Opinion – Page 9
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OpinionStephen Morrall: How flexible working trends have developed since lockdown
With the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill moving closer to becoming law, employees are set to benefit from a positive reform of employment rules which reflect growing trends toward flexible working across the UK.Under current legislation, a person who has 26 weeks of continuous service with their employer can request ...
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OpinionLaura Tracey: New guidance on reasonable adjustments for mental health
Mental health problems are and continue to be a significant concern and employers have not only a moral, but a legal obligation to help protect and support employees who may be suffering from such issues.Employees may find mental health conditions difficult to talk about and even try to conceal them, ...
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OpinionRuari Grant: CDC schemes are a new protagonist in workplace pensions
As of April this year a new protagonist appeared on the UK workplace pensions scene, when the Royal Mail collective pension plan was authorised. Collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes, part of pensions regimes in other countries, offer that middle ground many employers might find attractive, as they transition away from ...
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OpinionCharlotte Dodge: Clifford Chance supports men's health with range of benefits
Research shows that men visit the GP 32% less than women during working years, that one in five men die before they retire, and it is estimated that 50% of premature male deaths are preventable. These sort of statistics are the reason why Clifford Chance launched Peppy Men's Health last ...
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OpinionMartin Williams: Amazon’s term-time contracts come with a new set of problems
The idea proposed by Amazon to offer contracts that revolve around term-time working is an interesting one. At first glance it can seem generous, allowing a degree of flexibility for workers who find school holidays a difficult time to balance work and childcare.However, Amazon is not being totally altruistic. It ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Celebrating with the best
Today (Friday 23 June) marks one of my favourite events in the Employee Benefits calendar: the Employee Benefits Awards and Summer Party.All year round, we cover some of the fantastic initiatives and strategies employers have put in place for their employees, so relish the chance to celebrate these in person. ...
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OpinionKatie Ash: Can a flexible-working request be reversed?
For many, the Covid-19 crisis is starting to feel like a distant memory. However, there are still changes to the way we live and work today that were influenced by the restrictions that were put in place. The biggest example in employment law is the shift to working from home.Employers ...
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OpinionMel Duffield: Could conditional indexation deliver high value pension benefits?
There has been much recent discussion in the UK about whether there are new ways of sharing pension risks. These might potentially give greater stability of outcome and cost than the current very distinct alternatives of either defined benefit (DB) or defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.Much of this discussion has ...
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OpinionKeely Rushmore: Proposed changes to holiday pay for temporary workers
In a bid to reduce the administrative burden on employers, the government has announced plans to allow rolled-up holiday pay. The plans were set out in the Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy policy paper published in May 2023 and are one of a number of changes proposed to the ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Who is caring for unpaid carers?
How many employees in your organisation have unpaid care responsibilities? Between 2010 and 2020, more than 1.9 million people in paid employment became unpaid carers each year, according to Census data. One in seven carers, meanwhile, juggle work and care, according to Carers UK’s report State of caring, published in ...
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OpinionNaomi Brown: Should pension scheme trustees think of their members as customers?
How was your pension scheme experience today? We are all used to businesses telling us that we are valued customers, asking us for feedback, how likely we would be to recommend them to a friend, or simply to rate our experience by choosing from 🙂😐☹️.But is it time for pension ...
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OpinionYvonne Gallagher: Deliveroo rider worker status appealed at Supreme Court
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents a number of riders working for the app-based delivery service Deliveroo, has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking support for its claim that it should be entitled to be recognised by Deliveroo for the purposes of collective bargaining rights for ...
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OpinionSusannah Bottriell: Will government guidance on ethnicity pay reporting create more equal workplaces?
Following the UK government's commitment in March 2022, on 17 April this year it published its guidance on ethnicity pay gap reporting. Unlike gender pay gap reporting, ethnicity pay reporting is voluntary. Many elements of the government’s guidance align with gender pay gap reporting guidance, particularly the calculations. The guidance ...
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OpinionPaul Gilshan: Are employee benefits as important as salary?
Employee benefits are an important aspect of any job, but can be overlooked when thinking about changing roles. Depending on those on offer, benefits can be just as valuable as a pay rise, and in some cases, even more valuable.It is quite natural for us to focus on salary. After ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Extending support for neonatal care
The birth of a child can be life changing. Having the time to adjust to new family dynamics and get to know their newborn is, therefore, vital for new parents. However, not every pregnancy and birth goes as parents envision.Every year, more than 90,000 babies are cared for in neonatal ...
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OpinionSubecca Sheikh: How can employers support staff going through a divorce?
A year has passed since the introduction of the no-fault divorce. The idea behind it was to pave the way for amicable collaboration, easing negotiations and overall reducing the mental health impact of divorce. It was a way to make the process manageable and approachable.The law was set to forge ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should the office be the default working environment?
The working-from-home debate was reignited this week following Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s comments that the office should be the default location for workers, unless they have good reason to work from home.Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, Hunt said that despite the exciting opportunities offered by working from home, ...
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OpinionJoanna Powis and Alison Heaton: Is a four-day week the future of work?
Coming out of the pandemic, there has been an increased focus on work-life balance, mental health and wellbeing, and employers’ roles in supporting staff on these fronts. Employers in some industries have also seen a talent war emerge as they find it harder to recruit and retain the best employees.These ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Why dying matters
This week (8-14 May) was Dying Matters Awareness Week. Part of Hospice UK’s Dying Matters campaign, the week was launched with the aim of encouraging people across the country to come together to speak about death, dying and grief in the workplace.According to research by Marie Curie, Respecting and supporting ...
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OpinionMichelle Hobbs: Maternity protections are on their way
The Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill is expected to receive its final reading in the House of Lords imminently, and should be passed into law soon.The bill aims to extend current protections from redundancy for expectant and new mothers, and introduce new protections for those taking and returning from ...