All articles by Julie Gilbert – Page 4
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OpinionRita Trehan: Should employers be required to report on broader diversity pay data?
Mandatory gender pay gap reporting is a great start to highlighting the issue of inequality in the workplace. But simply reporting statistics will not lead to transformational change. Real change can only happen when organisations embrace diversity in its fullest sense.For too long, we have lacked ambition and action when ...
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OpinionMaggie Stilwell: Should employers be required to report on broader diversity pay data?
It is now a commonly accepted fact that a diverse workforce operating in an inclusive environment creates a better business performance.Our experience is that goals, targets and measures set by regulation can help an organisation work towards that. For example, the gender pay gap regulations provide an opportunity for organisations ...
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AnalysisHow to support employees with seasonal affective disorder
Need to know:The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) tend to be more severe during the winter months.Daylight, exercise and diet are key ways to prevent and treat symptoms.SAD light-therapy boxes mimic sunlight and help to boost moods.Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as the winter blues, tends to affect ...
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OpinionShaun Davis: Take practical measures to support staff with seasonal affective disorder
As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop, many of us feel a bit down with the winter blues, but for some people in the UK this develops into a mental health condition called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This is a type of depression which causes individuals to have ...
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OpinionTerry Woolmer: Private medical insurance benefits both employers and employees
EEF’s annual sickness absence surveys have consistently shown that employers believe some form of incentive to provide private medical insurance (PMI) for their employees would be beneficial. In EEF's Employee health: Making industrial strategy work for Britain – Health, work, wellbeing and sickness absence survey 2017, published in August 2016, ...
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AnalysisWhat can employers do to make PMI more cost effective?
Need to know:Integrating private medical insurance (PMI) into an overall health and wellbeing strategy can cut long-term costs.Excesses and benefit caps enable employees at every level to have access to PMI with lower overheads.Introducing incentives to improve employee health and wellbeing can be more effective than cutting services.Private medical insurance ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 39% do not offer an alternative to contributions for staff who reach allowance limits
Over one-third of respondents (39%) do not offer an alternative to pension contributions for staff who reach their annual or lifetime allowance limits, according to research by Employee Benefits and Nest.The Employee Benefits/Nest Pensions research 2017, which surveyed 254 employer respondents in September 2017, found that April’s 2016’s reductions to ...
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ArticleArriva North West employees plan further strike action over pay
Arriva North West bus drivers and engineering employees are planning a further 10 24-hour strikes in their continued dispute over pay.More than 2,000 members of trade unions Unite and GMB, who work across 11 depots, will continue with industrial action with the next strike scheduled for Monday 27 November.The dispute ...
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ArticleBank of England reports a 21% mean gender pay gap
The Bank of England has reported a mean gender pay gap of 21% and a median gender pay gap of 24.2% for the year to 30 March 2017.Its figures on mean and median salaries by gender, which compared data from March 2016 to March 2017, found that the mean gender ...
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ArticleAviva introduces equal paid parental leave
Insurance organisation Aviva has introduced equal paid parental leave, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or how an employee became a parent (birth, adoption or surrogacy), for staff in the UK, Ireland, France, Singapore and Canada.Each new parent employed by the organisation will be entitled to receive 26 weeks leave at ...
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ArticleBritish Embassy in Jordan hires its first diplocat
Something for the weekend: Lawrence of Abdoun has been appointed by the British Embassy in Amman, Jordan to take the role of its first diplocat.Lawrence is the first official cat and overseas envoy for Palmerston, the Chief Mouser at the Foreign Office, and, is responsible for mousing, sleeping and being ...
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ArticleEuropean Commission launches two-year plan to tackle gender pay gap
The European Commission has published a report detailing its proposed plan to tackle the gender pay gap in Europe.The EU Action Plan 2017-2019, Tackling the gender pay gap, which has been issued to the European Parliament, The Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, reports that women in the ...
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ArticleHow will the Autumn Budget 2017 impact pay and benefits?
Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) delivered the Autumn Budget speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday 22 October 2017. Below is a summary of the key announcements that could impact employers’ pay and benefits strategies:The tax-free personal allowance will increase to £11,850 in April 2018, an increase of £350 from ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 75% are not planning to introduce a Lisa
Three-quarters of respondents (75%) are not planning to introduce the Lifetime individual savings account (Lisa) as a workplace savings tool, according to research by Employee Benefits and Nest.This is a significant increase since 2016 when just a third of respondents (33%) said they would not introduce the Lisa, according to ...
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ArticleNational living wage to increase to £7.83 an hour from April 2018
Autumn Budget 2017: The national living wage will increase to £7.83 an hour from April 2018, Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced.On the recommendation of the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC), the national living wage will increase by 4.4%, taking the current minimum level of pay for individuals aged 25 and ...
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ArticleGovernment to increase personal allowance and higher-rate tax threshold
Autumn Budget 2017: The tax-free personal allowance limit and higher-rate tax threshold will increase from April 2018.In his Autumn Budget 2017 speech today (22 November), Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed that the tax-free personal allowance will increase to £11,850 in April 2018, an increase of £350 from the current allowance of ...
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Article
University of London faces lawsuit over collective bargaining on pay and conditions
The University of London is facing a lawsuit filed by The independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) to argue the case of broadening the trade union rights of outsourced workers.The IWGB claims that facilities management company Cordant Security, which provide a number of employees to the university, including receptionists, ...
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ArticleLeicester City Council to pay 1,800 staff living wage increase
Leicester City Council is to increase pay for 1,800 employees in line with the voluntary living wage increased rate of £8.75.The living wage rate was raised on 5 November 2017 to £8.75 an hour for employees working across the UK. In December, approximately 1,800 of the council's low-paid workers will ...
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ArticleKeep up to date with the Autumn Budget 2017
Chancellor Philip Hammond will deliver his Autumn Budget 2017 speech at 12.30pm on Wednesday 22 November 2017.Stay tuned to the Employee Benefits website for all the latest updates on how the Autumn Budget could impact employers and staff.In the Spring Budget 2017, key announcements included: a reduction in the money ...
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ArticleGovernment publishes draft gig economy bill
The Work and Pensions Committee and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee have published a draft bill setting out proposed legislation which, if passed, would assume 'worker by default' status for individuals working in the gig economy and entitle them to employment rights such as the national minimum wage, ...