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01 May 2015
by Debi O'Donovan

At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week

Your quick-read round up of the reward and benefits stories appearing in the press from 23-30 April.

The headines you might have missed.

John Lewis chairman's pay rises to £1.53m despite bonus slump
The Guardian: Charlie Mayfield’s basic wage has climbed to 66 times the average pay received by non-managers within the partnership Read story

Do CEOs really have the power to raise wages?
HBR: The conventional wisdom here is shifting quickly, with implications for how companies should compensate their workers Read story

Tindle ups bonus for 700 staff ending seven years of woe for local papers
The Guardian: Publisher of 200 local titles makes revision to bonus scheme as a result of boost in profits last year Read story

The average worker might not be getting ripped off after all
Fortune: The common tale that worker productivity and wages are going in opposite directions may be wrong Read story

Why wellness at work may not be healthy
Management Today: Employees are increasingly being encouraged by their bosses to make healthier choices. Read story

Employee wellbeing is as important to the City as the health of its businesses
City AM: More than 400,000 workers pour into the Square Mile every day and these workers have very different health needs to those of our residents. Read story

London commuting is more stressful than moving house, going to the dentist or dealing with money matters
City AM: Across Europe, nearly two-thirds of commuters were late at least once every month because of problems with public transport. Read story

Top one per cent of earners twice as rich as ten years ago
The Independent: The top 1 per cent are now 100 per cent better off than a decade ago, their collective wealth having increased from £250bn in 2005 Read story

Google took away this perk. Employees freaked out
CNN Money: The company is consistently rated the best place to work. Part of the reason? A wide array of perks, big and small. Read story

New centre for working-age health and wellbeing looks to the future
Personnel Today: A national centre for research on working-age health and wellbeing was launched last year. Read story

The 50+ worker: talented, vital, but where's the demand?
Forbes: Two studies characterize the value and strengths of older workers in the American economy — and decry their underuse in the American workplace. Read story

Do tall people really deserve to earn more?
The Guardian: A new study says tall people are more prosperous because on average they are cleverer and have better social skills. Read story

Pope Francis calls gender pay gap a ‘scandal'
CNN: Pope Francis has come out in favor of equal pay for men and women, saying that the current gender gap is "pure scandal". Read story

CEOs get paid too much, according to pretty much everyone in the world
HR Business Review: Until now, it’s been relatively unclear how much people think CEOs should really make compared to other workers on a global scale. Read story

Survey reveals support for the living wage
HR Review: In order to understand the nation’s views on the minimum wage and the General Election, CV-Library, a leading UK job board, have conducted an independent survey. Read story

Saving for retirement is no game — or is it?
Workforce: With gamification techniques still in its early stages, organizations seek new ways to engage workers in saving for the future. Read story

6 changes in work-based health insurance benefits
Yahoo (US): If you're among the 149 million Americans who get health insurance at work, now may be the time to select your health insurance coverage options for 2015. Read story

Apple, Facebook, Google, Salesforce: inside tech's biggest, coolest new buildings
Forbes: Office building is back—and on the West Coast, tech companies are playing a sizable role. Read story

Is working remotely sapping your creativity?
HBR: Proponents of virtual work certainly make a great pitch: no traffic, no hassles, no shoes. And the trend is certainly taking hold. Read story

Why millennials and the Depression-era generation are more similar than you think
Fortune: Both generations grew up amid a major financial crisis, making them less willing to spend and more likely to save. Read story

New voluntary products address cash-flow issues
Employee Benefit Adviser: Millennials are changing the workforce, and employers need to change, too, if they want to attract new, young employees. Read story

Why Employee Benefits Will Become Irrelevant
WSJ: Projecting current trends forward for another several decades, it’s beginning to look like the workers of the future may have no more employee benefits. Read story

KPMG and Santander top employers for women
Employee Benefits: KPMG, Santander and Marks and Spencer are among the employers that have been named in The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women 2015. Read story

Royal Mail, Mars and BT pledge to end mental health discrimination
Employee Benefits: Royal Mail, Zurich, Mars and BT are among 14 employers that have pledged to improve awareness of mental health issues in the workplace, according to a report by Business in the Community (BITC). Read story

32% will not have sufficient pension pot by age 65
Employee Benefits: Almost a third (32%) of respondents believe they will not have a sufficient pension pot to fund their retirement by the age of 65, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance. Read story

Morrisons introduces new bonus scheme for staff
HR Grapevine: Morrisons has announced a new staff bonus scheme based on customer satisfaction levels. Read story

Council fund pins impact allocation to health and employment projects
Pensions Expert: Waltham Forest Pension Fund has begun drawing down its impact investment mandate into a range of projects, as pension schemes increasingly measure the social and environmental effects of their decisions. Read story

Burberry and GlaxoSmithKline become Living Wage employers
HR Grapevine: They join the collection of 1,400 businesses already accredited to the campaign, including HSBC and J.P.Morgan. Read story

