At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 9 - 15 October
Danone sees 82% engagement with car salary sacrifice
Employee Benefits: Danone has reported a 82% engagement rate on emails communicating its new salary sacrifice car scheme, which was introduced in September. Read story
Friday Media Group introduces voluntary benefits
Employee Benefits: Friday Media Group has launched a voluntary benefits programme and motivational perks for its staff. Read story
Willis completes PMI Health Group acquisition
Employee Benefits: Willis Group Holdings, the global risk advisory, re-insurance broking and human capital and benefits organisation, has completed its acquisition of healthcare adviser and broker PMI Health Group. Read story
Dorchester Collection mortgage classes boost retention and engagement
WSB: Dorchester Collection has seen increased retention and improved benefits take-up following personal benefits reviews and special sessions on mortgages. Read story
Employers urged to double contribution rates
WSB: Concerns have been raised about low defined contribution (DC) saving rates as the number of DC savers exceeds active defined benefit (DB) membership for the first time. Read story
Admiral extends private healthcare benefit
WSB: Admiral is introducing a voluntary option to the company's private medical insurance (PMI) scheme following requests from staff to widen the benefit. Read story
Tailored benefit packages
HR Magazine: Nearly three-quarters of workers would like to be able to adapt their benefits to suit their needs. Read story
Majority of DC heads expecting pension Isa
Corporate Adviser: Almost two thirds of senior DC pension consultants expect the Chancellor to drop tax relief on pensions in favour of a pension Isa model, according to a survey at the Corporate Adviser summit today. Read story
Stress-related absences on the rise says CIPD
HR Magazine: Only 7% of public sector organisations reported a drop in stress-related absence in the last year. Read story
Fuller's Inns targets motivation and retention with pay and benefits increase
WSB: Brewery and pub company Fuller's is introducing a range of benefits, bonuses and pay increases to retain staff and promote career development within the organisation. Read story
Steel company missed pension payments before insolvency
WSB: Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK (SSI), the firm that owned Redcar steel works, missed months of pension contributions before entering administration, according to reports. Read story
TPR removes three trustees over suspected £14m scam
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has replaced three trustees who were deemed to be under the control of "shadow trustee" David Austin in a suspected £14m fraud. Read story
TPR whistleblowing reports up a third
Professional Pensions: There has been a massive surge in whistle blowing reports to The Pensions Regulator (TPR), prompting concerns that that many small companies are struggling to comply with auto-enrolment. Read story
ACA urges government to head off danger of rising opt-outs
Professional Pensions: The success of auto-enrolment (AE) could be undermined by rising opt-out rates when minimum contributions increase in 2017 and 2018, the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has warned. Read story
Facebook pays £1.2m towards UK pension contributions
Employee Benefits: Facebook UK spent £1.2 million on contributions to its defined contribution pension scheme last year, according to its annual report for the year ending 31 December 2014. Read story
How to get board level buy-in for workplace wellbeing initiatives
Employee Benefits: What information do HR and benefits teams need to relay to the board to get their buy in? Read story
Wellbeing at Reed Business Information is led from the top
Employee Benefits: Reed Business Information’s (RBI) Living Well programme is designed to support the physical and psychological wellbeing of its 2,000 employees. Read story
Surrey Council expands car salary sacrifice scheme to schools
WSB: Surrey County Council (SCC) is expanding its car salary sacrifice scheme to 194 schools around the region. Read story
How Bluefin Solutions keeps bonuses simple
WSB: Technology consultancy Bluefin Solutions has implemented a combination of individual and team-based elements to reward staff and ensure everyone benefits from the overall prosperity of the business. Read story
Paradigm Housing Group launch salary sacrifice scheme
WSB: Affordable housing company Paradigm Housing Group has launched their salary sacrifice scheme, TCH Salsa. Read story
Nest 'risk of ruin' ratio under fire
Corporate Adviser: The 5 per cent ‘risk of ruin’ that comes with Nest’s proposed mass market retirement income drawdown strategy has been called into question by delegates at the Corporate Adviser summit. Read story
Ending the model wars: How the Royal Mail Pension Plan revamped its governance to focus on what really matters
Professional Pensions: Jonathan Stapleton speaks to the RMPP about how it improved its governance processes, implemented a risk management and modelling system and overhauled communications with members. Read story
DB schemes' 'slow' response time delaying pension transfers
Professional Pensions: Members who request information on their assets in defined benefit (DB) schemes are being forced to wait up to three months for the facts, Portal Financial has said. Read story
Strathclyde makes first investment in UK offshore wind
Professional Pensions: Strathclyde Pension Fund has made its biggest ever investment in UK green infrastructure by putting £50m into offshore wind farms via the government-backed Green Investment Bank (GIB). Read story
DB deficits up 11% last month
Professional Pensions: The latest figures from Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index reveal total defined benefit scheme deficits have risen 11% in one month. Read story
Baker Tilly acquires Employer Services
Employee Benefits: Baker Tilly has acquired payroll, human resources solutions and business services firm Employer Services (ESL). Read story
55% do not receive a reward at Christmas
Employee Benefits: More than half (55%) of respondents do not receive a reward or gift from their employer at Christmas, according to research by Red Letter Days for Business. Read story
How is employment tax simplification progressing?
