All Opinion articles – Page 55
-
OpinionPhilippa Connaughton: Lessons from the Walker v Innospec ruling
In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has settled a long-running pensions dispute.In 2012, John Walker brought a claim for unlawful discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, having calculated that his civil partner, later his husband, would receive a pension on his death of £1,000 per annum, not the £45,000 ...
-
OpinionJohn Pryor: Employers need to look at the total cost of mobility as staff travel options unify
Employee travel choices for business journeys have never been more numerous than they are today.Consequently, the opportunities for employers to implement a diverse, multi-faceted, sustainable mobility plan and simultaneously display corporate social responsibility have never been greater.Travel options range from the established, such as cars, whether organisation-provided, a hire car ...
-
OpinionDr Paul Litchfield: BT supports employees in all aspects of wellbeing
At BT, we have a philosophy of promoting the wellbeing of our people: it’s the right thing to do and it’s good for business. The drivers of wellbeing that we focus on are not just physical and psychological health but also security, relationships, the environment and purpose. In these uncertain ...
-
OpinionKate Hurn: Taylor Review advocates enhancing rights for dependent contractors
The government-commissioned review of modern working practices by Matthew Taylor calls for legislative change to help determine employment status more easily and recommends enhancing rights for workers.Taylor acknowledges the confusion created by the current category of workers, made up of bona fide employees and so-called limb (b) workers who are ...
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: What does the BBC's gender pay gap really reveal?
Does BBC presenter Chris Evans really deserve to be paid in excess of £2.2m a year? Or how about Alan Shearer earning between £400,000 and £449,999? I’m sure many of you will have asked or answered these questions at least once this week.Love him or loathe him, Evans found himself ...
-
Opinion
Amanda Steadman: How would the Taylor Review proposals affect employers?
The overriding ambition of the Taylor Review is to make the case for all work being 'good work' and for this to become a new national priority. In a nutshell, 'good work' means that all work in the UK should be fair and decent with realistic scope for development and ...
-
OpinionJames Wilders: Father succeeds in sex discrimination claim
The Equality Act protects men as well as women from being discriminated against on grounds of sex. In the case of Madasar Ali v Capita Customer Management, an Employment Tribunal has held that an employer's failure to pay enhanced shared parental pay at the same rate as enhanced maternity pay ...
-
OpinionPeter Murphy: Underestimate The Pensions Regulator at your peril
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) wants everyone to know that it is acting more quickly to intervene where it considers schemes to be underfunded, or where there are indications that employers may be avoiding their responsibilities.Employers should be wary. Even if the risk of intervention from TPR is small, it is ...
-
OpinionCaroline Sherrington: Share options are a flexible way for employers to share equity with staff
Share schemes can be an attractive workplace savings option, helping employees to save while encouraging engagement with an organisation's business performance.Caroline Sherrington: Share options are a flexible way for employers to share equity with staffEquity can be a great way to attract and incentivise employees while preserving precious cash reserves, ...
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: Building the foundation for a truly modern work environment
Changing workforce demographics and employers’ interest in adapting benefits strategies and working patterns accordingly to meet employees’ expectations and needs in the modern workplace is a topic we often address at Employee Benefits. Yet, despite many organisations’ aims to be seen as an employer of choice in order to recruit ...
-
OpinionStuart Scullion: Insurance premium tax increases penalise employers acting to safeguard employee health
The apparently simple question 'what insurance premium tax rates apply in other European countries?' is actually far from straightforward. What other countries do is complex, which means comparing the recent insurance premium tax (IPT) increases in the UK to the rest of Europe is also complex.Rates of IPT on medical ...
-
OpinionSally Hulston: Support for working carers will ensure employers retain the best talent
An ageing population and the fact that we are all working for longer means that more people are likely to become working carers than ever before. This includes a growing sandwich generation tasked with juggling the care of both children and elderly relatives.Increasingly, employers are offering varying degrees of specialised ...
-
OpinionRuth Buchanan: The new General Data Protection Regulation is just around the corner
With under a year to go before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes direct effect on 25 May 2018 in European Union (EU) member states, including the UK, employers should be preparing for its implementation.GDPR introduces a much tougher regime than the existing data protection legislation, with potential fines ...
-
OpinionCrowley Woodford: National minimum wage traps for the unwary employer
Most workers are entitled to be paid the national minimum wage, with those aged 25 or over entitled to the national living wage. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has wide powers of investigation and enforcement and will name and shame employers found to be underpaying staff. Substantial fines may also ...
-
OpinionNoeleen Doherty: Employers need to fulfil their duty of care to remote employees
Working remotely has become an increasingly common practice, facilitated by advances in technology alongside the recognition by employers that such flexibility can be both cost effective and efficient.Employers are obliged to ensure they fulfil their statutory duty of care for the physical and psychological safety of all employees, including remote ...
-
OpinionJoanna Bean: Improving financial wellbeing at Samsung
Saving for retirement, or life after work as we call it at Samsung, is an important part of our approach to financial wellbeing and we incorporate this into everyday life and within our varied communications portfolio. It is important to talk to employees at every stage of their work-life journey ...
-
OpinionMargaret May and Edward Brunsdon: Unravelling workplace financial wellbeing services
Over the past decade, increasing numbers of working-age people across the UK have found it hard to make ends meet. Economic austerity, welfare state retrenchment and depressed wages along with increased domestic and accommodation costs have contributed to an erosion of savings, rising household debt, revolving credit card use and, ...
-
OpinionJo Thresher: Tackle common money issues to support employees’ short- and long-term finances
The fact that there is not a job for life anymore means an inability to plan the very long term, which means employers now need to help employees think differently. A lack of financial awareness coupled with a more changeable work life means a significant impact on an employee’s short-, ...
-
OpinionMartin Bartlam: Blockchain technology advances can enhance the pensions experience
Imagine you can look up the balance of your benefits at any time, perhaps making a payment or adjusting an investment allocation.You may think that it is not very exciting to have instant access to your pensions statements. But what you are looking at is your asset pool, not a ...
-
OpinionMonica Kalia: Overcoming the workplace disconnect on financial wellness
Nearly one in four employees think their employer does not care about their financial wellness. Yet three-quarters of employers believe that they do. Over half (56%) of employers think that they help their employees with their ability to manage money, but 39% of employees say that their workplace offers poor ...