All Opinion articles – Page 44
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OpinionJoe McIndoe: Using corporate social responsibility to promote employee wellness
A report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), published in March 2018, found that in 2016 to 2017, a total of 526,000 employees in Great Britain were suffering from work-related stress, anxiety or depression, which amounted to 12.5 million lost working days.While it is important that employers ensure their ...
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OpinionSteven Doyle: How to use behavioural psychology to tailor a benefits approach
Behavioural psychology was first popularised in 2008, with the publication of the bestselling book Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness, written by University of Chicago economist Richard Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunsteinand. Since then, there has been a growth in the application of ‘nudge theory’, ...
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OpinionKate Payne: GMP equalisation is needed, but it will not be straightforward
The mist has begun to clear from the recent October 2018 High Court judgment in the Lloyds Bank case, relating to equalisation of guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs). As lawyers digest the clear and lucid 174-page judgement, they are considering the practical future implications for members, trustees and employers in UK ...
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OpinionDaniel Elliott: Saying 'thank you' has far-reaching business impacts
A large number of employees will at some point in their career experience times of frustration and the feeling that they are not appreciated. Many organisations have a demanding culture, requiring long office hours and even weekend work, all for the good of the organisation.For a staff member going above ...
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OpinionRachel Clift: Supporting the emotional wellbeing of employees throughout their careers
It is important to recognise that the term ‘wellbeing’ can mean something different to each one of us, because we are all different; this can make wellbeing seem complex and difficult to define. There does, however, appear to be a relationship between higher levels of wellbeing and happiness. Happiness can ...
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OpinionFerdinand Lovett: Good governance for pension schemes gets the green light
The government has published regulations bringing the governance requirements of the second European Pensions Directive (IORP II) into UK law.The regulations, which align with the recent direction of travel in UK pensions policy, will update the current law on pension scheme governance, requiring trustees of pension schemes to establish 'an ...
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OpinionEmma Mamo: How can employers communicate about emotional wellbeing sensitively?
A 2018 poll of 74 organisations taking part in Mind’s Workplace wellbeing index 2017-2018 found that 58% of employees said their mental health was good or very good, while 13% stated that their mental health was currently poor or very poor. However, only around one in four of those who ...
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OpinionCharles Alberts: What is driving mental health today?
For a mental health programme to be successful, the employer must get to grips with the problems affecting today’s workforce, including some that might be considered taboo.In Mind's 2017/18 Workplace wellbeing index, published in October 2018, 48% of the 40,000 employees surveyed said that they had experienced a mental health ...
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OpinionGillian Connor: What can employers do to better support emotional wellbeing in the workplace?
Employers are increasingly taking an interest in the emotional wellbeing of their employees, not least because of the economic case for it. Mental health and employers: The case for investment, published by Deloitte in October 2017, demonstrated the huge cost of absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover caused by mental health ...
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OpinionLaura Boothman: Workplace provisions for employees with arthritis
With around 600,000 people with arthritis currently missing out on the opportunity to work, it is clear that finding and staying in employment can be a challenge. However, there is plenty of evidence to show that working in the right job is good for us, whether that is financially, socially ...
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OpinionEmma Hamnett: Key Christmas party warnings
In the run-up to Christmas and the dreaded office party, employers should be aware of a recent judgment that means they may be legally responsible for the actions of their staff, even if they take place outside the workplace.In itself, this is not news, but a recent Court of Appeal ...
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OpinionJane Fuller: Does the pensions system provide enough incentives for long-term saving?
Before starting to think about incentives to save into the pensions system, it must be remembered that the UK state pension is far from generous. At £164.35 a week, the new single-tier pension is little more than half a week’s income on the national living wage rate of £7.83 an ...
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OpinionCatherine Rickard: How can flexible working impact employees’ financial wellbeing?
The business benefits of flexible working initiatives and improved work-life balance have increasingly been recognised by organisations as a means of improving performance and employee productivity.However, there are also direct benefits when it comes to financial wellbeing. For example, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development's (CIPD) Employee ...
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OpinionRosemary Lemon: Does ROI have to be monetary for financial wellbeing strategies?
Launching a new benefit is like making any other business proposal: there has to be a return on investment (ROI). A successful benefit, therefore, has to be valued by employees and make them feel more positively engaged with their organisation.This is especially true in the case of financial benefits. Financial ...
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OpinionKevin Barrow: Two years since the Taylor review - what is next for zero-hour workers?
It has now been two years since the government commissioned The Independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy, or the Taylor Review as it is more commonly known.Over the past 24 months, this much anticipated review into modern working practices has certainly been high on the agenda for ...
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OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Ensuring the savings effort pays off
Nearly half (46%) of all UK adults rate their own knowledge about financial matters as low and almost a quarter (24%) have little or no confidence in managing their money, according to the Financial Conduct Authority's Understanding the financial lives of UK adults report, published in October 2017.The impact of ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: HR professionals have a crucial role in championing financial wellness
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), sponsored by Close Brothers and released in January 2017, found that one in four employees admit that money worries have affected their performance at work. Based on a survey of more than 1,800 respondents, the results showed that while younger ...
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OpinionDanielle Crawford: What do employers need to watch out for with Christmas rewards?
Many employers offer their workforce some form of incentive or reward during the festive period. However, in order to minimise the risk of disgruntled employees, employers need to carefully consider their Christmas gestures of goodwill.First and foremost, organisations must ensure that their employees are treated fairly and consistently. People will ...
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OpinionRachel Pinto: CJEU rules that UK's pension compensation regime is inadequate
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in Hampshire v The Board of the PPF that under EU law, on an employer's insolvency, every employee must receive compensation corresponding to at least 50% of the value of their accrued pension entitlement under an occupational pension scheme. This ...
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OpinionChris Pendrey: How to increase employees' health and safety awareness
According to the Health and Safety Executive's Health and safety statistics, published in November 2017, UK organisations lost over 31 million working days to workplace injuries alone in 2016-2017. The benefits, therefore, of defining an adherable health and safety plan are clear; greater productivity, reduced absenteeism and potentially lower costs ...