Employee Benefits: Many reward and benefits professionals will have heard in the Summer Budget 2015 that the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will be established on a permanent basis. Read story
Newsquest boardroom pay rises above £1m for first time since 2001 as profits fall
Press Gazette: Pay for Newsquest directors rose above £1m for the first time since 2001 last year despite falling profits at the regional press giant. Read story
Advisers back Govt plans to scale back pension guidance
Money Marketing: Advisers have backed Government plans to “rationalise” pensions guidance after the Treasury raised concerns about overlapping services. Read story
One in four employers to communicate Fit for Work
Cover Magazine: Over a quarter of employers (27%) plan to signpost absent employees towards Fit for Work (FfW) in the absence of GP referrals. Read story
Health secretary confirms agency staff pay caps
Personnel Today: A cap on charges for agency staff in the NHS will be introduced over the next three years, health secretary Jeremy Hunt has confirmed. Read story
Starting salaries predicted to grow by 3%
HR Magazine: Starting salaries are predicted to grow over the next 12 months as businesses struggle to recruit skilled staff. Read story
Royal Mail staff given final 1% of shares
WSB: Royal Mail staff have received the final 1% of shares in the now fully privatised company. Read story
NAPF 2015 – Changes to tax relief could bring pension implosion
Professional Pensions: Proposed government changes to pensions tax relief threaten to turn pension revolution to “pension implosion” according to outgoing NAPF chairman Ruston Smith. Read story
68% favour initial tax relief on pensions
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (68%) of respondents are in favour of retaining some level of initial tax relief for pension contributions, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits. Read story
29% of women paid less than the living wage
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (29%) of jobs for female employees in the UK paid less than the living wage in 2014, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story
How can the workplace motivate staff?
Employee Benefits: Designing workspaces used to be simple, with the fire and workplace regulations dictating just how many employees an employer could squeeze in. But with employers beginning to see a link between environment and the success of the organisation, a lot more thought is going into workplace design. Read story
K&L Gates redesigns workplace to motivate staff
Employee Benefits: Before moving into its offices in London’s One New Change in 2011, legal firm K&L Gates’ 250 London employees were based in an 11-storey building on Cannon Street, with each floor housing a different department. Read story
Whitbread: Learn from AE to save freedom and choice
Pensions Expert: The pensions industry must focus on simplification and consumer focus to ensure the success of freedom and choice, according to the chief executive of Costa Coffee owner Whitbread. Read story
VWV boosts membership 13% through DC and savings platform
Pensions Expert: Law firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards increased both staff contributions and active membership of its pension fund after a scheme overhaul allowed members to view their Isas and investments alongside their pensions. Read story
Just one in ten exploring retirement options turning to Pension wise
Professional Pensions: Just one in ten people exploring retirement options has considered turning to Pension wise, according to research from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). Read story
Northumbrian Water staff to strike over pension cuts
Professional Pensions: Workers at Northumbrian Water are set to strike from 20 October over the introduction of a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. Read story
Changes to tax relief could bring pension implosion
Professional Pensions: Proposed government changes to pensions tax relief threaten to turn pension revolution to “pension implosion” according to outgoing NAPF chairman Ruston Smith. Read story
Impact of the national living wage on business
HR Magazine: The government has announced how its national living wage will be enforced, but will this be good or bad for business? Read story
LinkedIn US to introduce unlimited holiday
Employee Benefits: The social media organisation, which employs 8,700 full-time staff worldwide including some 6,000 in the US, is changing its holiday policy in line with one of its key values: ‘Act like an owner’. Read story
Partnerships in Care sees 10% take up of car salary sacrifice
Employee Benefits: Healthcare organisation Partnerships in Care has seen a 10% take-up rate among staff who have registered an interest in its car salary sacrifice scheme, which launched in June 2015. Read story
National Living Wage to cost employers extra £11m by 2020, finds PwC
CIPD: Employers have said they will have to shell out an extra £1.6m in wages next year to cover the introduction of the mandatory National Living Wage (NLW), according to a survey from PwC. Read story
Altmann dumps Webb's CDC and pot-follows-member policies
Corporate Adviser: The government has kicked pot-follows-member, defined ambition and collective DC into the long grass, saying it has other priorities to focus on that are more pressing. Read story
Regulator mulls clampdown on master trusts amid sustainability fears
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator is reviewing master trust regulation as a matter of urgency amid increasing concerns around the sustainability of some of the schemes entering the market. Read story
Align pensions and recruitment to manage ageing workforce
Professional Pensions: Employers need to integrate pensions policy with recruitment and flexible working policies if they are to manage ageing workforce effectively. Read story
UK must shift to ‘ISA-centric’ savings model, Michael Johnson urges
Retirement Planner: A range of new ISA products could ‘revive’ Britain’s non-existent savings culture, Centre for Policy Studies fellow Michael Johnson has said. Read story
Pension transfers held up by ‘slow’ DB schemes
Retirement Planner: Many pension schemes are unable, or unwilling, to support the new pension flexibilities, which is causing problems with pension transfers. Read story
NAPF rebrands as Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
The rebrand, which is effective from today, is in recognition of a market where pensions only make up a portion of people's retirement income. Read story