At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 12-18 January 2018
The headlines you might have missed between 12-18 January.
Increase auto-enrolment to 12%, adviser trade body says
Money Marketing: The Government should increase mandatory auto-enrolment contributions to 12 per cent, advice trade body Pimfa argues. Read story
Nic Cicutti: Self-employed pension crisis can’t be ignored any longer
Money Marketing: The plan to extend auto-enrolment to 18 to 21-year-olds is a step in the right direction but so much more needs to be done. Read story
2018 retirees expect an average annual income of £19,900
Employee Benefits: Employees planning to retire in 2018 are expected to receive an average annual income of £19,900, according to research by Prudential. Read story
Dominic Chappell convicted of withholding information from TPR on BHS
Employee Benefits: Dominic Chappell, the majority shareholder of Retail Acquisitions, the organisation that bought BHS for £1, has been found guilty of failing to provide information to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) during the sale of the British retail organisation. Read story
Walmart to increase pay and expand family-friendly benefits in US
Employee Benefits: US-based retail organisation Walmart is to increase pay for employees paid on an hourly basis, as well as expand its family-friendly benefits offering to introduce a new adoption support benefit. Read story
Retirement income hits record high; employees say it's still not enough
Professional Pensions: Average retirement income has hit a record high of £19,900 but half of employees planning to retire this year believe it won't be enough, research by Prudential reveals. Read story
DWP: Women and men on equal footing for workplace pension participation
Money Marketing: The same proportion of men and women now contribute to a workplace pension, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. Read story
New Labour pension shadow pledges to fight for workers ‘robbed by greedy bosses’
Corporate Adviser: Jack Dromey, the MP for Erdington in Birmingham who has today been named as Labour’s new pensions shadow, has pledged to fight for workers ‘robbed of their pensions by greedy bosses’. Read story
Pay inequality among men driven by part-time work
HR Magazine: Men on lower wages are working fewer hours, while higher-paid men are working more. Read story
Why braving the debt taboo leads to a healthier workforce
Reward: Wellbeing extends beyond the physical. Mental stresses - such as money worries - can also have a huge impact on a person’s health. Read story
HR pay across the UK lagging up to 24% behind London
HR Grapevine: According to Croner Rewards’ annual HR Salary Survey, the average median salary for an HR professional in the UK is £47,919 compared to £77,149 in Central London. The overall London average was reported as £52,231. Read story
Majority of workers worry inflation will overtake pay growth
Personnel Today: Four out of five working people in the UK (80%) worry that inflation will outstrip their future pay, the RSA has warned. Read story
Two thirds of employers aren’t fully using group risk benefits
Health Insurance Daily: Only 32% of employers make regular use of all the extra support within group risk products, research suggests. Read story
UK employers should embrace digital healthcare to reduce absenteeism during winter
Cover: Online doctors and telemedicine services should be offered to staff to help ease the strain on GPs, says Jan Lawson of Punter Southall Health & Protection. Read story
42% believe winter has negative impact on mental wellbeing
Employee Benefits: More than two-fifths (42%) of respondents believe that winter has a negative effect on their mental wellbeing, according to research by Peldon Rose. Read story
Rugby Australia equalises pay under new collective bargaining agreement
Employee Benefits: Rugby Australia, the Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) and Australia’s four Super Rugby teams have introduced a collective bargaining agreement that will equalise pay between male and female athletes. Read story
Snow Software holds ski trip for 650 global staff
Employee Benefits: Technology organisation Snow Software has taken 650 of its global employees to Engelberg, Switzerland to celebrate achieving its annual sales target, as well as to support its employee engagement and teambuilding strategies. Read story
Carillion's pension schemes face PPF as construction giant goes bankrupt
Professional Pensions: Carillion has filed for compulsory liquidation after emergency talks with its lenders and the government failed to reach a deal that would save the company. Read story
Royal Mail 'on cusp of something special' with CDC plans
Professional Pensions: The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail Group are very close to securing an agreement on a collective defined contribution (CDC) plan for all members. Read story
DB white paper delayed to spring
Professional Pensions: The government's white paper on defined benefit (DB) security and sustainability has been delayed until spring, it has confirmed. Read story
Labour appoints Jack Dromey as shadow pensions minister
Professional Pensions: The Labour party has appointed Jack Dromey as shadow pensions minister, replacing Alex Cunningham who resigned last month. Read story
Employers are ignoring pension advice voucher scheme, say industry experts
People Management: Initiative allows employees to save on up to £500 of guidance through salary sacrifice, but take-up remains sluggish. Read story
