At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 18-24 January 2019
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 18-24 January.
Employee benefits ‘crucial’ to combat Brexit and Blue Monday
Onrec: Employee benefits are more important to businesses than ever and must not be overlooked as we approach Blue Monday and Brexit, leading recruiter Sellick Partnership warns. Read Story.
Changes to benefits for mixed age couples
Reward Strategy: The government has announced changes to benefits for mixed age couples that will be introduced from May 15 2019. Read Story.
Working environment, not time of the year has most negative effect on staff wellbeing
Workplace Insight: Half of employees say that their working environment has a negative effect on their mental health (51 percent) and wellbeing (49 percent) and two-thirds (67 percent) say that they only ‘sometimes, rarely or never’ feel valued at work. Read Story.
Majority of Brits make lifelong friendships at work
HR Review: New research has looked into Britons attitudes towards their co-workers to reveal just how willing the nation is to create meaningful friendships and relationships with those they spend so much time with day-to-day. Read Story.
Government rejects call to lower gender pay gap reporting threshold
Personnel Today: MPs have accused the government of being too “timid” to hold businesses to account for their gender pay gaps after it refused to take forward a number of recommendations made last year – including lowering the threshold to organisations employing 50 staff or more. Read Story.
Government refuses to force SMEs to disclose gender pay gap
People Management: Small and medium-sized companies in Britain will remain exempt from rules requiring gender pay gap information to be disclosed, after the government said it would not force firms with at least 50 employees to release details of what men and women are paid. Read Story.
Third of workers feel unqualified for their roles
HR Magazine: A third of UK workers (33%) don’t feel qualified for their current job and more than half (53%) don’t think a co-worker is either, according to research from Docebo. Read Story.
Workplace financial education needed ‘to combat rising debt’
Health Insurance Daily: Neyber, the financial wellbeing company, is calling on unions and employers to join together and support employees with record amounts of unsecured debt. Read Story.
Globally mobile workers unhappy with amount of family time
Health Insurance Daily: Over two thirds of globally mobile individuals (72%) are unhappy with the amount of time they have available to spend with their family. Cigna - Globally mobile workers unhappy with amount of family time. Read Story.
Three-in-ten plan to change jobs in 2019
The HR Director: New independent research among over 2,000 UK adults commissioned by Studio Graphene, has revealed how satisfied full-time workers across the country are in their job. Read Story.
Quarter of delegates turn down job for not offering flexible working
The HR Director: The survey of 2,300 UK employees reveals employees are actively turning down jobs that don’t offer flexible working. A quarter of all employees have turned down a job in the past for this reason. Read Story.
Redundancy fears hang over one in 10 workers in 2019
Onrec: Christmas bills have arrived, the weather is cold and dark, and there isn’t another bank holiday until April so today can feel like ‘Blue Monday’ in more ways than one. For some workers across the UK, every Monday can be blue for the fear of being made redundant. Read Story.
Benefits integral to job choice for 89% of workers
Health Insurance Daily: Nearly nine in 10 (89%) UK workers claim benefit provision is important in their decision to work for a company, research shows. Read Story.
Mental health referrals spike 29% during January - RedArc
Cover: January on average witnesses a 29% increase in the number of patient referrals for mental health conditions compared to December over a five-year timeframe, RedArc statistics reveal. Read Story.
Employers failing to offer effective debt support
Corporate Adviser: Employers are unsure how to support staff with financial wellbeing, despite being aware of its business impact, according to new research. Read Story.
Financial services stress levels at highest since crash
Personnel Today: The number of stress-related absences in financial services is higher now than in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Read Story.
Employees who don’t trust their business on diversity 'three times more likely to quit'
People Management: Employees who do not believe their workplace is committed to diversity and inclusion (D&I) are three times more likely to leave than those who do, research has revealed, prompting calls for businesses to go beyond ‘one-size fits all’ strategies. Read Story.
Stress epidemic: The industries where Brits are most likely to experience workplace stress
Onrec: This Blue Monday, CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site, reveals that two-thirds of Brits are feeling the strain, with 67.7% stating that their job makes them feel stressed. Read Story.
Less than a fifth of employers proactively manage stress and mental health issues
Incentive & Motivation: The research* covered over 500 companies conducted by GRiD, the industry body for the group risk sector, shows there is still room for improvement when it comes to looking after the health and wellbeing of staff by addressing the whole person rather than just some aspects. Read Story.
