At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 10- 16 December 2021

Here are the headlines you might have missed between 10-16 December 2021.

Employees set to quit if they don’t get more money
Facilitate Magazine: As many as 64 per cent of employees have said they will resign if their employers don’t increase their pay in the new year. The finding comes from a survey of 6,000 employees conducted by recruitment firm Robert Walters for its 2022 UK Salary Guide. As many as 72 per cent expect a pay rise but only 28 per cent of employers (500 companies polled) intend to pay up.  Read Story.

A fifth of over-55s have felt discriminated against at work- Canada Life
Corporate Adviser: Nearly 19 per cent of UK adults over the age of 55 have felt discriminated against at work due to their age, according to research from Canada Life. The research also found that 40 per cent of UK adults aged 18-34 believe that older employees in senior positions or those who have worked for the company for a longer period have affected their career progression. Read Story.

Full time remote working doesn’t allow employees to connect with company culture
Workplace Insight: The majority of U.K workers (83 percent) believe that those who work remotely full time cannot meaningfully connect with workplace culture. Just 17 percent feel that time in the office is unnecessary for fostering company culture. These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2022 Global Culture Report which analysed the perspectives of over 38,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners and executives from 21 countries around the world, including over 2,500 from the U.K. Read Story.

Working from home: businesses to allow staff into offices to protect mental health
Personnel Today: The UK’s professional services firms have implemented fresh work from home guidance but are allowing people to come into the office if they feel isolated working remotely. Fears over the potential psychological effects of a further extended period of working from home has led formerly office-based businesses to be less stringent over the government guidelines, which were announced on Wednesday in response to the rise of the Omicron variant of Covid, under plan B. Read Story.

Government urged to give grandparents paid leave for birth of grandchildren
HR Review: A travel and insurance company for over 50s is giving grandparents a week’s paid leave at the birth of their grandchild. Saga, which employs 2,500 people, said it wanted to show older workers how important they were to society and their companies. It also says it wants to build a work culture that appeals to the over-50s. Read Story.

Research identifies performance, happiness and trust gap between employers and employees
Engage Employee: Employers are more optimistic about the future of work than their employees according to research by Employment Law, HR and Health & Safety specialist WorkNest. Almost half of businesses (45%) predict that staff motivation and performance will increase post-pandemic. However, a third (31%) of employees expect a decline. Read Story.

Low earners prefer working from home, but suffer financially for it
HR Magazine: Research has indicated for the first time that low-paid workers benefit overwhelmingly from working at home, yet companies could do more to support them. A report by think-tank Demos, commissioned and supported by housing association Stonewater, has shown that low-earning workers are finding themselves having more autonomy at work, a better work/life balance, stronger family relationships and better health. Read Story.

Growing numbers cashing in pensions without advice
Corporate Adviser: Fewer people are seeking advice on their retirement options before taking cash from their pension according to the latest FCA data. More than half (54 per cent) of the people accessing their DC pensions access for the first time in 2020/21 did so without seeking financial advice or guidance from the government-backed Pension Wise service. Read Story.

Employers to review benefits through DEI lens
Corporate Adviser: More than one in two UK organisations plan to review their compensation and benefits programmes to strengthen diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives according to a new survey. The research by Aon found 52 per cent of companies were planning to, or already reviewing these programmes, while three out of four organisations say fostering DE&I is a priority for the future. Read Story.

Advisers pragmatic on return to homeworking: ‘It’s almost back to where it was’
Healthcare & Protection: Advisers are taking a pragmatic to return to homeworking requirements and are having to be flexible around festivities this Christmas. This morning, new rules came into effect ensuring people in England should now work from home if they can, as part of the government’s Plan B guidance to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Read Story.

PHIN: One in a thousand patients need emergency care after private treatment
Healthcare & Protection: Almost 600 patients were urgently transferred to receive emergency care and 340 died following treatment at private hospitals in the year up to June 2021, according to data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN). It is the first time the figures have been published. Read Story.

