At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 30 October - 5 November
Payrolling of P11Ds officially launches
WSB: Payrolling of P11Ds is a step nearer as HMRC reveals its service. Owain Thomas examines the details and two important consultations.
Five ways to maximise digital employee engagement
WSB: Mybenefitsatwork have given their top five tips to maximise employee engagement in a digital world.
Judge allows Facebook director pay case
Employee Benefits: A US judge has ruled that a lawsuit regarding the compensation packages received by non-management directors at Facebook can proceed. Read story
Morrisons faces legal action over payroll data leak
Employee Benefits: Morrisons is facing legal action from a group of employees over a data breach that resulted in the leaking of salary, bank and national insurance details of 99,998 members of staff. Read story
Telefonica and Royal Dutch Shell awarded for employee share ownership
Employee Benefits: Amadeus IT Holdings, Royal Dutch Shell and Telefonica were among the winners at the 2015 Employee Share Ownership (Esop) Centre awards for best employee share ownership plans. Read story
Landmark deal on equal pay for 2,000 council staff in Scotland
CIPD: Two thousand employees at Fife Council have won “a historic equal pay agreement”, where the council will be forced to pay male and female staff equally, as well as give them equal pay backdated to 2006. Read story
Six million UK staff earn less than voluntary living wage, finds KPMG
CIPD: Nearly six million people across the UK currently earn less than the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended hourly rate of £7.85 (£9.15 in London), according to research from KPMG. Read story
Opinion: Big bonuses could be a force for good in society
CIPD: Duncan Brown makes the case for redemption for the variable reward that everybody loves to hate. Read story
Lloyds Banking Group and Unilever commit to living wage
Employee Benefits: Lloyds Banking Group and Unilever have been accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as living wage employers. Read story
Living wage increases to £8.25
Employee Benefits: The living wage rate has increased by 40p an hour from £7.85 to £8.25 as of today (2 November 2015). Read story
26 per cent take time off because of stress
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (26%) of respondents take time off work due to stress, according to research by job listings website CV Library. Read story
DC Insight 2015: Getting value for money
Reward Guide: Martin Willis, associate at Barnett Waddingham, discussed getting value for money in a complex world of regulations. Read story
Wolseley staff name new benefit scheme
WSB: Wolseley is introducing a salary sacrifice car scheme for its 6,000-strong workforce and used a unique angle to encourage employee engagement with it. Read story
Pioneer of UK employee share schemes dies
WSB: Brian Cookson who introduced one of the country's first employee share schemes has died aged 83. Read story
Employers' 61% cashback for offering GIP - CEBR
Corporate Adviser: Employers get £61 of every £100 they spend on group income protection back through avoiding Occupational Sick Pay (OSP) and other costs associated with sickness absence, according to a new report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). Read story
Ensign Pensions steps back from MNRPF over conflicts
Professional Pensions: Ensign Pensions is to stop providing services to the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MPRPF) over concerns conflicts of interest. Read story
DB to DC transfer enquiries double in just one month
Professional Pensions: Almost one in eight calls to Fidelity’s Retirement Service in October was from people enquiring about how to use their defined benefit (DB) pots following the April pension freedoms. Read story
Future of pension freedom looks bleak, warns think tank
Professional Pensions: Taxpayers, the state and retirees have an uncertain future because of the ‘freedom and choice’ policy introduced in April, according to research. Read story
Camden Council publishes pay gap data
Employee Benefits: Camden Council has published pay data for its workforce, including analysis of median earnings across pay brackets according to gender, ethnicity and disability. Read story
£4.7bn is withdrawn under pension freedoms
Employee Benefits: Approximately £4.7 billion has been withdrawn under the pension freedoms since they were introduced in April 2015, according to research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Read story
63 per cent name pay and benefits as a top job consideration
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents view pay and benefits as a top consideration when moving jobs, according to research by Randstad Sales, Marketing and Retail. Read story
TPR: How not to appeal AE enforcement fines
WSB: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published two examples of how employers tried and failed to challenge auto-enrolment (AE) fines. Read story
Six ways Google motivates and engages employees
WSB: Google has revealed that transparency of management and empowerment of staff are key considerations when engaging and motivating its employees. Read story
One in five workers lack a financial safety net
Cover Magazine: More than one in five (23%) Brits with savings say they wouldn't last longer than a couple of months if they were unable to work, yet less than one in 20 protects their income, according to research from Scottish Widows. Read story
