At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 8-14 January 2021
The headlines you might have missed between 8–14 January 2021.
20% of staff forced to self-isolate receive no sick pay or wages from their employer
Employee Benefits: One-fifth (20%) of employees who are forced to self-isolate due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic have received no extra sick pay or wages from their employer, according to a poll conducted by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Read Story.
Volunteering boosts employees during lockdown, research claims
Workplace Insight: As companies struggle to motivate teams working remotely, new research by the charity Education and Employers and the CIPD, claims that employers who support their staff with volunteering in schools and colleges has found employees to be more motivated, more productive and have a better sense of well-being. Read Story.
Businesses must enhance employee benefits in post-pandemic workplace
Facilitate Magazine: Businesses need to enhance their employee benefits in 2021, according to a post-pandemic workplace report released by the Worktech Academy. Over three-quarters (78 per cent) of UK employees said they were more likely to be attracted to a company based on the quality of its remote working package, underlining the importance of the work-from-home experience. Read Story.
The 'big five' benefits trends for 2021
Cover magazine: The year 2020 will be confined to the history books as one of the most unpredictable and challenging times of the new millennium so far. As many of us look to the New Year with a renewed sense of hope for better days ahead, here are my top HR and benefit considerations for 2021. Read Story.
Personality type key to wellbeing strategy – Aviva
Healthcare and Protection: Understanding the personality types of employees can help improve the effectiveness of corporate wellbeing strategies as we transition towards a post-Covid environment according to new research from Aviva. Read Story.
Covid-19 testing to be targeted at staff unable to work from home
Personnel Today: Key workers and people unable to work from home are to receive more frequent Covid-19 testing – even if they are not displaying any symptoms – under an expanded community testing programme. Read Story.
Chancellor says permanent working from home not inevitable
Personnel Today: Working from home will not be the ‘new normal’ in a post-Covid world, chancellor Rishi Sunak has told a podcast for business newspaper City AM. Sunak said that although a number of major employers including Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Standard Chartered have announced a more permanent move to home working for the majority of staff, the fact that humans are “social animals” would drive a return to city centres. Read Story.
The path ahead for pensions in 2021
Pensions Age: Pensions play a vital role in shaping the financial security of the nation and our commitment to net zero by 2050. That’s why my focus in 2021 will be to deliver on the essential measures included in the Pension Schemes Bill to create a safer, better and greener pensions system in the United Kingdom. Read Story.
28% of staff say their mental health has declined due to Covid-19
Employee Benefits: Around one-quarter (28%) of employees say that their mental health has declined as a result of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, according to research by Wade Macdonald. Read Story.
Just 41% of workers confident in saving enough for retirement
Pensions Age: Around two-fifths (41 per cent) of non-retired UK adults are confident they will have saved enough for retirement, according to research from LV=. The LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor also showed a gender-imbalance, finding that two-thirds (66 per cent) of non-retired women were not confident they have saved enough for retirement, compared to only half (50 per cent) of non-retired men. Read Story.
45% of employees do not feel supported by their employer
Employee Benefits: Under half (45%) of staff believe that their employer is not doing enough to support them, according to research by Tiger Recruitment. The organisation’s Salary and Benefits Review 2021, which surveyed 2,126 employees in the UK, found that more than half (51%) of respondents believe their employer could have communicated their Covid-19 (Coronavirus) strategy better and 49.6% think that they could better communicate if there is a second wave, while 43% say more could be done to support their mental health and wellbeing. Read Story.
Mental health problems present global issues for employees
HRWire: According to the latest figures released by YouGov which surveyed more than 21,000 people in 16 countries and regions between 2 and 11 November 2020, mental health problems differ from country to country. Read Story.
Burnt out workers need to regain some balance
Workplace Insight: The pandemic and months of Zoom calls and remote work have begun to wear on us, so much so that in a recent survey from Blind – the anonymous workplace community app – 68 percent of respondents said that they are experiencing more feelings of being burnt out now, than they were before the pandemic began. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 29 percent of the respondents said their relationship with their direct boss was now worse than it had been before they began working remotely. Read Story.
