All Opinion articles – Page 36
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OpinionDr Aideen Young: Employers are well-placed to help staff prepare for later life
Auto-enrolment has led to huge gains in pension participation: according to May 2018 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around 73% of UK employees had an active workplace pension in 2017, up from less than 47% in 2012.While this is good news, pension contributions have remained at the ...
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OpinionLeah Caprani: The last taboo – menopause in the workplace
Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for the introduction of formal policies to protect menopausal women from being discriminated against in the workplace. While there is currently no specific legislation in this area, Davis v Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services, which was heard in February 2018, provides some welcome guidance ...
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OpinionMartin Upton: The benefits of using online financial education to reach staff
Providing financial education in the workplace is clearly a matter of good citizenship, but it also makes good business sense. Financial competence reduces the risk of getting into money problems and is conducive to greater productivity by reducing stress levels. Providing financial education is also perceived as a benefit by ...
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OpinionAnnamaria Lusardi: How employers can help improve financial literacy
Employees face a multitude of personal financial decisions, not only about saving for retirement, but also investing in education or an advanced degree, managing day-to-day expenses, buying a home and handling debt. Today, this decision-making unfolds within financial markets that are far more complex than in the past, including with ...
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OpinionKevin Jones: When should voluntary overtime be accounted for in holiday pay?
Under the Working Time Directive, all employees have the right to a minimum of four weeks paid annual leave. In other words, staff must receive their normal pay while on holiday.However, in June 2019, the N Flowers and others v East of England Ambulance Trust case, heard at the Court ...
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OpinionStephen Bevan: How can employers have a tangible impact on employee health?
Does an employer offer health benefits to its employees because it wants to improve their health, or because it wants to attract, motivate and retain talent? The answer can, quite legitimately, be ‘both’, of course.Among those organisations that do offer health benefits, do they know how many employees take them ...
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OpinionJames Rudoni: Focus on the mental health of male employees
In 2018, men accounted for three-quarters of the people who took their own lives in the UK, according to Suicides in the UK: 2018 registrations, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in September 2019.These statistics highlight the need for increased awareness and understanding of mental ill-health, particularly in ...
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OpinionBlair Adams and Kezia Daley: Brexit and the loss of EU nationals
Employers with European Union (EU) nationals in their workforce have a vested interest in actively helping and encouraging them to apply for settled status before 31 October 2019, in case free movement ends on that date in a no-deal Brexit scenario.EU nationals currently have two options to stay in the ...
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OpinionCatherine Garrod: Using engagement technology to promote inclusion
Our vision at Sky UK is to be the industry leader in the UK and Ireland for inclusion, both on-screen and behind the scenes. We want our people to value diversity, be themselves and deliver the best work of their lives.A couple of years ago, we opened up a conversation ...
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OpinionHelen Smith: How to look after the needs of an age-diverse workforce
It is no secret that employers that prioritise employee wellbeing and look after their staff well are more likely to reap rewards. Not only does the workforce benefit from a better working experience and healthier lives, but the business can also attract better talent, build loyalty and improve motivation and ...
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OpinionDimple Agarwal: Harnessing the power of difference
When was the last time someone really made you see things differently?It is something we encourage at Deloitte, where valuing difference and creating a diverse, inclusive culture is at the very heart of our business.One powerful initiative we run is inviting a cross-section of our people, including graduates, women and ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Supporting staff through menopause
At the Labour party conference earlier this week, Dawn Butler, the shadow women and equalities minister, announced plans to require all organisations with more than 250 employees to introduce a menopause workplace policy.Under these measures, employers would be required to make various provision: allowing staff to work flexibly if needed, ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Christmas rewards can recognise the year's achievements
March 2015 research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Show me the money: The behavioural science of reward, found that money can help incentivise employee behaviour in a variety of ways. For example, when promised money for a later task, people start to perform intermediate tasks better, ...
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OpinionCharlotte Lockhart: A four-day week is the productivity answer we have been waiting for
Significant technological improvements, the rise of the internet and social media has formed a hyper-connected world, with innovation disintermediating established organisations and industries. Surprisingly, there has not been a corresponding advance in overall productivity.In 2018, we made a bold decision to test our assumptions around productivity with a landmark four-day ...
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OpinionTeresa Boughey: Moving forward from uncomfortable truths about gender pay
Another year of gender pay reporting for organisations with more than 250 people has continued to provide opportunities for organisations to really take stock and measure their progress on diversity and inclusion.For some, the initial widening of the gap is likely to be unsurprising. As with many other things, when ...
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OpinionDr Gail Kinman: Downtime is essential for employee health and productivity
People differ in the extent to which they prefer their work and personal life to be integrated or separated, but some downtime is always essential for continued health and productivity. Employers have a key role to play in helping staff to switch off from work, both mentally and physically.Evidence that ...
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OpinionMichael Spiers: Financial wellbeing is not about winning the lottery
Dominating the front pages one week in August was the story of an Amazon worker who scooped a lottery win of £10,000 per month for the next 30 years; this is the so-called Set For Life prize, providing financial certainty and security that most can only dream about. Indeed, it ...
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OpinionBoma Adoki and Melanie Shone: Major change to the UK tax regime for contractors
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is continuing its quest to ensure that individuals who work like employees pay tax like employees, even when working via a personal service company (PSC). However, it has had mixed success recently, as a number of its determinations have been overturned in the Tax Tribunal.Set ...
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OpinionMichael Royce: How can employers help staff improve financial capability?
Employers play an increasingly important role in supporting the financial wellbeing of their people, both through the success of pensions auto-enrolment and by providing schemes such as season ticket loans and childcare vouchers.Figures from Neyber’s The DNA of financial wellbeing report, published in May 2016, estimate that money worries cost ...
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OpinionRachel Clift: How to support employees with money worries
We are currently living in uncertain times, with austerity and the constant pressure of cost saving taking its toll.UK household debt has hit a record high at £428 billion, according to figures published in January 2019 by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). With an average total debt per household of ...