All Benefits for carers articles – Page 71
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Opinion
Julian Foster: Emergency childcare is a necessity
Or perhaps your child’s nursery has had to close because the drains need work, or your parents have decided to go on a last-minute cruise for a break from their grandparenting duties?There can be various reasons why childcare arrangements can break down. Parents do not want to let their employer ...
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AnalysisEmergency childcare can pay off
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…There is no legal obligation for employers to provide emergency childcare to employees.A range of emergency childcare options is available to parents in the workplace, but their suitability depends on the employer’s budgets and the employees’ needs.One of the biggest benefits of operating a ...
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Case Studies
High Court to look at maternity leave anomaly
In September 2011, a mother who was having a child through surrogacy asked her employer for details of her leave entitlements.The employer offered 52 weeks’ unpaid leave, but said it had no legal obligation to provide paid leave or time off.The mother then contacted her MP to express her dissatisfaction ...
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Opinion
Spencer Roach: Flexible working key to reducing staff stress
I read the average UK worker spends 200 hours commuting each year, so at 52% that would potentially be an extra 100 hours of productivity.Clearly, the practicalities of formalising flexible working vaires by industry sector, but in my organisation, I see a growing number of roles with an international remit. ...
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Article
Flexible working practices are Olympic legacy
Going forward, this will be driven by factors such as the economic climate and changing workforce demographics.Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “Post-financial crisis, there was a lot of consultation between employers and employees which resulted in more flexible ways of ...
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Article
Debbie Lovewell: Work-life balance is business benefit
Forward-thinking employers have got wise to the fact that flexibility around working hours and location for all staff (not simply parents and carers) can have many benefits for their business.In cases where this change in corporate culture still needs to occur, employers will have to set out a clear strategy ...
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Article
Southend Council doubles take-up
EXCLUSIVE: Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has doubled the take-up of its voluntary benefits scheme, since it switched providers and added employee discounts to the scheme in April 2012.The scheme previously offered access to childcare vouchers and a bikes for work via a salary sacrifice arrangement. In March 2012, it had 76 ...
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Article
BNP Paribas to host diversity week
BNP Paribas is hosting a diversity week, which will include a number of educational events for staff aimed at engendering understanding and learning around diversity issues.The event, which will be held across the bank’s UK offices from 15 to 19 October, will bring together discussions on ability, gender, sexual orientation, ...
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Article
James Kirkland: Does flexible working reduce stress?
In the run-up to the Olympics, we at O2 held the UK’s biggest ever flexible working trial for our 1,700 Slough-based office staff. With the rowing at nearby Eton Dorney attracting up to 30,000 visitors a day, we needed to find alternative arrangements for staff or risk losing them in ...
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Article
Mary Mercer: Does flexible working reduce stress?
Flexible working, when first developed as the concept of work-life balance, had at its heart the ability of the employee to control their working life and reduce stress. A range of organisations that measured employee stress levels before introducing work-life balance programmes and then remeasured the stress levels of flexible ...
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Article
David Smith: Does flexible working reduce stress?
Employers should be encouraged to adopt a strategic approach to addressing rising levels of stress. Research may point to flexible working as a useful tool that employers can use to reduce stress, but it is important they do not regard it as a standalone solution for this type of issue ...
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Article
Enterprise to expand flexible working
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is to expand its home-working programme after experiencing positive results during a pilot.The car hire company launched the pilot to establish whether home working was a viable approach to growing its call centre, based in Aldershot.During the pilot, call centre employees from its Enterprise Business Support (EBS) facility ...
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Article
Simon Moffatt: Would more flexible parental leave end reward inequality?
The government’s Modern Workplaces consultation on plans to introduce a new system of flexible parental leave from 2015, enabling both parents to share some of the statutory time out, will provide a more flexible foundation for both parents to share childcare duties while maintaining their careers and earning power.It also ...
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Article
Ernst and Young extends coaching for mums
EXCLUSIVE: Ernst and Young has rolled out its maternity coaching webinars to employees in Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.The firm launched the webinars for its UK employees in February 2011.The webinars cover all stages of pre, during and post-maternity, and help staff manage the transition in and out of ...
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Article
Standard Chartered enhances flexible working for global staff
EXCLUSIVE: Standard Chartered Bank has introduced a range of flexible working opportunities for staff in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the UK and the US.The roll-out of the new benefits have taken place over the last six months across ten of the bank’s 70 markets to make its offering globally ...
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Article
Vebnet to offer benefit for carers
EXCLUSIVE: Vebnet will add Allianz Global Assistance’s family homecare plan into its benefits offering for employers.The product, which will be available from 1 October, ensures employees will be looked after and assisted should they experience an accident or sudden illness. Partners and parents can also be added to the cover.It ...
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Article
Working Families Awards' shortlist announced
American Express, BT and the Royal Bank of Scotland are among the employers shortlisted for the 2012 Top Employers for Working Families Awards.The awards, which will be presented on 25 September, recognise organisations across the UK that support work-life balance and career development for working parents, carers and flexible workers.The ...
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Article
Amex introduces a care service
EXCLUSIVE: American Express is to introduce a back-up care service, open its voluntary benefits website to home access and host a series of events to coincide with National Work-Life Week from 24 to 28 September.The back-up care service, which will be provided by Bright Horizons, will be promoted with information ...
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Article
Care support will aid retention
Support with caring for children and elder care will help organisations retain talent, said Charlotte Sweeney, former head of diversity and inclusion, EMEA at Nomura, speaking at Employee Benefits Live on 26 September.The diversity, inclusion and wellbeing specialist added that people are more likely to leave work to handle care ...
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Article
Age UK publishes recommendations on flexible working
Age UK has published a report that outlines recommendations for the government and employers around the benefits of offering flexible working to older employees.In the report, A means to many ends, Age UK expresses the concern that not enough is being done to support older workers to enter, and remain ...