At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week

The headlines you might have missed between 31 July - 6 August 2015

National Trust DB scheme closes to future accrual after deficit jump
Pensions Expert: Conservation charity the National Trust is closing its defined benefit scheme to future accrual following a large increase in the deficit, but the union is considering further action to reopen negotiations. Read story

High-earner tax relief threat poses new challenge for employers
Pensions Expert: Scrapping tax breaks for high earners could present a communication challenge for trustees, as the government weighs up ideas for potentially radical reforms of the current pension tax relief system. Read story

Government consults on pension freedom charges
Employee Benefits: The government has launched a consultation on early exit charges surrounding the pension freedoms that came into effect in April. Read story

PepsiCo and Starbucks boost productivity via wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Almost all (95%) of staff at Chiswick Park, which includes organisations such as Discovery, PepsiCo, Pernod Richard and Starbucks, feel that their productivity has been boosted by taking part in summer wellbeing events. Read story

26% of older workers do not want education on retirement issues
Employee Benefits: Around a quarter (26%) of respondents between the ages of 56-65 do not want any financial education on retirement and pensions issues, according to research by financial solutions organisation Partnership. Read story

Are the pension freedom reforms beginning to creak?
Money Marketing: The Government faces mounting pressure to review the funding regime for Pension Wise and tackle fraud as the freedom reforms begin to creak. Read story

Steve Bee: Give savers the pension system they deserve
Money Marketing: People often say their house is their pension. It is not. It is their house. More recently, some have been suggesting Isas and pensions are more or less the same thing. They are not. Isas are Isas and pensions are pensions. Read story

New technology hits holidays hard as 1.7 million miss out on leave
WSB: Almost 1.7 million people are missing out on paid holiday which they are entitled to while mobile technology is interfering in rest time. Read story

Bosses targeted for underpaying NMW by £150,000
WSB: A further 75 employers have been named and shamed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) for underpaying their workers more than £153,000. Read story

New National Minimum Wage campaign
CIPP: HMRC and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), supported by the National Hairdressers’ Federation and the Hair and Beauty Industry Authority, will work with hair and beauty businesses to help them understand pay obligations to staff. Read story

Consultation on the National Minimum Wage rates
CIPP: The Government is making major changes to the National Minimum Wage and has asked the LPC to report to it twice in relation to the new arrangements. Read story

Development should be embedded into SMEs says CIPD
HR Magazine: SMEs should focus on ensuring development is embedded within their organisations, according to a report from the CIPD and JP Morgan. Read story

Businesses becoming more people-focused
HR Magazine: Businesses are becoming more people-focused, according to research from the Property Directors Forum. Read story

Govt and FCA launch major review of financial advice market
Professional Pensions: A major review into consumer access to the financial advice market has been launched by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Read story

Over a third of large DB schemes to state transfer value for pension freedoms
Professional Pensions: Over a third of large defined benefit (DB) pension schemes will quote members’ transfer values on their retirement statements in light of the pension freedoms, according to research. Read story

Altmann says pensions commission and single regulator are not priorities
Professional Pensions: The government should focus on ensuring the pension reforms are successful before rolling out a single regulator and independent commission, according to the pensions minister. Read story

Is the PPF ready to hedge longevity risk?
Professional Pensions: The Pension Protection Fund is £3.6bn in surplus so is there potential for the lifeboat fund to begin insuring its liabilities? Natasha Browne investigates. Read story

BA ousts chairman of trustee board
Professional Pensions: British Airways has parted ways with the chairman of its pension schemes following disagreement over investment strategy. Read story

CEO who gave staff £45,000 minimum wage forced to rent out his house
HR Grapevine: The American CEO who raised every one of his 120 employees wage to a minimum £45,000 ($70,000) has run into hard times, after cutting his own salary to help fund the pay boost. Read story

BT staff get share scheme bonus bonanza
HR Grapevine: BT staff are set to profit from an employee share scheme, with some workers receiving more than £50,000 each. Read story

MEC unveils family-friendly benefits
WSB: MEC is launching benefits for staff with children and caring responsibilities as part of its My Family scheme. Read story

Apetito commits to living wage
Employee Benefits: Food producer for the health and social care sector, Apetito UK, has committed to ensuring that all of its 1,100 employees receive the living wage or higher from early 2016. Read story

AXA PPP completes Simplyhealth PMI acquisition
Cover Magazine: AXA PPP healthcare has completed its acquisition of Simplyhealth’s private medical insurance (PMI) business. Read story

Only 40% of employees know exact salary
HR Magazine: Only four in 10 (40%) employees know their exact salary, according to research from credit rating company Noddle. Read story

Intel offers staff $4,000 finder's fee for female, minority and veterans referrals to improve diversity
HR Grapevine: Intel offers its employees a $4,000 finder’s fee for finding candidates who aren’t white or male in a bid to boost the company’s diversity. Read story

LinkedIn redesigns Sydney office to motivate staff
Employee Benefits: Social networking website LinkedIn has revealed a newly redesigned office at one of its locations in Sydney, Australia, to motivate staff. Read story

