All Benefits for carers articles – Page 76
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Video
VIDEO: Charlotte Sweeney: Needs of carers must be taken seriously
Employers must take the needs of carers more seriously, said Charlotte Sweeney, diversity and wellbeing specialist.During an interview with Debi O’Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits, at Employee Benefits Live at the end of September, Sweeney said that the change in employee demographic means that far more people in the workplace ...
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Article
Flexible working could challenge pay strategy
Proposals to reform flexible working and parental leave could raise questions on how to fairly compensate an employee working flexibly.The standard approach of apportioning pay might need to be reviewed and replaced by organisations rewarding flexible workers more closely based on their outputs and productivity levels, said Dawn Nicholson, HR ...
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Article
Plantronics increases staff engagement
EXCLUSIVE: Audio electronics firm Plantronics has increased its employee engagement levels by more than 20% since it launched a flexible working initiative in 2011.The flexible working initiative, which is open to all 300 employees, allows them to amend their hours to better fit work around their personal lives, such as ...
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Article
Lloyds launches online support to working parents
Lloyds Banking Group has launched an e-learning programme for employees that take maternity, paternity and adoption leave.The programme includes modules on preparing for maternity or adoption, maternity and adoption leave, and a post-maternity module for employees returning to work. There is also a module for male employees taking paternity leave.The ...
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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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Case Studies
Emergency childcare pays off with engagement for Northern Trust
About 150 employees have signed up to the service, which is provided by My Family Care and includes emergency childcare, school holiday cover, and elder and adult care.Childcare support is in the form of childminders, nannies and nursery places. The company funds six sessions of care for each employee annually.Cara ...
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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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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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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
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
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
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
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
Flexible working most sought after benefit
More than half (55%) of respondents rate flexible working hours as the benefit they would most like to receive from their employer, according to research by financial services firm Engage Mutual.The Employee benefits study, which polled 1,254 working adults, found that 38% of respondents do not receive any workplace benefits, ...
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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 ...
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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
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 ...