All articles by Debbie Lovewell-Tuck – Page 16
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should employers award extra holiday to non smokers?
Last week, Japanese firm Piala hit the headlines with the news that it has introduced up to six additional days paid holiday per year for the non smokers in its workforce to counterbalance the smoking breaks taken by their colleagues. The company is based on the 29th floor of an ...
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OpinionDomonique McRae: Should employers accept joint liability for labour abuse within supply chains?
In July 2017, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices, an independent review of working practices. This report made a number of recommendations to attempt to address some of the issues currently facing the UK labour market.One of ...
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OpinionWill Sandbrook: How can we improve workers’ financial wellbeing today through to retirement?
Over half of employers say that poor financial wellbeing has had a detrimental impact on their workers’ performance, according to The DNA of financial wellbeing report, published by Neyber in May 2017. It is therefore unsurprising that this is an issue on many employers’ minds.Auto-enrolment has certainly helped the UK ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should employers do more to support working fathers?
How supportive is your organisation of working fathers? Do they feel able to take parental leave or does this continue to be perceived as a benefit primarily for female employees, particularly in the first year of their child’s life?Research published by Hays in New Zealand earlier this week found that ...
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ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Harnessing the power of technology
As our Benefits Technology Week, in association with Aon Employee Benefits, draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.The speed of technological evolution constantly seems to be accelerating. It is strange to think that ...
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ArticleClare Sheridan: Do not make workers put away their everyday selves when it comes to online benefits
It is Monday morning. Put aside your everyday self until next weekend; it is time to adopt your work self, catch the early train and face the week. And then, repeat until you retire.There are still jobs and organisational cultures that fit this rather dispiriting mindset, but the world of ...
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Article
3 Editor's comment
As we head towards the first autumn Budget on 23 November, speculation is rife about Chancellor Philip Hammond’s possible changes to pensions. This is hardly surprising given the vast pace of change experienced in the pensions industry over the past few years. In many cases, employers have found it necessary ...
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OpinionLovewell's Logic: When benefits lose their appeal
Last week, I came across an article about a publishing company (in no way related to Employee Benefits) offering its employees the opportunity to purchase an extra day’s holiday over the Christmas period. In itself, this is not unusual. It is a benefit we regularly cover; while putting the search ...
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OpinionPhilip Woolham: The rising state pension age: another turn of the screw for employers
Over the summer, the government announced that the state pension age would reach 68 by 2039, not 2046. If this happens, thousands of people will wait longer for state pensions. But is this such a big change?By itself, perhaps not. But the state pension is, for many, the largest part ...
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ArticleConfessions of a benefits manager: Candid reviews her EAP
You can't help but wonder why some people have end up in the jobs they have. Take one of my contacts at Smarmy Consulting, Barry. I recently bumped into Barry at a networking event and he backed me into a corner to tell me about his new job. Unlike his ...
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ArticleNHS pay cap to be scrapped
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced that the cap on NHS pay is to be scrapped.The seven-year cap on NHS staff wages will end next year.Speaking in the House of Commons on 10 October, Hunt said: “NHS staff do a fantastic job in tough circumstances, and pay restraint has been ...
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ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Maximising employee engagement
As our Engagement Week, in association with Benenden, draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.In today’s workplaces, what truly engages employees is the million-dollar question. For some, it may be the salary and ...
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ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Paying tribute to Marcus Underhill
Last week, all of us here at Employee Benefits were shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Marcus Underhill.When I first met Marcus not long after joining Employee Benefits 14 years ago, he was introduced to me as one of the pioneers of flexible benefits in the UK. ...
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Article
2 Sponsor's comment
As the automatic-enrolment staging date period draws to a close, employers that made decisions about their pension scheme up to four years ago are coming into a review period. This review is an opportunity to look closely at pension schemes and to decide if previous choices are still offering value ...
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ArticleConfessions of a benefits manager: Candid looks at gender pay reporting
The can of worms is open and wiggling across my desk. Gender pay gap reporting has forced the Higher Beings to look more closely at pay, and although it is not published yet, I can tell you the results of our report are shocking.However, the real problem is not so ...
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ArticleHelen Smith: How looking after employees’ health and wellbeing can boost engagement
Engaged employees are good for business. By creating a culture where employees feel valued and happy to be at work, an organisation can often see improvements in productivity, innovation, financial performance, and reductions in absence and staff turnover.As engagement becomes more and more important for employers, the link between employee ...
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OpinionJames Kelly: The science of motivation
It is widely accepted that a successful organisation is one that invests in its employees and uses a range of motivational tools to increase production and profit. However, mastering the art of embedding a culture of motivation across the whole organisation can be challenging.So, why is it so hard to ...
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ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Are employees truly motivated?
As our Motivation Week, in association with Red Letter Days Motivates, draws to a close, it is time to reflect on some of the trends and issues currently shaping this area of the benefits market.Employee motivation is currently high on many employers’ agendas, but what truly motivates individuals? In a ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: When is the optimum time to publish gender pay gap data?
When Fujitsu and Acas reported their gender pay gap data earlier this week, they became the latest in a line of organisations to publish this information ahead of next April’s deadline.Employers including Deloitte UK, TSB, Virgin Money, and Schroders have also voluntarily reported their gender pay gap information ahead of ...
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ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Changing approaches to health and wellbeing
Employers’ approaches to and strategies around employee health and wellbeing have changed immensely over the 19 years in which we have been conducting research into this area.In the not-too-distant past, healthcare strategies tended to focus predominantly on benefits such as private medical insurance (PMI), designed to support employees once they ...