At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 8-14 July
Royal Mail Group receives 1,200 orders for car salary sacrifice scheme
Employee Benefits: Royal Mail Group has seen staff place 1,200 orders for cars after launching a salary sacrifice car scheme in March. Read story
Sports Direct to review bonus arrangements
Employee Benefits: Sports Direct is to review its incentive arrangement after failing to reach the full year earnings targets required to trigger payments under its annual share-based bonus scheme. Read story
DWP consults on future of Nest
Employee Benefits: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on the future of the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) to investigate whether the service needs to better reflect the current pensions market. Read story
Civil Service, Pinsent Masons and Royal Mail Group awarded for equality and inclusion
Employee Benefits: The Civil Service, Lloyd’s of London, Pinsent Masons and Royal Mail Group were among the organisations awarded for inclusive and equal workplace practices at the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI) Awards. Read story
Getting auto-enrolment right
People Management: Employers need to plan early and keep the regulator in the loop. Read story
Getting ready for the new DC code
Professional Pensions: Trustees will soon need to comply with the regulator’s updated DC framework, but drafts of the final code have left them considering the future of their schemes. James Phillips reports. Read story
BT clashes with Sky over pensions impact of Ofcom's overhaul plans
Professional Pensions: A report commissioned by Sky sets out ways to separate Openreach from BT Group without putting pension scheme members at risk, following the telecoms giant’s warnings. Read story
Liberation now most common complaint investigated by ombudsman
Professional Pensions: Freedom and choice has helped fuel an 18% increase in complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman (PO) over the last year, according to its annual report and accounts. Read story
Could Brexit lead to the abolition of GMP equalisation?
Professional Pensions: Brexit has opened another front of uncertainty for UK pensions. Michael Klimes looks at what it could mean for GMP equalisation. Read story
Theresa May pledges to crack down on executive pay
Money Marketing: Conservative leader frontrunner Theresa May has pledged to place tighter controls on executive pay, to ensure the country works not just for “the privileged few”. Read story
E-cigarettes in the workplace ‘must not encourage take-up’
Health Insurance Daily: New guidelines acknowledge there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Read story
Impact of National Living Wage passed on to customers, not staff
HR Magazine: More employers have responded to the National Living Wage (NLW) by raising prices rather than cutting jobs. Read story
Fat Face launches mobile phone salary sacrifice scheme for staff
Employee Benefits: Clothing and accessories retail organisation Fat Face has launched a new salary sacrifice mobile phone scheme for its 3,000 UK employees. Read story
Benefex and EY partner on employee engagement
Employee Benefits: Professional services organisation EY has partnered with employee benefits provider Benefex to offer employee engagement solutions. Read story
8% reduce reward package in response to national living wage
Employee Benefits: Less than one in 10 (8%) employer respondents who have seen their wage bill increase following the introduction of the national living wage have reduced aspects of their reward package, such as paid breaks, overtime or bank holiday pay, in response to this, according to research by the Resolution Foundation. Read story
Ros Altmann: DB liabilities must not undermine UK economy
Professional Pensions: The industry has to be more flexible to make defined benefit (DB) schemes more sustainable during this time of economic uncertainty says Ros Altmann. Read story
Cost of longevity risk rockets amid record low yields
Professional Pensions: The cost of longevity risk for defined benefit (DB) schemes has increased by 50% in the past 12 years due to falling long-term interest rates. Read story
‘Bottom-up’ approach needed for adequate retirement
Professional Pensions: The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is calling for a ‘bottom-up’ approach to savings to help savers get better outcomes in retirement. Read story
‘Huge uncertainty’ could halt national living wage’s planned growth
People Management: Resolution Foundation report finds that post-referendum inflation may prevent NLW reaching its target of over £9 per hour by 2020. Read story
PPF 7800 Index: Liabilities soar to unseen levels
Professional Pensions: Liabilities of defined benefit (DB) schemes have increased markedly according to the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) 7800 Index. Read story
DWP moves to delay AE rate rises
Professional Pensions: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed auto-enrolment (AE) contribution rate rises will be delayed until April 2018. Read story
Starbucks enhances pay and benefits package for US staff
Employee Benefits: International coffee chain Starbucks is increasing pay and enhancing its benefits package for US-based employees, including changes to its healthcare programme and share scheme. Read story
