All articles by Louise Fordham
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AnalysisInfographic: The office facilities staff value
An infographic highlighting the office facilities that employee respondents value and the proportion of respondents that do not have access to these facilities. (Source: Research by Peldon Rose, published in August 2017).!function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");
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OpinionJo Brewis: Employers need to know how to support staff during menopause transition
The menopause is something all women experience. Symptoms typically begin during a woman’s forties, and include episodes of heavy or erratic periods, hot flushes, reduced concentration, insomnia and mood swings. The average age at menopause in industrialised countries is 51. The Equality Act (2010) protects both gender and age, and ...
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OpinionEmma Cox: What can employers do to support staff with endometriosis?
One in 10 women suffer from endometriosis, where cells similar to those lining the womb grow elsewhere, usually within the pelvis. Each month these cells react in the same way as those in the womb, building up and then breaking down, but they have nowhere to go, resulting in inflammation, ...
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OpinionNicky Payne: The need for workplace support for staff having fertility treatment
According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, each year more than 50,000 women or couples in the UK have fertility treatment, such as IVF. IVF requires daily administration of intravenous hormones and time off work for multiple scans and blood tests, and unpleasant egg collection and embryo transfer procedures.For ...
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OpinionPhilip Richardson: Employers’ legal obligations to staff undergoing IVF treatment
With a growing number of people having children later in life and the make-up of the ‘traditional’ family unit growing ever more diverse, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is becoming more and more prevalent.Those undergoing IVF treatment are likely to experience a high deal of stress and anxiety in relation to ...
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Analysis
Voluntary benefits in numbers
A round-up of the latest facts and figures relating to voluntary benefits:!function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");
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Analysis
Infographic: What are the most popular voluntary benefits present on flex schemes?
An infographic identifying the most popular voluntary benefits present on flexible benefits schemes in 2015 and 2016. (Source: Aon Employee Benefits’ Benefits and trends survey 2016, published in February 2017, and Benefits and trends survey 2015, published in November 2015.)!function(e,t,s,i){var n="InfogramEmbeds",o=e.getElementsByTagName("script"),d=o[0],r=/^http:/.test(e.location)?"http:":"https:";if(/^\/{2}/.test(i)&&(i=r+i),window[n]&&window[n].initialized)window[n].process&&window[n].process();else if(!e.getElementById(s)){var a=e.createElement("script");a.async=1,a.id=s,a.src=i,d.parentNode.insertBefore(a,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async","//e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");
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Case StudiesNorton Rose Fulbright offers total reward statements through online portal
Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright provides staff with anytime access to their total reward statements (TRS) through its reward and benefits platform.The organisation introduced the benefits platform, provided by Thomsons Online Benefits, in January 2016. Employees can make their flexible benefits selections through the portal, as well as access other ...
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AnalysisHow can benefits support staff affected by suicide?
Need to know:Supporting an employee back to work after a suicide attempt may involve increased sensitivity in terms of both the employee and their employer or manager.There are steps that employers can take to support staff that have lost a loved one or colleague to suicide.Developing a postvention strategy can ...
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Case StudiesLinklaters raises awareness of suicide through workplace seminars
In 2016, law firm Linklaters held two seminars for employees on the topic of suicide. The first seminar was held in October and featured Michael Mansfield QC and Yvette Greenway, founders of Silence of Suicide (SOS). The couple set up the organisation following the deaths by suicide of Mansfield’s daughter ...
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OpinionEmma Mamo: Staff should feel able to talk openly about mental health
Every suicide is a tragedy. The causes of suicide are many and complex and vary from person to person. We know that often people struggle in silence and find it difficult to know how to ask for help.Figures from the Office for National Statistics, published in 2014, show that male ...
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OpinionLouise Ward: Conversation can break down barriers around suicide and mental health
Over the last 40 years, we have seen a step change in the safety performance of workplaces in Britain. There have been improvements in workplace health as well, however, the issue of mental health remains a real challenge. One in six workers in the UK are suffering from stress, anxiety ...
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OpinionEmma Hart: Technology has made a significant impact on employee engagement at Visualsoft
At Visualsoft, we are firm believers in collecting feedback from all employees and making positive actions as a result. The challenge we faced was how we engage with our employees and collate the feedback we receive. We found using a fortnightly micro-survey to be a huge success, giving employees the ...
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OpinionJoe Wiggins: How is workplace transparency impacting employee engagement?
Greater transparency in the workplace means that the balance of power is shifting more towards employees. Job seekers used to be in the dark, in the sense that the employer would hold all the cards from the moment someone walked through the door for an interview. Information about salary, the ...
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ArticleRachael Saunders: Should shared parental leave be extended to grandparents?
Extending parental leave to grandparents is an interesting shift in government policy. It acknowledges the importance of all generations in family life, and the role that grandparents already play. A strategic response to our ageing population requires creative and bold policy solutions, and the opening of parental leave to grandparents ...
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ArticleDenise Keating: Should shared parental leave be extended to grandparents?
The government has announced that it intends to extend the right to take shared parental leave (SPL) to grandparents in the child’s first year. The policy of SPL for the mother’s partner was initially pushed for by the Liberal Democrats in coalition in order to encourage more fathers to take ...
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ArticleEllen Broome: Should shared parental leave be extended to grandparents?
The short answer to this is yes. In the Family and Childcare Trust’s research Improving our understanding of informal childcare in the UK, published in July 2012, we called for grandparents to be given the right to share maternity leave and we are delighted the government has listened and announced ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE RESEARCH: 7% to be unaffected by pension allowance changes
Some 14% of respondents expect the April 2016 reductions in lifetime and annual allowances to affect a significant number of staff, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2015.From April next year, the annual allowance for those earning more than £150,000 a year will be tapered down to a ...
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AnalysisGroup risk trends at a glance
Key points: As big data rises up the agenda, a uniform approach towards data gathering and sharing will enable employers and industry to make the most effective use of the insights it can offer. Services that support the changing needs of employees throughout their working lives could help to address ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE RESEARCH: 18% have clear understanding of pension reforms
EXCLUSIVE RESEARCH: Employees have mixed levels of understanding about the pension reforms, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2015. The reforms, which came into force in April 2015, give pension scheme members over the age of 55 greater freedom in how they can access their pension savings. Further ...