All Opinion articles – Page 59
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OpinionDr David Marjoribanks: Relationship support provides benefits to employers and employees
The UK labour force is increasingly over-worked and stressed out. Relate and Relationships Scotland’s study, A labour of love – or labour versus love?, published in October 2016, warns that a third of employees feel pressured to put work before family, and this is taking its toll on relationships.Our wellbeing ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
2016 - where has the year gone? It may be a reflection of my age but this year, more than any other, seems to have flown by at lightening speed.But, however quickly time seems to have past, this has also been a year of immense and wide-reaching change. From the ...
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OpinionMatt Landeman: Inspiring staff with a clear set of values can support strategic growth
For any ambitious organisation with eyes on strategic growth, it is necessary that each employee is aware of, and buys into, the business values at the heart of the enterprise. This is especially pertinent in fast-paced and quickly evolving sectors such as media, where keeping employees up to speed with ...
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OpinionRob Yuille: The Pensions Dashboard gives digital makeover to retirement savings
The long-term savings industry has been arguably slow to embrace the digital revolution. As a long-term product with low levels of engagement, while progress has been made, the savings industry has not fully embraced the possibilities of digital technology.The Pensions Dashboard, the widely discussed current technological development in pensions, is ...
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OpinionPaul Lefrere: Wearable technology can enhance employee performance
Wearable experiences (WE) and augmented reality (AR) can be used in combination (Wear) to provide important types of work benefit. Examples include empowering people with modest skills so they can perform at a higher level if they want to; giving people ways to explore new work and career options; improving ...
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OpinionDavid D’Souza: Advances in technology allow us to reimagine the structure of work
The leaps forward made by some key areas of technology allow us to reimagine the structure of how work might be in the near future. There is no doubt that we have opportunities to fundamentally reshape the way that we think about people, places and productivity in this brave new ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should employers support staff in lifestyle choices?
Last night I attended an event to promote the launch of Joe Wicks’ – the Body Coach’s – latest book. As you might expect, the majority of the people there were health and fitness converts, following his exercise and training plans, recipes and nutrition plans or both.Throughout the course of ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is the abolition of salary sacrifice actually an opportunity?
This week’s Autumn Statement brought months of speculation to an end when Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that the tax and NI advantages on benefits offered via salary sacrifice will be abolished from April next year.Contrary to many reports in the national press over the last week or so, this was ...
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OpinionDan Sharman: Taking employee share plans to a global workforce needs careful consideration
As part of a global benefits strategy, international organisations often want to expand their share plans to cover employees who are based overseas. Often, this is crucial to attract and retain key talent internationally and to achieve parity in remuneration packages across the global workforce.However, granting employees equity is a ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Are we witnessing the death of email?
Is email dead? This was the subject of a press release I received earlier this week from workplace design firm Crown Workplace Relocation. It suggested that employees’ growing interest in flexible and remote working was driving the growth of alternative forms of communication such as web chats, screen share and ...
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OpinionCatrina Smith: Sex discrimination case places spotlight on shared parental leave
In the Snell v Network Rail Infrastructure case, a male employee has succeeded in his claim for sex discrimination against his employer, Network Rail, and has been awarded nearly £30,000. His claim was based on the fact that while he would receive only statutory pay for any period of shared ...
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OpinionSally Wilson: Employers should take steps to ensure re-entry to work is sustainable after absences
Given the range of health reasons an employee may take time off for, and the variable fitness requirements for different professions, there is no one-size-fits-all role that an employer should take in workplace rehabilitation. But broadly the employer’s role is to take appropriate steps to support the individual back to ...
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OpinionKaren Ovenden: How can SMEs approach family-friendly working?
Flexible working has become a bit of a buzzword. But, for me, this is where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should start if they want to support family-friendly working.When I say flexible, I really mean agile, working patterns that can scale up and down when both the individual and business ...
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OpinionTom Godwin: Physical activity should become part of an organisation’s culture to boost staff morale
There has been a growing number of organisations in the UK that have physical activity and healthy eating as a core part of their occupational health policy. This involvement by employers in trying to create and promote the importance of healthy living to employees can help improve attendance, performance, and ...
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OpinionSean Nesbitt: Uber by numbers – what next for worker status?
The Uber judgment is only the end of the beginning for the gig economy and the debate on worker status. You would need an algorithm to track the implications. Here are some:3-4: Months for an appeal to get to the Employment Appeals Tribunal. A speedy hearing is possible, but up ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Redrawing boundaries in employer/employee relationships
How comfortable would you be offering relationship advice via the workplace? Would this be seen as a valuable source of support by employees or as crossing the boundaries of the employee/employer relationship?According to research published by Relate and Relationships Scotland, The way we are now: labour of love or labour ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Voluntary benefits can help organisations engage and retain talent
Offering a voluntary benefits scheme can be an important tool in the way that employers retain and engage their talent.This approach can be important for public and voluntary sector employers competing against parts of the private sector. While public sector employers can often offer a generous pension scheme and leave ...
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OpinionElizabeth Slattery: Impending Brexit could pose dilemma around holiday pay decisions
Many things are uncertain following the outcome of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, including the timing of any exit and the form that it will take. In the meantime, employers still have to grapple with the ramifications of Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is the industry in a state of flux?
This week saw the Employee Benefits team head to Olympia for this year’s Employee Benefits Live.One of the (many) things I personally enjoy most about the event is the opportunity to meet and catch up with so many people from all corners of the industry. While we always strive to ...
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OpinionPoppy Jaman: Mental health first aid training can guide employees to the right support
We all have mental health just as we have physical health, but it can seem more difficult to spot the signs of mental ill health.The key thing to look out for when it comes to mental ill health are changes in an employee’s usual behaviour, such as unusual irritability or ...