Your quick-read round up of the reward and benefits stories appearing in the press in the past seven days.The headlines you might have missed between 14-21 May 2015.Tiens Group funds staff holiday to FranceEmployee Benefits: Some 6,400 employees at Chinese pharmaceutical firm Tiens Group have been given a holiday to France for free. Read storyLegal & General HRD: Wellbeing doesn’t have to be expensiveHR magazine: Implementing wellbeing programmes doesn’t need to be expensive if HR is “smart”, according to Legal & General group HR director Elaine MacLean. Read storyCapital One named UK's best large employerEmployee Benefits: Capital One has been named the UK’s best large employer in the Great Place to Work Institute’s ‘Best Workplaces 2015’ awards. Read storyBT awards 1,000 staff under long-term incentive planEmployee Benefits: The telecoms group paid out around 16.7 million worth of shares at £4.69 each, which took the payout across eligible staff to around £78 million. Read story8% have bought an annuity since pensions flexibilities took effect Employee Benefits: Less than one in 10 (8%) of staff have opted to purchase an annuity following the introduction of the pension freedoms that were introduced in April, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown. Read storyGSK, Reed Elsevier, Royal Mail and WPP lead FTSE100 on mental healthWorkplace Savings & Benefits: According to research by Lockton, just 12% of FTSE100 organisations actively reported their 2014 mental health statistics and only 30% had programmes supporting mental health. Read storyWaitrose staff embrace volunteering projectsWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Fifteen thousand employees across the UK will be taking part in volunteering activities today as part of Give and Gain day. Read storyWhat would an Aetna acquisition mean for brokers?Employee Benefits News: Analysts predict Aetna is planning to acquire another carrier in the near future, likely Humana or Cigna, a move that promises to disrupt the industry. Read storyJudges take unprecedented legal action to block pension changesWorkplace Savings & Benefits: The reforms were proposed during the coalition government and will see younger judges taking a significant hit to their pension entitlements. Read storyWorkplace Health week includes canoeing a mileWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Employers are being asked to get their staff active at lunchtimes by doing a mile of activity on their breaks. Read storyVSP staff first to test health-tracking technology for glassesWorkplace Savings & Benefits: The glasses have sensors housed within a pair of frames from maker Dragon Alliance and track steps, calories burned, activity time and distance travelled. Read storyHow PPL is engaging its younger workersWorkplace Savings & Benefits: PPL has made it a primary objective to engage its predominantly young workforce. Owain Thomas asks Kate Reilly how it is succeeding. Read storyOscar Mayer improves healthcare benefits for staffEmployee Benefits: The food production organisation took the decision to introduce five new options as part of its 15-year benefits anniversary and a review of its My Millie benefits scheme. Read storyJust 7% are financially prepared for retirementEmployee Benefits: Less than one in 10 (7%) UK adults are financially on track for their retirement, according to research from Aegon. Read storyAnd the winners (of the VIBs) are….Reward Guide: The winners of Reward magazine’s inaugural Very Important Benefit Awards (VIBs) were crowned on today, with Capita scooping three awards - Best Employee Benefits Consultancy; Communications Company of the Year and the coveted Reward Provider of the Year.Marks and Spencer takes a mixed approach to staff motivationEmployee Benefits: Retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) uses a range of methods to motivate its employees without spending too much of its benefits budget. Read storyCrown Estate becomes first property firm to be living wage accreditedEmployee Benefits: The Crown Estate, which runs property and land owned by the Queen, is the first national property business to make a commitment to pay all its staff the living wage. Read storyEmployers undecided on what to do when contracting out endsEmployee Benefits: Employers with defined benefit (DB) pension schemes facing a scramble to avoid higher national insurance (NI) bills when contracting out ends in 2016 have yet to decide how they will respond, according to research by Towers Watson. Read storyTax loss deterring people from taking pensions as cashWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Only 1% of people have chosen to cash in their pensions completely since the freedom and choice reforms took effect last month, according to the country’s biggest retirement adviser, My Pension Expert. Read storyGrafton sees immediate car scheme take-upWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Grafton Merchanting GB is launching a low emission salary sacrifice car scheme for its 4,500 staff. Read storyBidvest Logistics' staff vote to strike over pay disputeWorkpalce Savings & Benefits: The 80 staff employed on the company's Hoddesdon site seek to be paid the same wages as staff at their sister site in Banbury. Read storyNational Grid scheme to sell in-house asset managerProfessional Pensions: The £14.4bn National Grid UK Pension Scheme is to sell its captive asset management business Aerion Fund Management. Read storyPremier Foods pension deficit down £400m as hedging strategy pays offProfessional Pensions: Premier foods saw the deficit in its defined benefit pension schemes fall by almost two thirds in the 15 months to April, after its hedging strategy paid off handsomely. Read storyQueen pays Living Wage to servantsWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Queen Elizabeth has promised to pay the National Living Wage to all staff serving in the Royal Household. The development follows the nationwide petition calling all companies to raise their minimum wage to £7.85 an hour, 21% higher than the compulsory £6.50, and £9.15 for those working in London. Read storyWillis Employee Benefits partners BenefexEmployee Benefits: The partnership will combine human capital, employee benefits brokerage and consultancy services with benefits technology and communications. Read storyMaternity provision dependent on employee gradeEmployee Benefits: Just over half (59%) of new mums in junior positions only receive the legal minimum provision from their employer in the run up to and while taking maternity leave, according to research by Axa PPP Healthcare. Read storyGolfing CEOs with top pay bad for company performanceHR Grapevine: CEOs that get paid more have worse stock returns over a three year period than their less well paid contemparies, a 2010 study from Cambridge University shows. Read storyPremier Foods pension deficit down £400mWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Premier foods saw the deficit in its defined benefit pension schemes fall by almost two thirds in the 15 months to April, after its hedging strategy paid off handsomely. Read story‘Alarming’ disparity in pre-maternity leave supportWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Employers are ignoring the needs of new mothers working in entry-level positions. Read storyNexen wins buy-in for new flexible benefits technologyEmployee Benefits: Oil and gas organisation Nexen had to get buy-in for new flexible benefits technology to help pool its benefits online for its 700 employees. Read storyL&G supports employees' housing woesWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Legal & General is considering introducing Shelter's Tenancy Deposit scheme to help support staff in the housing market. Read storyRoyal Mail boosts pension contribution by 50% and installs plans for holiday pay rulingWorkplace Savings & Benefits: Royal Mail increased its defined contribution (DC) pension payments to £38m in the last year – an average of 5.4% per employee. Read storyHerbert Smith Freehills adds mental health mentors Employee Benefits: Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has launched a mental health mentoring programme for its 1,714 staff at its London and Belfast offices. Read storyPremier Foods’ DB pensions deficit falls £400 millionEmployee Benefits: Premier Foods’ defined benefit (DB) pension schemes combined deficit has fallen by almost two-thirds in the 15 months to April 2015. Read storyAlmost a third receive no workplace benefitsEmployee Benefits: Nearly a third (31%) of employee respondents do not receive any workplace benefits, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance. Read storyEric Cantona sues former club over unpaid wagesHR Grapevine: Former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona is suing New York Cosmos for over £640,000 in unpaid wages following his dismissal last year for punching a photographer at a London pub. He was subsequently arrested and cautioned. Read story