People in the South West spend most time in retirement
Employee Benefits: People in the South West of England are likely to spend the most amount of time in retirement (18.7 years), compared to counterparts in other areas of the UK, according to research by Club Vita, part of Hymans Robertson. Read story

Employees in the North-East most at risk of health problems
HR magazine: Employees in the north-east of England are most at risk of health problems, with 31% of the workforce at risk of developing conditions, according to analysis by insurer VitalityHealth. Read story

Williams F1 staff receive £2m bonus despite £42.5m company losses
HR Grapevine: Despite reporting a loss of £42.5million for 2014, Formula One team Williams have rewarded their staff with a collective bonus of £2million for finishing third in Formula One’s constructors’ championship, with the 660 staff receiving £3,000 each for finishing higher than Ferrari. Read story

Centrica face shareholder protest votes against CEO's £3.7m pay package
HR Grapevine: One in three Centrica investors have failed to back a pay deal for new CEO Iain Conn in a year when over 300,000 customers have defected from British Gas. Read story

72% of staff interested in eldercare perks
Employee Benefits: Almost three-quarters (72%) of people are interested in receiving eldercare as an employee benefit, according to research by Allianz Global Assistance. Read story

Towers Watson acquires Saville Consulting
Employee Benefits: Towers Watson has acquired international psychometric assessment business Saville Consulting for £42 million. Read story

Hayman Group improves DB pensions administration
Employee Benefits: Hayman Group has improved its defined benefit pension (DB) scheme administration to help the firm adapt to funding changes. Read story

New voluntary products address cash-flow issues
Employee Benefits News: Millennials are changing the workforce, and employers need to change, too, if they want to attract new, young employees. Read story

How DB plans with AVCs are affected by the reforms
Pensions Expert: The new pension flexibility extends to additional voluntary contribution schemes just as with all pure defined contribution schemes. Read story

Punter Southall uses wearable tech to monitor employee health and wellbeing
HR magazine: Wellness is coming to your business whether you like it or not. This was the stark message from PSHPC managing director John Dean last night. Read story

News UK and Sony awarded for pensions quality
Employee Benefits: Jobs and Business Glasgow, News UK and Sony UK are among the organisations that have been awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM) in recognition of the quality of their defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. Read story

Olympic Airlines ruling fails to resolve how much PPF can ‘claw back’ from members
Professional Pensions: The Supreme Court has ruled that Olympic Airlines did not have an establishment in the UK when its pension scheme trustees began insolvency proceedings to enable it for entry into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). Read story

Renold pension scheme enters medically underwritten buy-in
Professional Pensions: Renold’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme has entered a buy-in to fully de-risk around 25% of its UK pensioner liabilities. Read story

Has the holiday pay reference period been decided by Lock v British Gas?
Personnel Today: Ruth Christy explains why confusion remains following the employment tribunal judgment in Lock v British Gas Trading. Read story

Employers increasingly willing to negotiate salaries
Personnel Today: Two-thirds of employers are more willing to discuss pay rises with candidates than they were this time last year, according to research from recruitment specialist Robert Half. Read story

Browne Jacobson offers mindfulness and resilience support
Employee Benefits: Mindfulness and emotional resilience are hot topics for Browne Jacobson. The law firm communicates the importance of workplace wellbeing through its induction programme for new recruits. Read story

Salary negotiations increase as job market heats up
HR magazine: HR directors are now more willing to negotiate salaries to attract top job candidates, according to research from recruitment specialist Robert Half UK. Read story

How to review your benefits programme
HR magazine: Covering the key areas from offering choice and flexibility to eliciting feedback and measuring success, this is HR magazine's guide to creating an effective staff benefits scheme. Read story

Tailoring health and wellbeing initiatives very valuable
HR magazine: HR departments should seriously consider tailoring health and wellbeing strategies to the needs of their particular organisation, vice president of UK HR at Samsung Tess Smillie has told HR magazine. Read story

Life expectancy set to soar over next 15 years
ITV: Researchers expect the average life expectancy for a woman to increase to nearly 90 by 2030. Read story

G.M. Paid Mary Barra $16.2 Million in 2014, Despite Recalls
The New York Times: Mary T. Barra earned a salary of $1.57 million as chief executive of G.M., with the remainder of her compensation coming in bonuses and stock awards. Read story

Financial incentives can more effectively boost wellness participation
Employee Benefits News: Money talks, as the expression goes, and it is certainly true within the employee benefits space. Read story

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff got a nice salary bump to $39 million
Business Insider: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff saw a 25% bump in his salary last year, earning a total of $39 million in compensation, according to Salesforce's proxy statement released on Wednesday. Read story

The future of wellness: The next trillion dollar industry?
Virgin Disrupters: Today’s live Virgin Disruptors debate will feature the presence of one of the most innovative companies in wellness and mindfulness space. Read story

How a lawyer's salary surges once it reaches £100,000
The Telegraph: Wages start high and rise sharply with experience, especially for those with a Cambridge degree. Read story