Employees will share data if it makes them more productive
Personnel Today: A report by Accenture produced in conjunction with the World Economic Form, which holds its annual meeting in Davos this week, suggests that ethical collection of employee data could lead to a 6.3% increase in revenue growth. Read Story.
Mindfulness training and massages at lunch ‘won’t improve work culture’
People Management: Mindfulness training at lunchtime and massages at your desk are seen as easy fixes for employee wellbeing – but they are not effective in changing work culture and addressing underlying issues, experts told delegates at a pop-up wellbeing event yesterday. Read Story.
Thousands of savers face a pension shortfall, warns Zurich
Professional Pensions: Thousands of savers taking tax-free lump sums ahead of retirement are at risk of a pensions shortfall in later life due to neglecting their remaining pot, Zurich has warned. Read Story.
Rise in ‘mid-life’ renters
Health Insurance Daily: There has been an increase in the proportion of private renters, particularly among those in mid-life, figures show. Read Story.
National helpline for stressed families to be launched
A national freephone helpline for people in stressed-out families is to be launched by the Duchess of Cambridge. Read Story.
Total pay has increased by 1.2% in real terms since November 2017
Employee Benefits: Total pay for employees in Great Britain, which includes bonuses, increased by 1.2% in real terms between September to November 2017 and September to November 2018, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read Story.
Employers fail to communicate benefit packages to staff
Corporate Adviser: Employers are failing to give information to staff on their workplace benefits, according to new research. Read Story.
200,000 parents missing out on pension, says HMRC
Money Marketing: Over 200,000 parents receiving child benefits could be forgoing part of their future state pension HM Revenue and Customs has told the Treasury select committee today. Read Story.
‘Glitzy’ total rewards packages masking real workforce needs, finds report
People Management: IES research urges employers to focus on baseline pay and career progression opportunities over ‘copycat’ benefits Read Story.
Government workers strike over pay and 'hostile environment' for migrants
HR Magazine: The strike has been described as the largest co-ordinated walkout of outsourced government workers to date, with over 100 people believed to have walked out over low pay. Read More.
UK workers now spend almost £200 a month on personal wellbeing
HR Grapevine: A recent national study has found that UK employees spend an average of £174 per month on wellbeing products. Read Story.
Air pollution ‘makes people unhappy’
Health Insurance Daily: Air pollution makes people unhappy as well as harming their health, researchers have claimed. Read Story.
Film series sets out to solve the workplace wellbeing puzzle
Workplace Insight: Recent research by the British Safety Council identified significant levels of uncertainty in the UK about workplace wellbeing. Its report Not just free fruit: wellbeing at work, found that employee wellbeing is often ignored or misunderstood, with employers unsure how to define it or how to improve staff wellbeing, what priority to give it and how to measure the effectiveness of wellbeing interventions and programmes. Read Story.
Are you ready for Auto Enrolment minimum payment increase
Actuarial Post: On 6 April 2019, minimum contributions under the automatic enrolment requirements are increasing from 5% to 8%. Auto-enrolment is not just about paying the right level of contributions, employers need to communicate any changes to employees and ensure the pension scheme is still fit for purpose. Read Story.
Mental health seen as employer’s responsibility by 97% of staff
Employee Benefits: Around half (51%) of respondents are aware that their organisation has a mental health policy, but only represents approximately half of the 97% that believe their employer has a responsibility to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff, according to research by professional recruitment consultancy Robert Walters. Read Story.
Record number of over 50s in work
Health Insurance Daily: There are a record 10.6 million people aged 50 and over in the labour market, official figures show. Read Story.
A third of SME employees quit due to work-related frustration
HR Review: Forty-three per cent of employees in UK small businesses have changed their jobs because of work-related frustrations and stresses that were not addressed by management, according to new research. Read Story.
Workers using unapproved apps for work-related comms
Frontline workers in the retail, hospitality and entertainment industries are turning to unapproved messaging apps and social media sites for work-related communications, without HR’s knowledge, according to a new study. Read Story.
Simplified first stage dashboard could solve lost pot issue
Actuarial Post: With the government consultation on pensions dashboard closing on 28 January, Quantum Advisory has encouraged the industry to consider launching a simplified first stage platform, loaded with provider and contact details only, in order to start combatting the lost pot issue now. Read Story.
New mums to receive six months more redundancy protection
Personnel Today: Pregnant women and new mothers returning to work after having children are to receive greater protection from being treated unfairly, under new proposals set out by the government. Read Story.