At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week 20-26 January 2017
The headlines you might have missed between 20-26 January 2017.
April sal sac changes to hit quarter of employers
Corporate Adviser: A quarter of employers will be forced to make adjustments to their benefits package by April following chancellor Philip Hammond’s decision to curtail some salary sacrifice benefits, new research has found. Read story
Annabel Tonry: How defaults should adapt to a slow growth future
Corporate Adviser: Expectations of a slow growth future mean default funds will have to be creative if they are going to deliver says JP Morgan Asset Management client adviser, UK defined contribution Annabel Tonry. Read story
Court dismisses appeal against £40m pensions top-up for Granada directors
Professional Pensions: The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision to allow four former directors of Granada Group to receive £40m pensions without shareholder approval. Read story
TPR and Coats agree £255m settlement
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has secured a £255m payment to save the benefits of 24,000 Coats Group scheme members, marking the start of the end to a three-year saga. Read story
Empowering trustees is best way to counter fraud
Professional Pensions: Industry believes equipping trustees with the right skills to tackle pension fraud will be more effective than extra legislation. Read story
Pension dashboard contributors to pay £50,000 each
Professional Pensions: Businesses that contribute to the pensions dashboard project will have to pay £50,000 each, exclusive of VAT, for the privilege, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has confirmed. Read story
Uber to pay $20m to settle misleading earnings claim
Employee Benefits: Taxi and ride-sharing organisation Uber is to pay $20 million (£16,252,235) to settle a claim that it misled prospective drivers by exaggerating how much they could earn in certain cities. Read story
53% want to receive benefits communication around life events
Employee Benefits: More than half (53%) of employee respondents want their employer to communicate information about benefits to them around life events, such as marriage or childbirth, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits. Read story
55% of accountants seek a better work-life balance when considering a new job
Employee Benefits: More than half (55%) of qualified accountant respondents are motivated by flexibility and a greater work-life balance when considering a new job role, up from 37% in 2015, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Global Accounting Network. Read story
Opinion: How employers can help high earners avoid unexpected tax bills
People Management: While companies are under no obligation to help staff navigate new tax legalities, they’ll be glad of the advice come the new tax year, says Alan Morahan. Read story
Widows removes exit charges entirely
Corporate Adviser: Scottish Widows is removing exit fees also together from its workplace and personal pension plans, going beyond the 1 per cent maximum required by the regulator. Read story
TfL considers a closer look at carbon exposure
Pensions Expert: The Transport for London Pension Fund plans to look into ways of analysing its carbon exposure following a member request, as experts stress that schemes need to understand exactly what they are measuring and what further steps they can take. Read story
Saul relocates trustees in cost-cutting drive
Pensions Expert: The Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London has saved more than £500,000 by relocating its trustee team as part of a wider push to improve cost efficiency. Read story
MPs call for action on women returners
HR Magazine: A cross-party group of MPs is calling on the government and employers to do more to help women enter and re-enter the workforce. Read story
Deutsche Bank limits individual bonuses for 2016
Employee Benefits: Banking organisation Deutsche Bank has limited its bonus payments for the 2016 financial year, and will not be providing any individual variable compensation for senior executive staff. Read story
Average salaries in the recruitment industry rise by 17.5%
Employee Benefits: The average salary for employees working in the recruitment industry increased by 17.5% between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter 2016, according to research by CV Library. Read story
Poor decisions leading to difficult retirements for employees
Reward Guide: Survey reveals employees are left incredibly vulnerable to making poor decisions which could lead to a reduced income at-retirement. Read story
DWP methodology on GMP equalisation requires more safeguards for trustees
Professional Pensions: A consultation from the Department for Work and Pensions which has just closed proposes a new way to do GMP equalisation. Michael Klimes finds out how safe it is for trustees to use. Read story
Alcatel-Lucent agrees £100m buy-in with PIC
Professional Pensions: The trustees of the Alcatel-Lucent Pension Scheme have agreed a £100m pensioner buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). Read story
New Look and River Island suppliers in minimum wage sting
HR Grapevine: Media focus on living standards and wage requirements – with the National Living Wage set to rise to £7.50 an hour in April – have put pressure on employers not adhering to legal remuneration requirements. Read story
Admiral Group provides tools to help staff manage financial concerns