Pandemic has helped workers save more- The People’s Pension
Corporate Adviser: Nearly 5 per cent of savers have increased the amount they save into their pension since the start of the pandemic, according to research from The People’s Pension. The research found that 29 per cent have been able to save more money, and new research shows how the pandemic has affected people differently depending on what jobs they have. Read Story.

Two-thirds under pressure to work remotely when sick
Occupational Health & Wellbeing Plus:  Remote working has meant that attitudes to taking time off when sick have changed, with nearly two-thirds of employees feeling pressured to work when unwell. Sixty-four per cent of workers across the UK and US claimed they had felt pressured to log on while they should have been recuperating because of the availability of remote working, according to software firm Beamery.  Read Story.

Progress made on ethnic and gender balance on FTSE boards
Personnel Today: The UK’s biggest companies are making steady progress on board diversity, with women now occupying more than a third of board roles and first-time ethnic minority appointments rising to 25%. Executive search firm Spencer Stuart found that the largest 150 companies in the FTSE rankings have heeded the call to boost diversity on their boards, but more work needs to be done to achieve equity. Read Story.

Employee support now main priority for jobseekers, research reveals
People Management: Care and support for staff are now top of candidates’ wish lists when choosing an employer, a poll has found, leading to calls for businesses to better focus on wellbeing in order to retain staff after the pandemic.  The survey of 400 UK employees by recruiter Monster found two in five (60 per cent) respondents ranked ‘care’ as either their top or second preference when choosing an employer, with a third (34 per cent) ranking it as their top priority. Read Story.

UK hiring intentions at highest in 30 years
Personnel Today: UK hiring intentions are at a thirty-year high as organisations struggle to fill vacancies, according to ManpowerGroup’s latest Employment Outlook survey. The recruiter calculates its employment outlook by subtracting the number of companies who plan to reduce staffing levels from those who do plan to recruit. This now sits at +32%, its highest in three decades. Read Story.

Bring back furlough if restrictions introduced, suggests IMF
Personnel Today: Furlough should be reintroduced if lockdown measures are brought in to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended. In a statement issued to the UK government, the IMF suggested furlough and other financial support schemes should be redeployed if sectors of the economy are asked to close to help stem Covid-19 infections. Read Story.

Corporate boards struggle to act on climate change
Workplace Insight: Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) in partnership with INSEAD, have published a report titled Changing the Climate in the Boardroom. The report addresses corporate leadership’s take on climate change, what boards around the world are currently doing to address climate change, and what they should be doing moving forward. Read Story.

Firms expected to expand wellbeing benefits in 2022
Corporate Adviser: Workplace health and wellbeing support is set to become increasingly sophisticated in 2022, as businesses adapt to the challenges of the pandemic, according to RedArc. The nurse-led wellbeing service says employers have seen the benefit of having a comprehensive health and wellbeing strategy and it expects many firms will look to extend their benefits programmes in the coming year. Read Story.

Wellbeing at the top of employees’ wishlist
HR Review: Employees will stay with bosses who support them, says the online recruiter Monster. Research from the firm shows wellbeing is the number one reason people would choose and stay with an employer. It says this is largely because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 400 UK employees from a range of organisations and sectors were asked to mark factors in order of importance when considering an employer.  Read Story.

Two-thirds of employers back statutory sick pay increase, CIPD report finds
People Management: The statutory sick pay (SSP) system is “broken and needs urgent reform”, the CIPD has warned after it found the majority of employers think the rate is too low.  In a survey of 1,045 senior HR professionals and decision-makers, the organisation revealed that nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of employers agree that the SSP rate is too low and should be increased. Read Story.

Poor mental health causes 19% of lost working time
Employee Benefits: Poor mental health accounted for almost a fifth of all lost working time across the UK this year, according to research.Wellbeing and performance service GoodShape took data from its proprietary workplace absences database – which includes more than 750,000 employee records – and found that UK workers have taken more than 319 million days off work in 2021 for an illness or injury at an estimated cost to employers of £43 billion and counting. Read Story.

Govt to review increase to state pension age
Corporate Adviser: The Government has launched a review of the state pension age, and will consider the merits of bringing forward the date at which this is increased to 68. Currently a gradual rise from a state pension age of 66 to 68 is planned between 2044 and 2046, but the review will look at the merits of introducing this between 2037 and 2039. Read Story.