National Audit Office: AE exceeds expectations but challenges remain
Professional Pensions: Automatic enrolment (AE) has been more successful than expected yet the industry cannot be complacent says the National Audit Office (NAO). Read story
Six arrested over alleged auto-enrolment fraud
Professional Pensions: The arrests were part of a joint operation involving Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire police, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Read story
Schemes urged to review fund manager contracts to avoid nasty surprises
Professional Pensions: Pension schemes must review their contracts with investment managers to identify issues that could put trustees’ fiduciary duties at risk, according to Squire Patton Boggs. Read story
Altmann's seven issues with Hymans' single-tier position - and their responses
Corporate Adviser: Pensions minister Ros Altmann has raised seven points of contention with Hymans Robertson’s report on losers in the transition to a single-tier state pension, following a public row over its coverage last week. Read story
Barclays and Cafcass awarded for working parents policies
Employee Benefits: Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Cafcass and Centrica were among the employers recognised for their approaches to flexible working and gender diversity at the sixth annual Workingmums.co.uk Top Employer Awards on 3 November. Read story
Financial constraints prevent 37 per cent from taking shared parental leave
Employee Benefits: More than a third (37%) of respondents believe financial constraints will prevent them from taking shared parental leave where employers do not offer men the same level of enhanced paternity leave, according to research by the Executive Coaching Consultancy. Read story
How to develop a benefits strategy post merger or acquisition
Employee Benefits: Employee benefits are unlikely to form part of the rationale behind such mergers and acquisition although these can be a source of savings, but they do present both opportunities and potential headaches for the new business. Read story
Informa involves HR and benefits team in acquisitions
Employee Benefits: Publishing and events business Informa has made a number of acquisitions in recent years, including US exhibition firms Hanley Wood and Virgo, and UK book publisher Ashgate. Read story
Workplace Wellness adopts parallel working after acquisition
Employee Benefits: In September 2015, RehabWorks bought Right Management Workplace Wellness from Right Management, a ManpowerGroup company. Read story
Dr Valeriya Vitkova: HR involvement is key in mergers and acquisition deals
Employee Benefits: HR-related issues can be the primary cause of failure for many merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. Read story
The People’s Pension to add £500 employer auto-enrol charge
Money Marketing: Employers using The People’s Pension for auto-enrolment will face a one-off charge to pay for enhanced support services, Money Marketing can reveal. Read story
National Audit Office: AE exceeds expectations but challenges remain
WSB: Automatic enrolment (AE) has been more successful than expected yet the industry cannot be complacent says the National Audit Office (NAO). Read story
Pay and benefits important for retaining teachers
WSB: Pay and the employee benefits package are two of the top three reasons most likely to cause teachers to leave the profession. Read story
Visualsoft offers staff free massages and flu vaccines
Employee Benefits: Visualsoft offered its 200 employees free therapeutic massages and flu vaccination vouchers as part of an initiative to highlight National Stress Awareness Day on 4 November. Read story
APCOA Parking traffic wardens to receive sick pay
Employee Benefits: The Hackney-based traffic warden firm did not previously offer a workplace sick pay policy, with members only entitled to statutory sick pay. Read story
Work-related stress dominating UK workforce
Reward Guide: A huge majority of the UK workforce suffer from stress, according to new research from Britain’s Healthiest Company (BHC), by Vitality, Mercer and The University of Cambridge. Read story
Women concerned about taking Shared Parental Leave
Reward Guide: The majority of women working in the City would be interested in taking Shared Parental Leave in order to balance work and family – but believe that their company culture would make this balance difficult, according to research from the Executive Coaching Consultancy. Read story
Annual cost of presenteeism is ‘twice that of absenteeism’, says Prof Cary Cooper
CIPD: Presenteeism is the biggest threat to UK workplace productivity, warned Professor Sir Cary Cooper in his opening keynote speech at this year’s CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition. Read story
Pension wise was not worth the money
Professional Pensions: Former pensions minister Steve Webb believes the money put into Pension wise would have been better spent giving retirees vouchers for financial advice. Read story
Philips to wind up UK scheme after £2.4bn buy-in
Professional Pensions: Royal Philips has completed a £2.4bn buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) that will enable it to wind up its scheme following earlier transactions to insure almost £1bn in benefits. Read story
Five bailed over suspected auto-enrolment fraud
Professional Pensions: Five people arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of fraud relating to auto-enrolment have been bailed pending further inquiries. Read story