At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 21-27 August 2020
The headlines you might have missed between 21-27 August 2020.
The Covid-19 fallout for DB schemes, and how to deal with it
Professional Pensions: Three investment professionals tell Professional Pensions how the pandemic has impacted scheme portfolios, what opportunities may arise post-pandemic, and the key lessons for trustees. Read story
RPI reform to cost schemes and investors up to £130bn
Professional Pensions: Potential changes to the way the Retail Prices Index (RPI) is calculated and reported could cause assets to fall by between £60bn and £130bn, according to various estimates. Read story
Black workers retiring later than white counterparts, research finds
People Management: Disparity largely the result of lower average incomes, with experts urging HR to ensure diversity initiatives aren’t aimed solely at younger individuals. Read story
Salesforce extends homeworking policy until July 2021
Employee Benefits: US cloud-based software organisation Salesforce is extending its working from home policy until at least 31 July 2021. Read story
Telefonica UK reports mean gender pay gap of 13.5%
Employee Benefits: Telefonica UK (O2) has reported a mean gender pay gap of 13.5% for average hourly pay as at April 2020. Read story
University of Sheffield cancels plans to introduce pay freezes and cuts
Employee Benefits: The University of Sheffield is cancelling its plans to introduce pay freezes and pay cuts due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
DWP and PPF launch appeals against High Court compensation cap ruling
Pensions Age: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have launched appeals against aspects of the High Court judgment in the Hughes and others v The Board of the PPF case. Read story
Employers should value staff as an asset not an expense, says new paper
HR Magazine: A new white paper has been published to provide employers with ways of valuing their talent as an asset rather than an expense in a post-coronavirus world of work. Read story
Employees still have not been given an office return date
HR Review: Just under a fifth of workers have not been given a date for when they should return to the office. Read story
Call for temporary adjustments to pension triple lock
Corporate Adviser: Pension firms are calling for temporary adjustments to the triple lock, amid reports that there are disagreements between the Prime Minister and Chancellor about whether this guarantee should be maintained. Read story
USS scheme valuation date delayed
Professional Pensions: The publication date of the Universities Superannuation Scheme’s (USS) 2020 valuation has been pushed back until September. Read story
Somerset Council scheme under fire over continued fossil fuel investment
Professional Pensions: Extinction Rebellion protesters will rally outside the offices of two Somerset councils this week over the council pension scheme’s allocation to fossil fuels. Read story
PPF and DWP seek appeal over Hampshire implementation
Professional Pensions: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will appeal court judgments relating to the way the lifeboat fund pays compensation. Read story
TPR in discussions with Plumbing trustees over governance failures
Pensions Expert: The Pensions Regulator has been in discussions with the trustees of the Plumbing and Mechanical Services Industry Pension Scheme, who face criticism for governance failures amid a long-running debacle that could send plumbers into bankruptcy. Read story
Gett offers 1,000 employees a four day working week
Employee Benefits: Transportation organisation Gett is offering its 1,000 employees globally the option to work a four day week from a location of their choice. Read story
Damia Group launches employee ownership trust
Employee Benefits: International recruitment firm Damia Group is now 100% employee owned, following on from introducing an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Read story
Reed Smith partially lifts Covid-19 pay cuts
Employee Benefits: International law firm Reed Smith is reducing the employee pay cuts it implemented in June 2020 to deal with the financial ramifications of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
Sunak and Johnson at odds over state pension triple lock
Pensions Age: Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, does not agree with Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s, reported plan to potentially pause the state pension triple lock this autumn, according to The Times. Read story
Employees still expect pay rise during the next year
HR Review: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its damaging financial impact on UK businesses, over two-fifths of employees are still expecting a pay rise during the next 12 months. Read story
Workers ‘prioritising accessible savings’ over pensions
Corporate Adviser: UK adults are less concerned about saving for retirement than they were a year ago and since Covid are more concerned about shorter term savings, according to research commissioned by workplace savings provider Cushon. Read story
Kennedys resumes salary increases and bonuses after Covid-19 delays
Employee Benefits: Global law firm Kennedys has resumed its annual global salary increase and bonus reviews, that were initially put on hold due to the financial uncertainty of Covid-19 (Coronavirus). Read story
Fifth of firms don’t offer support to employees with drug and alcohol issues
Workplace Insight: Around one in five (21 percent) employers are failing to offer proactive support to workers to help prevent and provide support on issues of drugs and alcohol misuse, according to newly published research from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. Read story
What do employers need to know about flexible working requests: top employment lawyer explains
Employer News: A leading employment lawyer is urging business owners to carefully consider flexible working requests made by employees with the demand for new working arrangements increasing due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read story
Hitachi UK Pension Scheme agrees £275m buy-in with L&G
Pensions Age: The Hitachi UK Pension Scheme has agreed a £275m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society. Read story
New study reveals 75% of companies not expecting furloughed staff to return
HR News: New research from leading recruitment platform Occupop has revealed the majority of employers believe they will lose furloughed staff permanently due to career changes and health concerns that have arisen since the pandemic first took hold. Occupop is AI powered software that helps HR and hiring managers significantly reduce time spent on candidate screening and streamline the hiring process on one centralised platform. Read story
