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26 Jan 2018
by Rebecca Patton

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 19-25 January 2018

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 19-25 January

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Fears grow over PI coverage for DB transfers
Money Marketing: How professional indemnity insurers cover defined benefit transfers is coming under pressure as fears mount that high-risk business could be left vulnerable. Read story

56% of UK employees look for a competitive salary from their employer
Employee Benefits: More than half (56%) of respondents based in the UK look for a competitive salary from their employer, compared to 46% of US respondents, according to research by Jobbio. Read story

31% of parents who work flexibly have no control over where they work
Employee Benefits: Under a third (31%) of respondents who are parents and who work flexibly have no control or restricted control over where they work, according to research by Working Families and Bright Horizons. Read story

UK-based Ryanair pilots accept pay increase of up to 20%
Employee Benefits: Ryanair pilots who are members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) have voted to accept a pay increase of up to 20%. Read story

BT blocked from indexation swap
Professional Pensions: BT has been barred from swapping the indexation of the third section of the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS). Read story

Carillion pension schemes 'had £2.6bn buyout deficit' on collapse
Professional Pensions: Carillion's 13 UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes had a combined £2.6bn buyout deficit upon its collapse on 15 January, according to an analysis for Sky News. Read story

Boosting engagement among part-time staff at Go Outdoors
HR Magazine: Go Outdoors deployed a platform to motivate short-term and part-time staff and improve their development – while lifting sales. Read story

Parents working far over contracted hours
HR Magazine: The modern workplace is pushing parents to breaking point and creating a ‘parenthood penalty’. Read story

3 things you need to know about employer-supported childcare voucher schemes
Incentive and Motivation: When it comes to employer supported Childcare Voucher Schemes employees need to use them or lose them, before it’s too late. Read story

Prime Minister pledges new pension rules against boardroom excesses
Corporate Adviser: The Prime Minister has pledge to stop bosses taking excessive remuneration from companies with at-risk pension schemes by introducing tougher new rules this spring. Read story

Unilever forks out £600m to tackle £1.2bn DB deficit
Pensions Expert: Unilever has contributed £600m to its scheme, after an actuarial valuation revealed a £1.2bn deficit. Meanwhile, the trustees have taken steps to ensure they can act quickly should there be a significant corporate event. Read story

Personal Group revamps benefits for its 250 UK staff
Employee Benefits: Employee benefits provider Personal Group has revamped its benefits package for its 250 UK-based employees. Read story

High Court rules BT cannot change index used to calculate future pension increases
Employee Benefits: The High Court has ruled that telecommunications organisation BT cannot change the index it uses to calculate pension increases for its defined benefit (DB) scheme. Read story

John Lewis Partnership reports a 13.9% mean gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: John Lewis Partnership has reported a 13.9% mean gender pay gap for fixed hourly pay based on data from April 2017. Read story

Government must address plight of DB sponsors following Carillion collapse
Professional Pensions: Jonathan Stapleton says government must take action to help lift the DB burden facing many UK businesses, rather than simply just blaming 'greedy' bosses and shareholders for pensions loss. Read story

Barclays under fire for planned shift of DB responsibility
Professional Pensions:  Barclays Bank has defended plans to move its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to its investment banking arm once it splits in April. Read story

Making a Reward Strategy for a Global Business
Incentive and Motivation: Organizational growth – and the growth and development of incentive, recognition, human resource, sales and marketing professionals – more often than not now involves an international component. Read story

Almost one quarter of staff receive no benefits
HR Grapevine: The report by Clutch found that the most commonly offered benefits include paid holiday, health insurance and pension funding, yet 23% of US respondents claimed to receive no benefits from their employer at all. Read story

Esther McVey: Government to review priority of pensions in insolvency
Professional Pensions: The government has indicated it may change the order in which debts are recovered during an insolvency, putting pension schemes higher up the hierarchy. Read story

University staff vote for strike action over USS closure
Professional Pensions: Universities are facing significant disruption after members of the University and College Union (UCU) voted for strike action over the planned closure of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Read story

British employees want pay rise of £7,200 to lead a comfortable life
Employee Benefits: Employees in Britain believe they need a pay rise of £7,200 in order to lead a comfortable life, according to research by Indeed. Read story

80% participate in sharesave schemes because they are a convenient way to save
Employee Benefits: Four-fifths (80%) of respondents who participate sharesave employee share schemes do so because they believe they are a convenient way to save, according to research by Proshare. Read story

Bournemouth University rolls out staff wellbeing and sustainability programme
Employee Benefits: Bournemouth University is rolling out a sustainability and employee wellbeing programme to its 2,000 employees. Read story

Pension tax relief forecast to reach £41bn
Money Marketing: The cost of pensions tax relief for employers is £950m higher than originally estimated for the 2016/17 financial year according to figures published by HM Revenue and Customs. Read story