Lendlease UK reports a 19.2% gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: Construction organisation Lendlease UK has reported a 19.2% mean gender pay gap, excluding non-executive directors, for fixed hourly pay as at 5 April 2017. Read story
ITV employees accept a 2.75% pay rise
Employee Benefits: Employees who work at broadcasting organisation ITV and who are members of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) have voted to accept a 2.75% pay increase, effective from 1 January 2018. Read story
Citi reports gender and minority pay gaps of 1%
Employee Benefits: Global banking organisation Citi has reported a 1% gender pay gap and a 1% minority pay gap for its employees in Germany, the UK and the US. Read story
Carillion collapse highlights fragility of scheme funding
Professional Pensions: Jonathan Stapleton says in light of the construction giant's collapse, the government must urgently tackle the issue of scheme funding. Read story
Top 10 considerations for employees who are retiring in 2018
Reward: The New Year is the perfect time to take stock of our finances. Employees who are facing retirement and have a defined contribution (DC) pension will have a number of decisions to make given the freedom and flexibilities. Read story
The presenteeism problem: Staff feel guilty taking sick days
HR Grapevine: UK workforces are creating a presenteeism epidemic, with millions of sick workers feeling pressured to work during time taken off to recuperate. Read story
Anger as Carillion bosses share £4m bonuses despite liquidation
People Management: Institute of Directors leads criticism of ‘highly inappropriate’ payouts, amid calls for tougher corporate governance regimes. Read story
GKN trustees warn Melrose over £1.1bn pension deficit
Professional Pensions: The trustees of GKN Group's schemes have warned Melrose Industries about the pension funding position, following a bid to take over the business. Read story
Master trust plans will make fraud levy a 'tax on auto-enrolment’
Professional Pensions: The Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF) levy will unfairly hit auto-enrolment (AE) savers under government proposals, The People's Pension has warned. Read story
29% go in to work when suffering from a mental health condition
Employee Benefits: More than a fifth (29%) of respondents go in to work when they are suffering from stress, anxiety or depression, according to research by Bupa. Read story
46% have access to flexible-working arrangements
Employee Benefits: Under half (46%) of respondents have access to flexible-working arrangements, according to research by Paymentsense. Read story
Nebraska introduces maternity leave donation programme
Employee Benefits: The State of Nebraska has introduced a new maternity leave donation programme to enable state employees to donate paid holiday days to colleagues taking family medical leave. Read story
UK workers least likely to take holiday
HR Magazine: Large workloads, guilt at leaving, and finding it difficult to switch off while away are all factors. Read story
Southampton uni's DB closure proposal poorly timed, experts say
Pensions Expert: The University of Southampton is consulting on the closure of its defined benefit scheme for non-academic staff, a move experts have said is not well timed given current scrutiny of senior pay packages at universities. Read story
Employees lose 30 productive working days a year through sickness and presenteeism
Employee Benefits: Employees lose an average of 30.4 working days a year due to sickness or underperforming at work because of ill health, according to research by VitalityHealth. Read story
Median gender pay gap fell to 9.1% in 2017
Employee Benefits: The median gender pay gap for full-time employees in the UK stood at 9.1% in 2017, according to analysis by The Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story
Byrne Bros to pay £250,000 in holiday pay relating to voluntary overtime
Employee Benefits: Byrne Bros is to pay more than 150 construction workers a total of approximately £250,000 in unpaid holiday pay. Read story
DB members urged to ignore 'scaremongering' as schemes '129% funded’
Professional Pensions: The UK's defined benefit (DB) pension schemes were 129% funded on a 'best estimate' basis on 31 December 2017, according to First Actuarial. Read story
Carillion on PPF's watch list 'since last autumn’
Professional Pensions: Carillion's 13 UK defined benefit (DB) schemes were added to the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) watch list by autumn last year, the Financial Times reports. Read story
Savings gap leaves women unprepared for retirement
HR Magazine: Only 23% of female workers feel financially prepared for retirement, in comparison to 36% of men. Read story
Delivering the ill health pension
Pensions Expert: Illness is an unconventional path to a pension transfer. But for the thousands of employees every year rendered unable to work through sickness, surviving financially through the mercy of an early pension might make all the difference. Read story
Employee benefits – the real savings revealed
Incentive and Motivation: Research reveals that an employee earning the UK average salary of £27,600 could see an equivalent of a 13% pay rise if they were to realise some of the employee benefits most relevant to them. Read story
7 in 10 Britons are unprepared for life after retirement
Reward: A culture of instant gratification and short-term thinking is prohibiting almost 40 million UK adults from planning for the future. Read story