City Hall reports 4.6% gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has reported the results of City Hall’s latest pay audit, which found the equivalent of a 4.6% gender pay gap. Read story
EY and LV= commit to Women in Finance Charter
Employee Benefits: A total of 72 organisations, including EY (pictured), LV=, and Standard Life, have signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, which aims to drive diversity across the financial services industry. Read story
Accenture embeds diversity and inclusion into its culture
Employee Benefits: Professional services organisation Accenture, which employs just over 12,500 staff in the UK and Ireland, strives to be at the forefront of workplace diversity and inclusivity. Read story
University of Sheffield takes proactive steps to enable staff to bring their whole selves to work
Employee Benefits: The University of Sheffield has worked hard to proactively develop a supportive and inclusive working environment, which has helped to lead to its inclusion on Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2016 list, and its ranking in the top third of The Sunday Times’ 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For 2016 list. Read story
Financial services giants promise to link exec pay to female progression
People Management: Campaigners hail a ‘turning point’ for gender equality – but warn that reward challenges lie ahead. Read story
JPMorgan Chase to raise base pay by up to $16.50
Employee Benefits: JPMorgan Chase is to raise the minimum pay for its 18,000 US employees to between $12 (£9.06) and $16.50 (£12.45) an hour. Read story
Pension deficit for defined benefit schemes increases by £89bn
Employee Benefits: The aggregate deficit of defined benefit pension schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index reached £383.6 billion at the end of June 2016, an £89 billion increase from the £294.6 billion recorded at the end of May 2016, according to data from the PPF. Read story
Businesses should encourage employees to ‘plan for the worst’
Health Insurance Daily: Aegon highlights top 10 ways to support workers’ financial health. Read story
Local Pensions Partnership creates £1.2bn UK property pool
Professional Pensions: The Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) has created a £1.2bn property investment pool to increase exposure to UK commercial and residential property. Read story
Ombudsman supports Royal London in £113k transfer complaint
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has backed Royal London’s decision to allow a scheme member to transfer £112,542 into another fund. Read story
Santander scheme defies Brexit gloom to post £750m gain in June
Professional Pensions: Professional Pensions speaks to Santander UK director of pensions Antony Barker about how his fund achieved record returns in June and the road ahead for scheme investment and the economy at large. Read story
Lock holiday pay case heard at Court of Appeal
Personnel Today: Lock and another v British Gas Trading Ltd, the highly anticipated case on including commission payments in holiday pay calculations, was heard at the Court of Appeal on Monday 11 July 2016. Read story
Damian Green new work and pensions secretary
Corporate Adviser: Damian Green, the former immigration minister and the MP for Ashford, has replaced Stephen Crabb as secretary of state for work and pensions. Read story
Work and pensions secretary resigns ‘to spend more time with family’
Corporate Adviser: Work and pensions secretary of state Stephen Crabb ‘in the best interests’ of his family has resigned from the cabinet and is returning to the backbenches. Read story
Steering group launched to develop fiduciary management performance standard
Professional Pensions: An eleven-strong industry group has been formed to help develop a fiduciary management performance standard. Read story
Bank of England decision to hold rates poses 'dilemma' for trustees
Professional Pensions: The Bank of England's decision to hold interest rates at 0.5% has temporarily eased the pressure on pension schemes but poses dilemma for trustees, JLT Employee Benefits says. Read story
Concerns over BHS, Tata Steel and Brexit to lead to greater finance director role in DB schemes
Professional Pensions: A majority of chief financial officers (CFOs) believe they need to spend more time working on their defined benefit (DB) schemes, latest research by Hymans Robertson reveals. Read story
Auto-enrolment success not at risk from LISA
Reward Guide: Company pension scheme is valued by renters and home-owners alike.
57% would attend dental check-ups if they had help with cost
Employee Benefits: More than half (57%) of respondents would attend a six-monthly dental check-up appointment if they had help with the dental costs, according to research by Monroe Sutton. Read story
Oscar Mayer focuses on benefits with universal appeal
Employee Benefits: With job roles ranging from new product development through to cooking and food preparation, Oscar Mayer recognises the importance of having a benefits approach that holds a universal appeal for all employees. Read story
Regulator's annual statement omits Brexit implications
Pensions Expert: The Pension Regulator’s 2015-2016 annual statement has pinpointed the main changes and risks the UK pension industry faces, but has not taken into account recent economic turmoil and its effect on the pensions landscape, industry experts have said. Read story