Opinion – Page 2
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OpinionAlexandra Farmer: Further protections needed for pregnant employees
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill is well on its way through the House of Lords. Currently at committee stage - at which point every clause of the bill has to be agreed and votes on amendments can take place - the bill will give further protections ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Will the Spring Budget result in a larger talent pool?
News this week has been dominated by headlines about the numerous strikes taking place across the country, in bids to secure pay increases for junior doctors, teachers, rail and tube workers. The other big news this week, of course, was this year’s Spring Budget.The Budget contained myriad measures impacting the ...
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OpinionAvneet Kaur: Diversity, equity and inclusion policies must align with employee benefits
A global pandemic and economic volatility, along with Black Lives Matter and trans rights movements, have all brought about seismic shifts in attitudes. Added to this, the modern workforce is multi-generational and diverse in culture, experience, and identity.Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies must therefore align with employee benefits in ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Committing to flexibility
The government’s announcement earlier this week that it is committed to introducing a day one right to request flexible working has been welcomed by many, not least those that have campaigned for such a move in recent years.In its response to the consultation Making flexible working the default, the government ...
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OpinionSarah Jackson: 20 years after introducing paternity leave, why we need to do more for fathers
It is 20 years since a new law was passed to give UK fathers two weeks' paid paternity leave. Since then, attitudes about fathers’ roles at home have changed considerably, especially in light of the pandemic.Yet what is on offer remains unchanged. Paternity leave is still only two weeks, and ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: How can we overcome the UK's childcare crisis?
As temperatures soar this week, it finally feels as though summer has arrived. While the sunshine is undoubtedly welcome while it lasts, for many working parents, it may also serve as a sharp reminder that the long school summer holidays are fast approaching.The high cost of childcare in the UK ...
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OpinionLouise Mason: Employment legislation still on horizon despite bill absence in Queen’s Speech
The Queen's Speech was delivered on 10 May and, as expected, there was no mention of the employment bill. The purpose of the Queen's Speech is to set the legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session so the absence of the bill suggests no employment legislation will be forthcoming for ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is workplace gender equality out of reach?
In a week that included International Women’s Day on 8 March, it is perhaps unsurprising that we have seen the launch of a number of initiatives by both government and employers designed to support female employers and tackle existing workplace inequalities.The government, for example, launched a pilot initiative aimed at ...
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OpinionClaire McCartney: Employers need to listen to the needs of young adult carers
There are an estimated 3.7 million carers in England and Wales and a growing number of people are having to juggle their jobs with caring responsibilities. So, how can organisations best support their staff and what are the benefits?First, employers need to identify which of their employees are balancing caring ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Moving forward
Today marks two weeks since I returned to Employee Benefits following 13 months’ maternity leave. While my time away once again seemed to fly past, the industry I’ve returned to appears quite different to the one that I left in many ways.When I went on leave in January 2021, the ...
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OpinionKatherine Wilson: Support for working carers will retain key talent in the workplace
Most of us will provide unpaid care at some point in our lives, and with women having a 50:50 chance of providing care by the time they are 46, working carers are becoming a significant proportion of the working population. At the height of the pandemic, Carers UK estimated that ...
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OpinionAngela Watson: How employers can offer staff more eldercare support
The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has shone a light on informal caring as pressures outside of work have increased, with many people caring for others for the first time as a result of this. People have struggled to balance work with new responsibilities and there are fears that these pressures may ...
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OpinionSue Yeandle: How can employers support staff with caring responsibilities?
It’s a growing issue. In 2020, England and Wales had 3.7 million working carers according to the Supporting working carers: how employers and employees can benefit report, published in June 2020 by the University of Sheffield and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Numbers continue to rise. Managing paid ...
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OpinionMark Witte: Employers should take note of an ageing workforce
Across the world, people are living longer. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 is set to almost double from 12% to 22%, according to the World Health Organization.In Aon’s recent report, The aging population: why it’s time to take notice, it noted that life ...
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OpinionPolly Neate: What employers need to know about the housing emergency
The housing emergency is real. Just ask your colleagues.Right now in the UK, working families are being evicted from their homes. Working people are living in hostels and working parents are going without food just so they can pay the rent. This is the housing emergency. How much do you ...
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OpinionDavid Sheppard: How would a single employment status change workplaces?
The Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner MP recently announced various significant reforms to employment law rights if Labour were to win power. The most eye-catching was the abolition of the distinction between employee and worker status, and the creation of a single worker status covering all individuals engaged by employers. ...
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OpinionLaura Jackson: How can employees ease back into the workplace?
As Freedom Day' (19 July) has now passed, many employers are beginning to consider long-term plans for their workforce. The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has introduced remarkable shifts in peoples’ lives, including their working styles. It feels like every week the news reports another large corporate announcing plans to introduce hybrid ...
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OpinionRebecca Florisson: Reward packages must be tailored to employees' needs post pandemic
As the Government’s guidance to work from home draws to a close, workers are not queuing up to get back into the office. Recent evidence published by the Office for National Statistics in June 2021, shows that the majority of those who worked remotely during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic (85%) ...
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OpinionJoanne Waterworth: Family-friendly benefits can help attract and retain key talent
As we move gradually out of restrictions and work together to create our ‘new normal’, we know that many employers are looking at how they can support their staff members in keeping and improving on some of the flexible and family-friendly ways of working that many of us have experienced ...
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OpinionKerry Hudson: Employers need to be informed of pregnancies while staff are on furlough
Women on furlough could jeopardise their employee rights if they fail to tell their employers that they are pregnant.Expectant mothers who are on furlough may be tempted not to notify their employers of their pregnancy, possibly because they think they may receive more money on furlough, or because of fears ...