At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 18-23 March 2016.
Deloitte publishes data on the backgrounds of partners and employees
HR Magazine: Deloitte has become one of the first employers to publish data on the socio-economic and educational background of its partners and employees. Read story
Admiral CEO gifts £1,000 to employees
Employee Benefits: Henry Engelhardt, chief executive officer (CEO) at Admiral, and his wife, Diane Engelhardt, are personally gifting between £500 and £1,000 to each member of the organisation’s 8,300-strong global workforce. Read story
Porsche awards €8,911 bonus to staff
Employee Benefits: Porsche AG is awarding employees a €8,911 (£6,952) bonus in recognition of their role in helping the organisation achieve positive results for 2015. Read story
62% of under-25s would be more loyal to employer if paid national living wage
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (62%) of respondents aged 16-24 would be more loyal to their employer if they were to receive the new national living wage rate, which is only statutory for employees aged 25 and over, according to research by workforce management firm Kronos. Read story
Osborne’s Lifetime Isa points to £7bn pension tax grab
Money Marketing: Make no mistake about it – George Osborne’s Lifetime Isa is more than just a neat little wheeze designed to woo low-earners to vote Tory in 2020. It is a clear signal to the pensions industry that the current tax relief system is on its way out. Read story
Travel time payout could open door to more NMW claims
CIPD: HMRC has already identified almost £500,000 owed to care workers on the minimum wage. Read story
Salary sacrifice childcare voucher schemes are ‘remuneration’ for maternity leave purposes
CIPD: Government guidance is “not a proper basis for decision making in the courts”, says EAT. Read story
ABI’s Huw Evans: Trading blows on the pension Isa
Corporate Adviser: Picking the right battlefield is a complex affair when lobbying the Treasury says ABI director general Huw Evans. Read story
Budget Commentary 2016 – ‘the drift from pensions to Isas in the workplace’
Reward Guide: WEALTH at work, financial education provider, examines the implications of the 2016 Budget announcement. Read story
English National Opera resolves pay dispute with chorus staff
Employee Benefits: The employees, who are members of Equity, the trade union for professional performers and creative practitioners, were due to strike on 18 March over proposed pay cuts of 25% for 44 employees, and the potential loss of jobs for four members of staff. Read story
Terminal illness ‘should be a protected characteristic’
CIPD: Campaigners aim to change European law after employee with breast cancer is ‘forced out’ by bosses. Read story
Aramark health service workers strike over pay
Employee Benefits: Aramark health service employees are taking strike action today (21 March) in a dispute over pay. Read story
Liquid Friday launches voluntary benefits programme
Employee Benefits: Contracting firm Liquid Friday has introduced a voluntary benefits programme for its 2,000 contractors. Read story
Just 24% are aware statutory sick pay is less than £100 a week
Employee Benefits: Less than a quarter (24%) of employee respondents are aware that statutory sick pay (SSP) currently stands at less than £100 a week, according to research by Legal and General. Read story
Raise paternity pay to address gender imbalances, say MPs
People Management: Three months’ leave urged for second parents; shared parental leave ‘makes little difference’. Read story
RBS rebuked over plans to hit members with £18m NI costs
Professional Pensions: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has received backlash over plans to pass £18m of national insurance (NI) costs onto its 27,000 defined benefit (DB) scheme members. Read story
Combining annuity and drawdown can tackle retirement income risks
Professional Pensions: Retirees can benefit from combining annuity and drawdown into their investment portfolio to avoid significant financial hardship in old age, according to a study. Read story
IA unveils plan to boost long-term investment in the UK
Professional Pensions: The Investment Association has launched an industry-wide productivity plan to boost the UK economy through long-term investment. Read story
Dr Fehmidah Munir: Breaking up sitting time can improve physical and mental wellbeing
Employee Benefits: Sitting for long periods has been found to be harmful. We will sit at our desks at work for a long time and then go home and watch TV. So we are sitting again. Prolonged sitting has been linked to a risk of diabetes, obesity, and a lot of metabolic diseases. Read story
Alstom uses exercise challenge to improve staff health
Employee Benefits: Engineering firm Alstom UK and Ireland, which employs more than 2,500 people in a variety of manual and office-based roles, identified it was facing potential health problems as a result of an ageing workforce. Read story
FRC: trustees reluctant to allow DB to DC transfers
Professional Pensions: The number of transfers from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes has been lower than expected, according to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Read story
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Virgin Money commit to charter linking executive pay to gender diversity
Employee Benefits: Barclays, Capital Credit Union, Columbia Threadneedle, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Virgin Money have committed to a new charter that links executive pay to gender diversity. Read story
19% plan to increase benefits spend in 2016
Employee Benefits: Around a fifth (19%) of employer respondents plan to increase spend on employee benefits over the next 12 months, according to research by Aviva. Read story
63% view generation Z as most likely to disrupt the workforce
Employee Benefits: Almost two-thirds (63%) of employer respondents believe generation Z will disrupt the workforce more than any other generation, according to research by Capita Resourcing. Read story
Women "hugely outnumbered" on boards
HR Magazine: Fewer than half (47%) of companies have actually increased their female board representation. Read story
MNOPF improves funding by 10% after ramping up LDI
Professional Pensions: The £2.7bn Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) has improved its funding level to 79% after increasing its liability hedging ratio to 95% of assets. Read story
TPR launches new scorpion campaign as scams on the rise
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has revamped its scorpion campaign to warn of the dangers of pension scams after people are still falling for them. Read story
AE providers slammed for stewardship and responsible investment failings
Corporate Adviser: Auto-enrolment pension providers have been slammed for failing to put a pension saver with assets in the scheme on their board and for delegating virtually all responsibility for stewardship to asset managers. Read story
“Shocking scale” of maternity discrimination revealed
Personnel Today: As many as 390,000 female workers a year have a “negative or possibly discriminatory” experience during pregnancy and maternity leave, or on their return. Read story
Flexible working should be a day-one right say MPs
Personnel Today: All roles should be advertised as flexible unless there is a strong and continuing business reason otherwise, a committee of MPs has concluded in a report on the gender pay gap. Read story
Budget 2016: shared grandparental leave proposals to be unveiled in May
Personnel Today: The first consultation on the extension of shared parental leave to grandparents will be launched in May, Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Budget. Read story