Govt should consider ‘opt-down’ option for auto-enrolment
Money Marketing: The Government should consider allowing people to lower their contribution rates to 8 per cent under auto-enrolment to prevent a potential spike in opt-out rates over the next few years, AJ Bell says. Read story

SMEs are top target for EBC sector – research
Corporate Adviser: Small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) are the top target for employee benefit consultant (EBC) growth, with 60 per cent of consultants believing better market penetration in smaller firms is the industry’s top priority, new research shows. Read story

Pension withdrawals hit £6.5bn in 2017
Money Marketing: Savers withdrew £6.5bn using the pension freedoms in 2017 according to data from HM Revenue and Customs. Read story

Pensions minister: How I'll work with industry to support consumers
Professional Pensions: Guy Opperman says we need to get people to fall in love with pensions again and give them the tools to achieve a more secure retirement. Read story

Analytics on employee benefits still lacking
HR Magazine: Businesses advised to analyse data at their disposal, such as claims, absences or health risk assessment. Read story

Employee share plans must change to remain relevant to workers
Incentive and Motivation: Employee share plans must change to remain relevant to workers, according to recent research, with experts suggesting that companies need to make a fundamental review of save as you earn (SAYE) and share incentive plans (SIP) to ensure younger generations don’t miss out. Read story

50% consider cost perception as the biggest barrier to workplace wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Half (50%) of respondents consider the perception of cost as the biggest barrier to workplace wellbeing, according to research by Warrington-based business park Birchwood Park. Read story

62% believe it is important to design benefits for specific workforce needs
Employee Benefits: Under two-thirds (62%) of employer respondents believe that it is important to design benefits packages that account for the specific needs of the workforce or drive behavioural change, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story

Birmingham City Council to pay 2022 Commonwealth Wealth contractors living wage
Employee Benefits: Birmingham City Council has confirmed that any contractors hired to deliver works or services for the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be paid the voluntary living wage rate. Read story

Pension scammers forced to pay back £13.7m to 245 victims
Professional Pensions: Four scammers have been told to pay back £13.7m after luring 245 pension savers to transfer funds to 11 bogus schemes. Read story

Disney giving 125,000 employees $1,000 cash bonuses
Incentive and Motivation: Disney announced Tuesday it will pay over 125,000 employees a one-time cash bonus of $1,000, as well as make a new $50 million investment into education program for employees. Read story

First pay awards of 2018 show promise at 2.5%
Personnel Today: Median pay awards have reached 2.5% for the first time in four years, according to data from XpertHR. Read story

Employers encouraged to do more to support older workers
Personnel Today: With a record number of people aged 50 or older in employment, the Government and employers should ensure that working practices cater for the needs of older people, according to an age awareness charity. Read story

Just 2% of gig workers have access to insurance via their workplace
Cover: Just 2% of gig economy workers have access to life Insurance, income protection or life insurance via their gig company, according to new research by Zurich UK. Read story

Gender pay reporting regime ‘should be extended to cover more employers’
People Management: The gender pay reporting regime should be extended to include far more demographic information about employees, and should also cover smaller businesses, a report from the influential Fawcett Society has recommended. Read story 

Bolton-based GNB Industrial Power employees to receive 5% pay increase
Employee Benefits: Bolton-based employees at engineering organisation GNB Industrial Power, who are members of the trade union Unite, are to receive an overall 5% pay rise as well as increases to their basic salary. Read story

TPR ramped up Carillion talks last July; AE opt-out rates will be watched 'like a hawk’
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has confirmed it started discussing the future viability of construction giant Carillion with its defined benefit (DB) trustees last July, just after the first profit warning. Read story

BT pension CEO to step down after five years
Professional Pensions: Eileen Haughey will be stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) once its 2017 actuarial valuation has been finalized. Read story

Ros Altmann: HMRC must rethink SSAS measures
Money Marketing: This April, SSASs may be hit by new HM Revenue & Customs rules that could undermine thousands of bona fide pension schemes, unless the Treasury can be persuaded to recognise the dangers of its plans. Read story

Boosting your bottom line through employee engagement
HR Magazine: By targeting your lowest-paid staff rather than those at the top you could begin to see real progress. Read story

31% leaving roles due to lack of recognition and reward
Incentive and Motivation: A recent survey conducted by Achievers, an industry-leading provider of employee recognition and engagement solutions, revealed that more than 1,700 respondents indicated that recognition and rewards impact their decision to stay with their current employer or look for new employment. Read story

Rocketing HR wages outstrip average salary rises
HR Grapevine: HR wages have shot up at an average of 2.6% since the end of 2016 – higher than the national average of 2.3%. Read story