Fast track DB rules in danger of 'mission creep' and 'levelling down' scheme objectives
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) proposal for a ‘fast track’ approach to defined benefit (DB) scheme funding regulation is being “used too broadly” and in danger of suffering from “mission creep”, says Aon. Read story
Government consults on proposals to force largest schemes to publish climate risk disclosures
Professional Pensions: The government has put forward proposals to require the 100 largest occupational pension schemes – those with £5bn or more in assets and all authorised master trusts – to publish climate risk disclosures by the end of 2022. Read story
Police officers warn of age discrimination in McCloud remedy
Pensions Expert: The government’s proposed remedy for the McCloud/Sargeant age discrimination cases fails to address the issue in a “fair and non-discriminatory manner”, a group of police officers has warned. Read story
Linklaters introduces long-term flexible working policy for 5,200 employees
Employee Benefits: Global law firm Linklaters is introducing a new global agile working policy for its 5,200 employees. Read story
Homeserve signs Race at Work charter to improve workplace equality
Employee Benefits: Emergency repairs and improvements organisation Homeserve has signed the Race at Work charter, committing to address the issues that ethnic minority employees face in the workplace. Read story
California Court of Appeals grants Uber and Lyft extension over ruling
Employee Benefits: The California Court of Appeal has granted US ridesharing businesses Uber and Lyft an extension to classify their drivers as employees during the appeal process in its ongoing court case. Read story
Commonwealth Bank increases paid leave for parents of stillbirth
Employee Benefits: Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has increased its paid parental leave for any of its 52,000 employees who suffer from a stillbirth. Read story
70% of employers would pay for employees’ Covid-19 tests
Employee Benefits: Seven in ten (70%) of employers are willing to pay for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) tests if an employee should request one, according to research by Huma. Read story
HRDs reveal support tips for working parents
HR Grapevine: The pandemic has caused challenges for many working parents who have been tasked with looking after children, home schooling and juggling work simultaneously. Read story
50% of UK employees feel unappreciated at work – here’s 7 creative ways to step up your employee recognition game
Employer News: According to the 2020 Global Culture Report, compiled by O.C. Tanner Institute, as much as 50% of employees in the UK feel underappreciated at work. Added to this, social distancing measures mean that as much as half of the employed population are still working remotely, further adding to the likelihood of them beginning to feel detached and neglected. Read story
Pension savers scammed out of over £30m since 2017
Pensions Age: Pension savers have lost over £30m to scammers since April 2017, according to complaints data from Action Fraud. Read story
Why it pays to be an age-friendly employer
HR Magazine: At a time when the burden of preparing for retirement falls more heavily on individuals and governments are talking about scaling back benefits, the role that companies play in getting people ready has never been more important. To meet that expanded responsibility, employers must become age friendly. Read story
Low-income workers forced to self-isolate to receive financial assistance from Government
HR Review: Low-income workers who live in parts of England with a high rate of COVID-19 will be able to claim £130 if they have to self-isolate and cannot work remotely. Read story
Four master trusts costing £200m a year – PPI research
Corporate Adviser: The cost of running the four biggest master trusts in the UK is £200m a year and costs across the master trust sector will rise to around £1bn a year by 2035, according to research from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI). Read story
DC pots of young pensions savers up 15% in Q2
Professional Pensions: The defined contribution (DC) savings of young savers recovered most of their first quarter losses in the following three months, Isio has found. Read story
DB funding regime will provide 'clarity and flexibility' to all schemes, says TPR
Professional Pensions: Both open and closed defined benefit (DB) schemes will be given the clarity and flexibility they need under the proposed revision of the funding code, says The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Read story
Half of employees reluctant to return to work despite firms spending millions on preparation, poll reveals
People Management: Majority of workers still lack confidence in safety measures as UK businesses pay out £674m a month on PPE and changing office layouts. Read story
The Department for Work and Pensions publishes consultation on pension climate risk
Employee Benefits: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published a consultation, setting out proposals for larger occupational pension schemes and authorised master trusts to publish their climate risk financial disclosures. Read story
Airbnb extends remote working policy until August 2021
Employee Benefits: Travel business Airbnb has extended its remote working policy until August 2021 to support the health and wellbeing of its 6,300 employees during the Covid-19(Coronavirus) pandemic. Read story
Dechert to give newly qualified solicitors 3% pay rise
Employee Benefits: Global law firm Dechert has increased the pay of its newly qualified solicitors in its London office, effective September 2020. Read story
Half of HR bosses unaware of benefit savings, despite majority challenged to reduce costs since COVID-19
Employer News: New research from vehicle leasing experts, LeasePlan UK, reveals that despite the majority (62%) of HR bosses and senior business leaders being challenged to reduce the cost of employee perks and benefits since COVID-19, half (49%) still believe that the electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme would add extra cost to their organisation, which is not the case. Read story
Gender pay gap a priority when accepting a new job
HR Magazine: The majority (65%) of female science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students have said that they would consider a company’s gender pay gap report before accepting a job offer. Read story