All Opinion articles – Page 22
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OpinionStuart O'Brien: Sustainably-invested pensions are firmly in the spotlight
As we all try to move towards a greener lifestyle, the environmental credentials of our pensions are increasingly under the spotlight. In part this is due to employees taking a greater interest in how their pensions are invested. But there is also a growing recognition that a more sustainably invested ...
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OpinionRhona Darbyshire: Employers should review their remote working policies
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is planning to conduct a public consultation later this year on strengthening workers’ rights in relation to flexible and remote working, according to a recent report in The Times.This news comes as the Work after lockdown research project, published by the ...
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OpinionHayat Rafique-Fayez: Employers must follow regulations when collecting employee health data
Employers must make sure they are acting in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporates the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), when collecting any data from their employees.Gathering information on an employee’s health would be considered as ‘sensitive data’ and lawfully allowed if it is for ...
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OpinionJoanne Frew: How employers can stay focused on pay equality in the current climate
The pandemic has forced most employers into crisis management mode, focusing on contingency planning. Issues like technology for remote working and making the workplace Covid-secure have understandably been prioritised. It is however crucial that gender pay does not slip down the agenda.Recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports, published in ...
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OpinionKate Payne and Max Ballad: Guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) winners and losers
The UK Government has decided to make public service pension schemes fully responsible for increasing guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) in line with price inflation. Previously, these annual increases were effectively shared between the state pension and the public service schemes.Up until 5 April 2016, a convenient arrangement existed which met ...
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OpinionSally Wilson: Global workforces are facing similar health and wellbeing issues
Amid a constant news feed about the differential impact of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) on individual countries it is easy to forget areas of commonality: regardless of geographical location, the issues facing employees are similar. The ‘work at home if you can’ message has been heeded by much of the developed world ...
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OpinionTim Middleton: Pensions Scheme Act brings major changes to pensions governance
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 was finally granted Royal Assent in February this year. This new Act took a year to work its way through Parliament, so the industry has had plenty of time to become familiar with its contents. However, the sheer volume of material contained within the legislation ...
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OpinionTom Barton: Employers can find different opportunities in the Pension Schemes Act
The Pension Schemes Act reminds us that workplace pensions mean different things to different employers. The dividing lines are between big and small, and defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC).Very large employers have the opportunity to explore whether a collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme is right for them and ...
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OpinionVictoria Von Wachter: Untangling the knot of furlough leave entitlement
Many industries are gearing up to reopen on 12 April, bringing furlough to an end for thousands of employees.As Prime Minister Boris Johnson provides hope that borders may reopen on 17 May, these employees may be wondering how their previously furloughed status will affect their annual leave entitlement.Can employees expect ...
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OpinionKarleen Dowden: Employers must prioritise the financial wellbeing of employees
In March, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) Reward management survey called on employers to recognise both the moral and business case for taking more responsibility for their employees’ financial wellbeing.The estimated cost of low financial wellbeing each year as a result of absenteeism and presenteeism is £1.56 ...
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OpinionTina Chander: When furlough ends, safety and mental health issues could start
As furlough ends and employees begin to return to factories and offices, employers need to consider what physical measures are needed to ensure they remain Covid-secure and that it is safe for their people to return to work.The Health and Safety at Work Act has long-provided for safe working environments, ...
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OpinionAbi Frederick and Paul Norris: Employers have a duty to support home workers
Employers have a duty to take steps that are reasonably necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of homeworkers. The risks include feelings of isolation, a lack of supervision, issues arising from prolonged use of display screen equipment, working long hours and taking inadequate breaks. Employers need to ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Employers are likely to take a targeted approach to pay post-Budget
The focus of this year’s Budget was on supporting lives and livelihoods. For instance, to help protect jobs, the furlough scheme was extended to September, while to support small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) invest more in IT and improve management capability, the Help to Grow initiative was launched.In terms of ...
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OpinionMatt Fryer: Don’t misread new IR35 guidance
There’s been something of a panic about IR35 these past few years - not least because it’s now been beset by delay. When businesses were struggling with dealing to meet last year’s deadline, the arrival of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) gave everyone a probably much needed extra year. But this time has ...
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OpinionEmma Kemp: Employers can empower their staff to take climate change action
In the last few years, climate change has taken centre stage. Public concerns about the climate have reached an all-time high: United Nations (UN) research published in January 2021 shows 81% of Brits recognise that there is a climate emergency. Even during the Coronavirus pandemic, concern about climate change hasn’t ...
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OpinionCharmaine Morrell: Reward schemes can engage employees with sustainability agendas
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) launched NTU Green Rewards in February 2019 to further engage colleagues with the sustainability agenda at NTU. As one of the most sustainable universities in the world, we wanted to support employees in furthering their sustainability efforts by creating a way to reward their positive actions, ...
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OpinionKavitha’s keynote: A year of home working
This week marked the one-year anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown and, for many employees, it was also the first anniversary of their unexpected shift to full-time home working.While there is no doubt the pandemic has presented numerous challenges for employers – largely due to the very sudden need to ...
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OpinionDeb Oxley: Employee ownership unlocks the potential of people and business
There are many compelling reasons why employee ownership is one of the fastest growing succession options for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and family businesses that have no natural successor.For employees it gives them a stake and a say that allows them to share in both the responsibility and reward ...
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OpinionKaren Plumbley-Jones: Employers need to be aware of changing restrictions on exit payments
What government can introduce, government can also take away. Anyone who follows the machinations of local government have noted with interest that new rules (The Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020) recently came into force on 4 November 2020. Within them was the introduction of a £95,000 cap ...
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OpinionJackie Buttery and Daniel Gerring: Pensions engagement requires clear communication
Pensions have a long history as an important financial benefit for employees, helping to safeguard financial security in the long term. The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has prompted many organisations and individuals to focus on some serious, short-term challenges.For some, pensions have not been a priority. For others, and increasingly more ...