inclusion of an actual annual income at retirement within annual pensions statements is the most popular suggestion for innovation in the industry, new research has revealed. Read story