Workers feel overworked as a result of the pandemic
Workplace Insight: Hardworking professionals are feeling the effects of longer working days and unpaid overtime, according to new research by law firm, Wright Hassall. The study claims that on average workers are performing nine or more hours of overtime in a given week, which totals more than one working day, compared to just three or more hours before the start of the pandemic. The research also claims that more than half (52 percent) are actually doing so without being paid for this. Read Story.
PUSH positive about nation’s workforce, following a year of prioritising employee mental health
Onrec: PUSH, a leading wellbeing and performance company, has hailed 2020 as the year employers began prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of employees. Despite a year that saw global lockdowns and a sudden exodus from the communal office to the home one, trends show that companies used the time to understand how to better support and reward employees, especially in a world that has quickly become ‘Zoomed-out’. Read Story.
Employee engagement increases during pandemic – poll
Healthcare and Protection: Employees are now more engaged in their organisation’s activities, goals and health and wellbeing benefits – perhaps as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic – research suggests. Read Story.
Latest global mental health statistics provide a warning to employers
Onrec: Figures released by YouGov in December 2020 show that the likelihood of suffering from a mental health condition, including anxiety and depression, differs according to the country of residence. This is something that must be considered by businesses with overseas employees. Read Story.
Govt to scrap flat annual charges on AE pension pots worth £100 or less
Pensions Age: The government has announced plans to abolish flat fees on auto-enrolment pension pots worth £100 or less following a consultation on charge caps. The announcement stated that this minimum would be kept under review with a view to an increase at some point in the future, while it also acknowledged that it would take the work of the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) small pots working group into account. Read Story.
Part-time, low-paid and ethnic minority workers facing poverty
Personnel Today: Part-time, low-paid and ethnic minority workers are among those struggling most to stay afloat during the current economic crisis, but almost 13% of people experienced in-work poverty even before the pandemic hit. Read Story.
Glassdoor announces Best Places to Work 2021 list
HR Magazine: Job insights website Glassdoor has released its Best Places to Work 2021 list with tech companies fending off competition when it comes to employee engagement, flexibility and progress. Read Story.
The majority of employers did not offer employees any additional perks over the festive period
CIPP: Prior to the Christmas break, the CIPP’s Policy and Research team wanted to ask if employers were offering their staff any additional benefits over the festive period, and so we posted a Quick Poll on News Online to assess this. The poll attracted an impressive level of responses, which highlighted the fact that the majority (48%) of employers did not provide anything additional for employees ahead of Christmas. Read Story.
New Analysis by KangoGift Shows Substantial Increase in Employee Recognition During 2020
Incentive & Motivation: KangoGift, the leading employee engagement and recognition solutions provider, released today an analysis of its proprietary data which demonstrated a substantial increase in recognition and rewards within organizations for accomplishments and achievements. Read Story.
Salary more important than ever to UK workers
Incentive & Motivation: As businesses attempt to stay afloat amid the fluctuating circumstances in the UK, research finds that UK employees are increasingly placing salary packages as the most important factor when it comes to career management. The research by HR and Payroll Specialist, SD Worx, examined what employees in Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom consider important in the context of their work. Read Story.
Furlough denied to 71% of working mothers while schools shut, new survey reveals
Evening Standard: More than 70 per cent of working mothers who have asked to be furloughed during school closures have seen their requests rejected, a new survey has revealed. The poll of 50,000 women across the UK highlights the “huge” financial problems and stress faced by working parents, according to the TUC trade union umbrella body which conducted the study. Read Story.
Blue Monday might be nonsense, but we’re pretending it’s true this year
HR News: Businesses are being urged to look after employees on ‘Blue Monday’, even though it’s a load of nonsense. The third Monday of January was named ‘Blue Monday’ by a PR travel company in 2004, which claimed it was the most depressing day of the year. Read Story.
Workplace pension contributions drop 11% from Covid-19
Money Marketing: Money saved into workplace defined contribution plans fell sharply as coronavirus hit the UK, new ONS data shows. Employee contributions fell by 11 per cent and employer contributions by 5 per cent between Q1 (January to March) and Q2 (April to June). Read Story.