At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 13-19 November
18% have clear understanding of pension reforms
Employee Benefits: Employees have mixed levels of understanding about the pension reforms, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2015. Read story
Court rules holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated if hours increase
Employee Benefits: The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that employees’ accumulated holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated following an increase in their hours. Read story
53% view flexible working as key part of wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Just over half (53%) of respondents view flexible working as a key part of their overall employee wellbeing strategy, according to research by Aon. Read story
Discretionary schemes boom as employers target share rewards
WSB: All-employee share plans are slumping while discretionary schemes soar. Owain Thomas examines the reasons and what benefits plans bring to employers. Read story
Top tips for wellbeing strategies on alcohol consumption
WSB: Buck Consultants at Xerox has provided top tips for employers when considering workplace strategies promoting the dangers of excess alcohol consumption. Read story
No shirking the ‘risk of ruin’ message - Nest's Mark Fawcett
Corporate Adviser: Telling people what they want to hear can be tempting, particularly when the realities of a situation might be difficult to swallow. But the emerging culture around the new pensions framework is no place to shy away from truths that some scheme designers and their customers may find uncomfortable. Read story
Target the smartphones to head off an auto-enrolment exodus
Corporate Adviser: It’s easy for the industry to consider auto-enrolment to have been a huge success. Over five million employees are now saving for retirement, most of whom had never previously done so. Millions more are due to join them by the time all employers have staged. Read story
Employees struggle to maintain healthy lifestyle
Reward Guide: Workplace productivity would improve if employees were able to make positive lifestyle changes, according to new research from Bupa – with 85% saying they’d be more productive if they could make – and stick to – changes. Read story
Trinity Mirror reviews advisers ahead of DC default appraisal
Pensions Expert: Trinity Mirror Pension Plan has carried out a consultant review ahead of an appraisal of its defined contribution default fund, spurred by the introduction of the freedom and choice reforms. Read story
Sainsbury's and ITV get creative to tackle deficit challenge
Pensions Expert: Broadcaster ITV and retailer Sainsbury’s are just two household-name employers to announce “chunky” new deficit funding to weather the harsh conditions buffeting defined benefit pension schemes. Read story
Premier Foods eats away at deficit by more than £570m
Pensions Expert: Food manufacturing company Premier Foods decimated its IAS 19 deficit to £32.8m from £603.3m since December 2013 thanks to its hedging strategy and a change in discount rates. Read story
Methodist Church seeks £25m saving by converting to CPI
Pensions Expert: The Methodist Church Council is consulting with all scheme members, including existing pensioners, on a proposal to link future pension increases to the consumer price index in an bid to temper the rising cost of defined benefit provision. Read story
Hybrid schemes are ‘win-win’ for employers, workers and society
Professional Pensions: Hybrid schemes lead to much better governance and investment outcomes than pure defined contribution (DC) or defined benefit (DB), according to a report by the 300 Club. Read story
Wessex Group gains living wage accreditation
Employee Benefits: Wessex Group, which employs 400 members of staff, has been accredited as a living wage employer. Read story
Poor work-life balance prompts 8% of new starters to leave
Employee Benefits: Almost one in 10 (8%) respondents consider moving on from a new job if it does not provide them with a suitable work-life balance, according to research by CV Library. Read story
SPP launches charge transparency reporting templates
Corporate Adviser: The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) defined contribution committee, has prepared two standard reporting templates to help defined contribution scheme trustees and Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) comply with their new oversight obligations. Read story
Boots prepares for pensions auto-re-enrolment
Employee Benefits: Boots, a member of Walgreens Boots Alliance, is facing its first cyclical re-enrolment in January 2016 and has identified around 2,000 staff that must be assessed and potentially automatically re-enrolled. Read story
RPMI gets PQM Plus status
Professional Pensions: RPMI has achieved the PQM Plus standard for its employee scheme in recognition of the governance standards, communications and contributions. Read story
Male workers paid 19% more than female counterparts
HR Magazine: The gap is largest in the financial and insurance sectors, as well as other professional roles. Read story
NHS Trust sees 1,000 salary sacrifice cars ordered
WSB: Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has saved more than £25,000 thanks to its car salary sacrifice scheme. Read story
Holiday entitlement does not need to be retrospectively changed
WSB: Employers do not need to retrospectively adjust holiday entitlement if a part-time employee changes their hours, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided. Read story
Npower develops mental health strategy
WSB: The energy company has unveiled a mental wellbeing DVD and seen almost a third of its customer service representatives complete mindfulness training. Read story
24% offer financial wellbeing support
