All Opinion articles – Page 65
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OpinionDr Hugh Cook: The outcomes and complexities of flexible benefits schemes
Theoretically, the motivation for employers to offer flexible benefits schemes stems from their need to attract employees and reduce labour turnover. Both are key measures of labour market performance, which ought to be improved by offering benefits that are attractive to a wider range of workers. Given the increasing demographic ...
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OpinionJackie Wells: Engage all generations of a workforce in making informed pensions decisions
The world of pensions has seen enormous change over recent years. Thanks to auto-enrolment, millions more are now saving for their retirement in a workplace pension scheme. And following the radical pension reforms announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget 2014, savers now have more choice than ever before ...
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OpinionLouise's Lowdown: How long until Equal Pay Day moves off the calendar?
Pay has featured heavily in the news over the last couple of months. On 25 October the government revealed plans to extend its gender pay gap reporting requirements to large public sector employers and to include information about bonuses; during Living Wage Week on 1-7 November, the Living Wage Foundation ...
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OpinionJohn Neal: Encourage physical and mental winter exercise
As the leaves begin to turn, the last of the outdoor fitness training sessions disappear alongside daylight.It is much easier to leave an exercise programme for staff until the New Year begins, when there is ahint of a spring ahead and perhapsfor some the motivation of a marathon or a ...
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OpinionDr Bridget Juniper: Employers can boost wellbeing and productivity in the winter
The clocks have gone back, nights are drawing in and staff morale has dipped. What practical actions can employers take to support employees’ health and wellbeing so that they remain well and productive during the winter?The golden rule is to make it relevant to employees and the work they perform. ...
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OpinionDr Jonathan Trevor: Global reward requires complex design
The challenges of managing reward are considerably underestimated by many outside of the human resources function. It is much easier to get it wrong than get it right. When managed poorly, reward can demotivate, disengage and disenfranchise people very quickly and make headline news when the cause of value destroying ...
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OpinionSarah Henchoz: What could the outcome of employee-status cases mean for employers?
Organisations that have a high population of atypical workers are coming under increased scrutiny, with workers challenging their legal status through the courts, as Uber, Yelp and FedEx have all recently experienced. These employees have alleged that, notwithstanding the label they are given, they should be deemed to be employees ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Employees need to make informed decisions
Paternalism has become somewhat of a pejorative term in HR. It commonly refers to the slightly patronising attitude that the manager knows best what their employees should have in terms of workplace benefits. Such an approach reminds me of the TV series Downton Abbey, where those living upstairs feel a ...
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OpinionLovewell's Logic: Where Facebook leads...
When Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg announced his plans to take two months’ paternity leave following the birth of his daughter next year, the news received mixed reactions.In one corner were the cynics who claimed that he is only able to do so due to his seniority ...
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OpinionKaren Thomson: Emergency childcare must be flexible
With all the legislation surrounding what working parents are entitled to when it comes to childcare arrangements, it can so often be confusing to say the least. However, an employer, regardless of what legislation dictates they must do, should instead consider the benefits of being flexible, and perhaps offering tax-saving ...
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OpinionPeter Roberts: Cutting costs not corners
Flexible benefits have long been seen as playing a vital role in employee engagement. It is arguably one of the keys to unlocking productivity, as well as attracting and retaining talent.The reduction in pension commission is coupled with continuing pressure on health insurance costs, an increasingly competitive market for talent ...
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OpinionLouise's lowdown: Employees' financial concerns move onto the radar
October saw the debut of Workie, the star of the government's campaign to raise awareness of auto-enrolment and increase engagement with workplace pensions. Workie, "a striking physical embodiment of the workplace pension", is appearing on billboards, television screens and, most likely, a Twitter feed near you. Reactions have been mixed, ...
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OpinionMartin Upton: Employers have a responsiblity to support employees with financial education
There are many examples of benevolent employers that have attended to their employees’ welfare beyond the work place. Joseph Rowntree and the Cadbury family are exemplars of such benevolence, providing housing, health services and pension schemes for their employees. But when it comes to their employees’ welfare, should contemporary businesses ...
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OpinionJen Ackerman: Employers need to invest time in pensions auto-re-enrolment
For many large employers their staging date is a distant memory and auto-enrolment has become business as usual. Nevertheless, there is still more to do as the third anniversary marks the first re-enrolment cycle.The good news is employers do not have to repeat everything they did on their staging date. ...
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OpinionClaire Ginnelly: What to consider with the rise in insurance premium tax
In the Summer Budget 2015, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the standard rate of insurance premium tax (IPT) will increase from 6% to 9.5% from 1 November 2015.IPT is a tax on insurers and is added to general insurance products, such as car, home and travel cover, as well as ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Taking a proactive stance on gender pay
Pay is inevitably an emotive issue. Just in case we needed reminding, this has been highlighted again the UK's Equal Pay Day. This is the date from which female employees are calculated to effectively work for free until the end of the year compared to male staff.Now, I know the ...
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Opinion
Lovewell's logic: Taking a proactive stance on gender pay
Pay is inevitably an emotive issue. Just in case we needed reminding, this was highlighted again this week with Equal Pay Day taking place on Wednesday 4 November. This is the date from which female employees are calculated to effectively work for free until the end of the year compared ...
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OpinionDr Valeriya Vitkova: HR involvement is key in mergers and acquisition deals
HR-related issues can be the primary cause of failure for many merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. In fact, Cass Business School’s M&A Research Centre’s study, Successful dealmaking, published in December 2014, shows that HR involvement and key employee retention are among the main drivers of successful M&A deals.Large M&A transactions ...
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OpinionLovewell's Logic: Why is illness still a taboo?
Two pieces of research out this week, however, made for worrying reading. First, a survey by National Accident Helpline found that 89% of respondents go into work when they are unwell. The main reasons for doing so ranged from money worries to pressure from bosses and colleagues.A further survey by ...
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OpinionRobin Cordell: Occupational health can support the changing needs of employers
Occupational health services are changing to meet the evolving needs of employers, employees and UK businesses. The dynamic nature of the workplace, people staying in work at an older age and new technologies are just some of the drivers for the repositioning of occupational health.We know good work is good ...