All articles by Jessica Bird – Page 11
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Case StudiesFord uses data to analyse the value of pension contributions across the globe
Image credit: r.classenInternational automotive manufacturer Ford spends approximately $1 billion (£772,195,000) per year on pensions for its employees, spanning 36 countries and more than 120 different schemes. In the UK alone, 10,000 members of staff are enrolled in either defined contribution (DC) or defined benefit (DB) arrangements.Quantifying the value of ...
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OpinionAlice Honeywill: The value of additional contributions in closing the gender pension gap
While we await government reforms on pension policy and wider industry change to tackle the gender pension gap, I find myself asking one question: what action can be taken right now?More specifically, what steps can employers be taking to make small, yet potentially effective, changes?The most widely discussed initiative is ...
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OpinionKate Gardner: What does the landmark veganism ruling mean for employers?
In a major step forward in employment law, a tribunal has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief, meaning that an employee could rely upon veganism as one of the nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010.While this is great news for employees, how will it affect ...
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ArticleFormer head of Yately Industries for the Disabled jailed for pensions fraud
The former head of charity organisation Yately Industries for the Disabled, Patrick McLarry, has been jailed for five years for defrauding its pension scheme.Investigations by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) discovered that between 2012 and 2013, during his tenure as the director of VerdePlanet, the corporate trustee of the Yately Industries ...
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ArticleTPR announces new measures to improve standards of trusteeship and protect savers
In its response to its Future of Trusteeship and Governance consultation, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced that it will be taking new measures to protect pension savers and improve member outcomes.The consultation, which took place between July and September 2019, received 114 responses from a mix of layperson and ...
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ArticleAverage weekly pay increased by 1.8% in 2019
Between December 2018 and December 2019, real regular weekly pay, excluding bonuses and adjusted for inflation, increased by 1.8%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The Labour market economic commentary: February 2020 report, released today (18 February 2020), also found that real total pay, which includes bonuses, had increased ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Aligning employees takes careful planning and investment
There are a whole range of approaches employers can take to reward their staff, which can be both financial and non-financial: a bonus, pay rise, holiday and recognition of work are just a few examples.Such variety indicates that no one approach can suit every circumstance, and employers must tailor their ...
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ArticleTJ Morris awards 900 warehouse staff 15% pay rise
Image credit: TreasureGaloreWarehouse staff working at retail organisation TJ Morris, which operates as Home Bargains, have voted to accept a 15% pay deal.The accepted deal, announced by trade union Unite on 13 February 2020, will affect the pay of 900 employees. It also includes changes to shift patterns and working ...
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AnalysisFuture trends: Benefits strategy in numbers
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OpinionClaire Goodby: Ministry of Justice ruling could have significant impact on pensions
In December 2019, the Supreme Court upheld part-time judges’ claim for equal pensions treatment, a ruling that could have a financial impact on schemes and sponsoring employers.Prior to this case, claims for unfavourable treatment towards part-time workers needed to be brought within three months of the end of the part-time ...
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OpinionMark Witte and Sarah Robson: 2020’s biggest benefits trend might not be benefits
With Madonna on tour again and bum-bags making a fashion comeback, it feels like 2020 is history repeating itself. Nevertheless, although Aon's UK benefits and trends survey 2020, published in January, showed a lot of consistency, it also indicated some clear trends and changes, including an increasing interest in value-on-investment ...
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OpinionKsenia Zheltoukhova: To meet real staff needs, give them skills for the future
This week, Nesta is shining a spotlight on the future of work and skills, and has commissioned the UK’s first ever survey of people working in the jobs that are most at risk of being automated in the next decade. Shockingly, the results show that two in three of those ...
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OpinionPaula Bailey: Planned employment law changes in 2020
2020 is set to be another year of change from an employment law perspective, with contracts, the employment relationship and pay likely to continue to dominate the agenda, together with the new immigration requirements that the government plans to introduce post-Brexit.We have already seen a number of interesting Employment Tribunal ...
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ArticleDavid Stone: What should employee wellbeing look like in 2020?
Ever since British economist John Maynard Keynes first predicted that working weeks would continue to get shorter way back in 1933, organisations, employees and governments have toyed with the idea of the four-day working week. Though attempts of this new way of working have been overwhelmingly positive, from Perpetual Guardian’s ...
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ArticleDuncan Brown: What should employee wellbeing look like in 2020?
Workplace wellbeing has apparently rocketed to the top of every benefits professional's agenda for 2020. The latest Benefit trends survey, published in October 2019 by Willis Towers Watson, for example, found staff wellbeing at the top of the benefits league table, with 76% of employers planning to incorporate it into ...
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ArticleNick Pahl: What should employee wellbeing look like in 2020?
In December 2019, the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) published a report, The value of occupational health to workplace wellbeing, which examined how occupational health practitioners and providers can add value to workplace wellbeing initiatives. The report also emphasised four broad areas of the knowledge, skills and competences required to ...
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ArticleEnrique González: What should employee wellbeing look like in 2020?
2020 is not just any other year; it is the start of a new decade full of challenges. We are living at a time when people are demanding more just and equal societies, promoting equal opportunities for everyone, and a more sustainable world in all aspects: environmental, economic and social.Employers ...
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OpinionDavid Gallagher and Eleanor Duhs: Brexit and pensions
Last December's election seemingly showed a clear mandate to 'get Brexit done'. As the date draws near, those who have responsibility over pensions within their organisations will need to be aware that Brexit will have a number of effects.Product regulation for sales in the UK/EUIf an organisation has a traditional ...
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Case StudiesKCJ sees culture and reward as key to creating close-knit workforce
When Don Bryden, founder and managing director of Stratton-based KCJ Training and Employment Solutions, introduced additional annual leave for non-smoking employees earlier this month, he hit national headlines.Beneath a widely-publicised debate about the policy, which Bryden introduced with the hope of helping non-smoking staff among his 11-person workforce match the ...
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AnalysisCash or cupcakes: Is money the best motivator?
Need to know:Research often shows financial rewards are top of the list, but younger employees increasingly look for something more meaningful and experiential.Financial drivers can be highly effective if they are proportional, fair and well communicated.Perks can more easily be related back to specific behaviours and employer values, whereas cash ...