Employee Benefits: Despite major reforms to how employees can access pension savings with the introduction of pension flexibilities in April 2015, many respondents are not seeking to address financial wellbeing as part of their overall employee wellbeing strategy. Read story
24% believe better benefits would improve feelings towards workplace
Employee Benefits: Around a quarter (24%) of respondents believe improved employee benefits would make them feel happier about their place of work, according to research by recruitment firm Adecco. Read story
17% are unsure about pension freedoms
Employee Benefits: Around a fifth (17%) of respondents believe that their employees are still confused about the pension freedoms, according to research by Close Brothers Asset Management. Read story
Benefits enhanced to retain baby boomers
Pay and Benefits: Almost a third of companies are enhancing benefit programmes to retain baby boomers, research has shown. Read story
Annuity bad option for most - Cass Business School
Corporate Adviser: Most people would be better off drawing down money from their pension pot when they retire rather than annuitising, and those over £100,000 should almost always do so, according to research from Cass Business School, City University, London. Read story
Back to basics on tax-free loans
Employee Benefits: The benefit of an interest-free loan remains a consideration when looking at the taxation of employees’ reward packages. Read story
Adviser numbers up 5%, official figures show
Cover Magazine: The number of financial advisers operating in the UK has increased 5% in the last year as the industry edges closer to pre-Retail Distribution Review (RDR) levels, according to the latest data. Read story
National living wage will affect half of employers
Personnel Today: More than half (54%) of UK employers say the national living wage, which comes into force on 1 April 2016, will have an effect on the paybill. Read story
FCA targets pension investment consultants in market study
Corporate Adviser: The extent to which investment consultants impact competition for institutional asset management services will be subject to review by an FCA market study. Read story
Coats agrees recovery plan as TPR investigation continues
Professional Pensions: Trustees of the Brunel pension fund have agreed a recovery plan with the scheme’s sponsor, which is being investigated by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) over concerns about a corporate restructuring. Read story
Only half of UK women saving enough for retirement
Professional Pensions: Only half of all women in the UK are saving enough for their retirement, while nearly a quarter are saving nothing at all, research finds. Read story
Trustees’ attempt to overturn £132,000 PPF interest charge rejected
Professional Pensions: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) Ombudsman has rejected attempts by a pension scheme to have £132,097 of interest on a late payment of its levy waived. Read story
Orchard Media and Events Group launches share scheme for staff
Employee Benefits: Orchard Media and Events Group has a launched a share scheme to offer its 40 members of staff a stake in the business. Read story
Incentives fall as real terms pay rises for first time since recession
WSB: Employees are being paid more in real terms for the first time since 2008 – largely due to the prolonged fall in inflation, official statistics reveal. Read story
One in ten think freedoms cash is tax-free
WSB: One in ten employees believe any cash taken out of a pension pot using the retirement freedoms is tax-free, with 5% saying this applies to all cash taken out. Read story
Smiths cuts recovery contributions by 60%
WSB: The Smiths Group is cutting contributions to the Smiths Industries Pension Scheme (SIPS) after a dramatic improvement in funding levels. Read story
Beware of expat maternity costs
Cover Magazine: Expatriate maternity packages can be complicated and leave employers and individuals with many questions, Jelf International has warned. Read story
Auto-enrolment hits 60,000 firms and 5.5 million workers
Professional Pensions: Almost 5.5 million people in 60,000 firms have been automatically enrolled since 2012, according to the latest government figures. Read story
National living wage will increase pay bill for majority of employers, finds CIPD
CIPD: More than half of employers expect their pay bill to rise when the national living wage (NLW) is introduced, prompting a third to consider plans to increase staff productivity, according to a survey by the CIPD and the Resolution Foundation (RF). Read story
Unhealthy employees costing UK businesses
Reward Guide: The effects of both absenteeism and presenteeism are being felt in UK businesses, as they lose on average 23.5 days of productive time per employee each year due to sickness absence and under-performance through ill health. Read story
36% suffer from a chronic health condition
Employee Benefits: More than 36% of respondents are coping with a chronic health condition such as heart disease of diabetes, according to research by Britain’s Healthiest Company, alongside Vitality Health, the University of Cambridge, Mercer and RAND Europe. Read story
69% say Christmas rewards boost positivity about employer
Employee Benefits: Some 69% of employee respondents say that receiving some form of reward at Christmas makes them feel more positively towards their employer, according to research by Edenred. Read story
Asda creates massive rise in share scheme engagement
WSB: Asda has seen more than one in five employees sign-up to its share scheme this year. Read story
Mandatory paid carers' leave demanded
WSB: The government has been urged to introduce a mandatory period of paid leave for carers as a report reveals their unpaid efforts save the state £132bn a year. Read story