Employee Benefits: Insurance group Admiral offers its employees financial education through its Ministry of Money programme. Read story
Catherine Rickard: The case for considering employees’ financial wellbeing is compelling
Employee Benefits: Significant proportions of employees are facing increasing financial challenges. For example, demographic and policy changes, rising education and housing costs, an ageing population and rising state pension age, mean that the financial pressures facing employees are only likely to intensify over the coming years. Read story
Shadow minister: Savers need to understand 'every dot and jut' of costs
Professional Pensions: Alex Cunningham, the shadow pensions minister, speaks to James Phillips about his new brief, auto-enrolment, and DB deficits. Read story
Government must use AE review to drive greater engagement from public
Professional Pensions: The government must use the forthcoming review of auto-enrolment (AE) to move people from "inertia to engagement" on pensions according to an expert. Read story
Annuity deals hit £18bn in 2016
Professional Pensions: The total value of annuity deals was 30% higher in 2016 than at the previous market peak in 2014, Aon Hewitt's UK Risk Settlement Bulletin has revealed. Read story
Starbucks to enhance parental leave policies for US staff
Employee Benefits: Starbucks is to enhance its parental leave policies for both store and non-store based employees in the US. Read story
New Zealand minimum wage to rise to $15.75
Employee Benefits: The minimum wage in New Zealand will rise by 50 cents to $15.75 (£9.03) an hour from 1 April 2017. Read story
75% of Yorkshire-based staff feel a supportive work environment would boost productivity
Employee Benefits: Three quarters (75%) of Yorkshire-based employee respondents believe a more supportive workplace environment would make them happier and more productive at work, according to research by Team Activ. Read story
HMRC issues guidance on bonus claw-back payments
People Management: Nicholas Stretch offers advice to HR professionals on reclaiming bonuses from senior executives – and the tax implications that follow. Read story
HMRC: £5.7bn withdrawn from pensions in 2016
Corporate Adviser: More than half a million people made more than a million flexible withdrawals from their pensions, taking £5.7bn from their pots in 2017, figures from HMRC published today reveal. Read story
Nissan Europe launches employee awards to celebrate innovation
Employee Benefits: Car manufacturer Nissan Europe has held its first Chairman’s Innovation Awards, which aim to celebrate ingenuity and engage employees with innovative behaviours. Read story
63% believe economic impact of Brexit will drive financial education demand
Employee Benefits: Almost two thirds (63%) of employer respondents think that the impact of Brexit on the UK economy will drive demand for financial education in the workplace, according to research by Nudge. Read story
28% of New Zealand employers conduct pay audits to close the gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: More than a quarter (28%) of HR manager respondents in New Zealand are conducting salary audits to help close the gender pay gap in their organisation, according to research by Robert Half. Read story
Flexibility on contribution increases would safeguard AE post-Brexit
Professional Pensions: The government should consider introducing more flexibility to auto-enrolment (AE) increases to reduce the risk of opt-outs especially post-Brexit, according to Hugh Nolan. Read story
Small employers continue to miss staging date, says Now Pensions
Professional Pensions: One in five small employers are missing their auto-enrolment (AE) staging date, according to Now Pensions' client figures. Read story
Keyline adopts proactive approach to physical health to reduce staff back pain
Employee Benefits: Construction organisation Keyline takes a preventative approach to employee health and wellbeing to minimise the risks of musculoskeletal back pain, which can be exacerbated by physical and manual labour, as well as sedentary, desk-bound working. Read story
Redundancy ban to be considered for new mothers
People Management: Women and equalities committee report calls on government to strengthen protection from discrimination.
McClymont: Don't expect pension dashboard to solve all problems
Professional Pensions: There are too high expectations on the pension dashboard to solve a lot of problems in the UK's fragmented system, says Gregg McClymont. Read story
Buy-in market celebrates 10th anniversary
Professional Pensions: It has been 10 years since the first pensioner buy-in was completed. Helen Morrissey looks at how the industry has evolved. Read story
AE needs 'steady' increase in contributions post-2019
Professional Pensions: The auto-enrolment (AE) programme is at risk of derailment if the government increases contribution rates too rapidly, Zurich has warned. Read story
Gender discrimination still rife in the workplace
Reward Guide: Many managers witness to discrimination or bias in past year. Read story
Greater London Authority launches childcare deposit loan scheme for staff
Employee Benefits: Greater London Authority (GLA) organisations, such as Transport for London, have introduced a childcare deposit loan scheme for employees. Read story
Government publishes draft regulations for public sector gender pay gap reporting
Employee Benefits: The government has published draft regulations on mandatory gender pay gap reporting for public sector organisations with 250 or more employees. Read story