Opinion – Page 43
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OpinionLaura Hill: Are employees getting enough rest at work?
The length of both the working day and employees’ breaks are two hot topics, with several high-profile cases having come to light recently, but what should employers take away from the headlines?In 2003, Regulation 12 of the working time regulations entitled workers to an uninterrupted rest of at least 20 ...
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OpinionProf Stephen Wood: Flexible working awards autonomy to improve employee wellbeing
The ideal job is one with challenging but not excessive demands, a high degree of autonomy to meet these demands, and a supportive environment. Occupants of jobs with these characteristics will have higher levels of satisfaction and wellbeing and, in turn, may perform better and have better general health.If flexible-working ...
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OpinionFaye Whitmarsh: Family-friendly policies create a culture of care that benefits everyone
At Nationwide, we know people achieve more together than they can alone. Being a building society, this is one of the things that sets us apart from our competitors.That said, delivering on our ambitions and living up to our values is no small task; we need to make sure our ...
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OpinionNicola Mohns: No one size fits all - wellbeing needs to get personal
Whether boosting resilience, backing better work-life balance or creating behavioural change for a healthier lifestyle, it is important to make an effort where it counts for wellbeing.During the Second World War, the American Air Force wanted to find ways to reduce the number of casualties. Studying the planes that came ...
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OpinionTony Pugh: Global challenges and solutions for DC pensions and financial wellbeing
A global financial wellbeing programme that takes into account localised pensions legislation, different taxation regimes and myriad different savings products might sound more like solving a Rubik’s Cube than building a benefits strategy.However, the DC pension and financial wellbeing global employee survey, published by Aon in June 2019, shows that, ...
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OpinionAlexander Maki: Using employee benefits to combat climate change
As concern about climate change increases around the globe, many organisations are aiming to take action.There are many ways for employers to decrease their carbon footprints, such as buying renewable energy, improving energy and fuel efficiency in their operations, and exerting influence on their supply chain. However, one underappreciated strategy ...
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OpinionFerdy Lovett: Key issues for employers when transferring to a DC master trust
For some time now, the governance spotlight has been focusing on defined contribution (DC) pension benefits. Some employers find it expensive and time-consuming to meet the regulatory expectations placed on their occupational DC scheme or DC section of a hybrid scheme. As a consequence, there has been a sharp increase ...
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OpinionDiane Lightfoot: Accessible wellbeing should be embedded in an inclusive culture
When designing and implementing an organisation-wide wellbeing programme, it is important that it does what it says on the tin and seeks to address the needs of all employees. This is particularly true when it comes to making wellbeing initiatives accessible to those with a disability or long-term condition, whose ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Moving mental wellbeing forward
Mental wellbeing remains firmly under the spotlight, both in the workplace and society more broadly, as individual, tragic cases continue to hit the headlines. In most instances, questions are raised as to why more support was not offered or available to those involved.In recent years, we have seen a marked ...
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OpinionStefan Martin: What new pay gap reporting regulations are on the horizon?
As employers prepare for the third year of gender pay gap reporting, the government is considering whether similar obligations could be used to address other areas of inequality.In the short term, we are expecting a response to the mandatory ethnicity pay reporting consultation. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ...
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OpinionEmma Mills: Are employers ready for the individual accountability regime?
From 9 December 2019, the new financial services individual accountability regime will apply to all Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) solo-regulated firms.The regime, already in force for banks, building societies and insurers, will affect around 50,000 more organisations, including investment firms, asset managers, insurance and mortgage brokers and consumer credit firms.Affected ...
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OpinionDr Amy Armstrong: Lies, damned lies and employee engagement statistics
Organisations often look to their engagement survey data as a way of understanding how to motivate and reward their staff; however, the Hult-Ashridge Executive Education research report, Shades of grey: An exploratory study of engagement in work teams, published in November 2018, found that engagement statistics may not present the ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Pay and employment defy gloomy outlook
As we draw ever closer to 31 October, when the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union (EU), headlines about the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit are becoming an almost daily occurrence. Concerns are increasingly being voiced of a looming recession and its inevitable impact on pay and ...
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OpinionDaniel Parker: LGBT employment equality - the journey so far
With a particularly significant Pride Month having taken place this June, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, one might be forgiven for looking to the past and taking stock, with a critical eye, of decades of change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the ...
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OpinionKatherine Chapman: Living wage brings clear benefits to employees and employers
The Social Metrics Commission's Measuring poverty report, published in July 2019, found that 14 million people are now in poverty, with four million trapped in 'deep poverty', with incomes at least 50% below the official breadline. What is perhaps equally as shocking is that many of these people are in ...
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OpinionKevin Hollinrake MP: Offering support to employees in financial hardship
A record 32.75 million people are now employed in the UK, and we have the lowest unemployment rate since 1974, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published in July 2019. Wage growth, which has been stubbornly subdued, is now an inflation-busting 3.6%.However, the persistent problem of ...
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OpinionOliver Topping: How to spot personal data breaches and when to report them
In 2018, new data protection laws brought in a requirement for data controllers, like employers and trustees of pension schemes, to make reports swiftly after certain types of personal data breaches occur.Before rushing to pick up the phone to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or emailing affected employees or pension ...
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OpinionDr Mathew Donald: Managing employees through times of change
The business environment is full of ongoing change, characterised by uncertainty and risk. Employers may be wondering what will happen if Brexit occurs or not, or be concerned about latest trade wars; it is clear that disruption is not reducing.My paper, Resistance to change forms and effects in Greater Western ...
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OpinionRosalind Connor: How will the judges’ and firefighters’ case impact pensions?
Sometimes, legal changes creep up on us when we are looking the other way. When, in December 2018, the Court of Appeal decided in favour of the judges and the firefighters in their claim of age discrimination regarding the changes the government had made to their pensions, in Lord Chancellor ...
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OpinionProfessor Shaun Tyson: How important are benefits for motivation and retention?
The relative importance of pay and benefits in the wider context of the full range of HR policies varies, according to changing organisational and economic environments.Recently, for example, the growth of the gig economy and the concept of ‘self-employment plus’ has raised questions about the significance of employee benefits. However, ...