Dental claims fall 40% but average cost rises 12% – H&P Retail Cash Plan and Dental Plan Report
Healthcare & Protection: Dental plan costs per claim rose around 12% in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic hit but overall providers paid out around 40% less than in 2019, Health & Protection can exclusively reveal. Health & Protection’s landmark Retail Cash Plans and Dental Plans Report is the first-time detailed analysis of the markets has been made publicly available. Read Story.

Poor data means most property investors fail to consider human health
Workplace Insight: Property investors are not considering how the indoor conditions of a building will impact upon human health due to poor data, a new survey suggests. The ESG Data Challenge survey, which details the views of 121 real estate investors and professionals, claims there were serious issues in the quality of environmental, social governance (ESG) data being received, with many doubting its quality. Read Story.

Majority of UK workers would consider quitting their job if hybrid working was axed
Workplace Insight: More than half (51 percent) of UK workers who currently have the choice to mix remote and office working would consider leaving their company if this hybrid option was removed, according to new research released by Microsoft in conjunction with YouGov (fieldwork undertaken 7th – 15th October 2021). Read Story.

Expect staff shortages because of Omicron surge
Personnel Today: Businesses should expect staff shortages because of a surge Omicron cases, ministers have been told. According to cabinet sources, prime minister Boris Johnson and England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty told ministers that mass worker absences are likely and a “significant increase” in hospital admissions should be expected. Read Story.

HR teams should be using AI to retain employees says report
HR Review: A report by Forrester Research found that AI solutions helped companies respond to the shocks that are shaping the future of work and achieving faster time-to-labour. Using the example of a pharma firm, the report showed that a worker from sales had a biochemistry degree. The AI found this information and suggested her redeployment (with her consent) to the vaccine lab, improving and increasing the skills in the lab. Read Story.

Managers should encourage exercise breaks at work, researchers say
HR Magazine: Managers should encourage desk workers to be more active by planning two minute exercise breaks into the work day, University of Essex researchers have found. The study, in partnership with startup Keep Fit Eat Fit, found giving staff an activity plan of short bursts of exercise helped to get them moving and reduced the fatigue of back-to-back meetings. Read Story.

Employers admit they would likely terminate an employee’s contract if they were homeless
Workplace Insight: Four out of ten employers (42 percent) from across the UK have admitted they would likely seek to terminate an employees’ contract if they were homeless, despite nearly one in four households in England being at risk of or experiencing homelessness, claims a new report by Crisis. Read Story.

Do not forget cancer and long Covid patients in booster surge, government urged
Healthcare & Protection: The UK government has been urged not to forget about people with long term conditions such as cancer and long Covid as NHS staff are redeployed to ensure all adults receive a booster jab before the end of the year. Earlier this week, health secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament about the “difficult trade offs” as the NHS focuses on delivering booster jobs to fight the spread of Omicron leading to the delay of some urgent appointments and elective surgery. Read Story.

Training and mental health the biggest challenges of hybrid working
Personnel Today: Managing the work of less experienced employees and mental wellbeing are the main challenges facing mid-sized businesses that have implemented hybrid working. Prior to the Omicron surge and Plan B, businesses in the UK had adopted hybrid working but many faced difficulties with its implementation. Read Story.

Job quality more important to wellbeing than hours worked, study finds
People Management: Job quality matters more to mental health than the number of hours worked in a week, an academic study has found, with good work mitigating the impact of underemployment. The research, conducted by a coalition of universities, found factors including feeling that work is meaningful, having good workplace relationships and having enough resources and time to complete work were the most important factors in determining employee wellbeing. Read Story.

52% of HR staff consider paying above the average rate
Employee Benefits: More than half of HR professionals are considering handing their employees pay increases above the market average to retain talent, according to research. A poll of 125 senior HR, diversity and inclusion, reward and people professionals at FTSE 100 businesses by insights firm HR DataHub found 52% were mulling an above-average pay rise for staff. Read Story.