34% too tired from work to enjoy life outside of it
Employee Benefits: Over a third (34%) of respondents are too tired to enjoy life outside of work as a result of their job, according to research by communications consultancy Lansons. Read story

32% of London workers are motivated by non-monetary benefits
Employee Benefits: Around a third (32%) of workers in London are most motivated by non-monetary benefits, selecting them as a key differential when looking for work, according to research by NGA Human Resources. Read story

Performance-based reward can lead to employee burnout
WSB: Employers should beware that rewarding performance outcomes in the workplace can lead to problems of excessive perfectionism in staff and greater employee burnout. Read story

DB schemes are reducing exposure to risk
Pay and Benefits: The Global Pensions Risk Survey 2015 from Aon Hewitt found that 65 per cent of schemes are aiming for a low-risk approach and 94 per cent have established long-term goals. Read story

Sharp rise in unpaid contributions
Pay and Benefits: The Pensions Regulator delivered 50 unpaid contribution notices between April and June 2015. Previously there had been only 21 since the roll out of AE. Read story

Sickness presenteeism negatively impacting businesses
HR Magazine: Almost half (48%) of UK workers went to work over the last year despite being ill, according to research from reward platform One4all Rewards. Read story

Supreme Court rejects ITV application for appeal over Box Clever
Professional Pensions: The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by ITV over whether The Pensions Regulator (TPR) could expand on its allegations against the media giant in the Box Clever case. Read story

Tube workers strike over staff wellbeing
WSB:Concerns over tube workers’ health and wellbeing are at the forefront of the dispute that will see a 24-hour strike close the London Underground from this evening. Read story

TPR urges 1.8m small employers to check auto-enrolment duties
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regular (TPR) has warned small and micro-employers to ensure they know their staging date for auto-enrolment (AE). Read story

Employer-funded PMI falls with IPT increase looming
WSB: Employers provided 14,000 fewer staff with private medical insurance (PMI) cover in 2014 - a trend which is expected to accelerate with the insurance premium tax rise. Read story

TUC highlights wellbeing risks to night workers
WSB: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is highlighting the damaging health effects of working at night as it reveals that more than three million Britons now regularly work night shifts. Read story

82% have a staff travel policy
Employee Benefits: Staff expenses is the most common component of a staff travel policy, according to 88% of respondents to the Employee Benefits/Alphabet Fleet research 2015. Read story

Netflix introduces unlimited maternity and paternity leave
Employee Benefits: Netflix has implemented unlimited maternity and paternity leave for its 2,019 members of staff during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption. Read story

Employer-paid PMI policies decline by 14,000
Employee Benefits: There were 3.94 million private medical insurance (PMI) policies at the start of 2015, compared to 3.97 million a year earlier, according to a study by market intelligence firm LaingBuisson. Read story

Three-quarters of IFAs to offer auto-enrolment service to micros
Corporate Adviser: More than three quarters of IFAs plan to provide an auto-enrolment service to micro-employers and half intend to act on behalf of their clients, according to new research from the Pensions Regulator. Read story

Annuity rates hit six-month high
Corporate Adviser: Average annuity rates have risen to a six-month high, with average incomes now 10 per cent higher than they were in March. Read story

Employee engagement is the key to effective communication
Employee Benefit News: Effective communication is essential to ensure employees are well-prepared prior to selecting their benefits. Read story

Tackling low pay mustn't limit opportunities for our future workforce
HR Magazine: Under-25s will not receive the national living wage, so could employers hire more young workers to keep payroll costs down? We cannot let apprenticeships be damned with the faint praise of being the ‘cheaper’ option, as opposed to a worthwhile way of developing skills. Read story

Traditional law firm embraces agile working philosophy
CIPD: Magic Circle law firm, Clifford Chance, has revealed it will be adopting an ‘agile working’ philosophy over the coming months. Read story

University of Lincoln rewards staff with retail credit
Employee Benefits: The University of Lincoln has rewarded its more than 2,000 employees through an online recognition scheme. Read story

Court rules travel expenses are subject to tax
Employee Benefits: Reed Employment has lost an appeal against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), in which it contested up to £158 million in tax payments relating to travel expenses for the temporary workers it employed. Read story

US employers must reveal CEO and median staff pay gap
Employee Benefits: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted a final rule that will require public employers in the US to disclose the difference in pay between the chief executive officer and the median compensation received by other employees. Read story

'Benefits admin is far more complex than it needs to be’
WSB: The majority of employers believe continuing the Office of Tax Simplification's (OTS) work on workplace benefits is the most important challenge for the new government. Read story

Thousands risk HMRC pension freedoms fines
Money Marketing: Thousands of consumers are at risk of racking up HMRC fines as figures show few savers are aware of new reporting requirements. Read story

Bank of England signals rate rise unlikely before 2016
Professional Pensions: Schemes have been warned against expecting a rate rise this year after just one of the Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members voted for an increase this month. Read story

Cap on public sector payoffs could limit early LGPS pensions
Professional Pensions: A proposed cap on redundancy payoffs in the public sector could limit early pension payments from the local government pension scheme (LGPS). Read story