Opinion – Page 47
-
OpinionAndrew Brookes: Agreement struck for gig workers could yet unravel
While it is likely to be popular among gig workers and their employers, organisations should take care before copying the agreement that has recently been struck between Hermes and the GMB Union.The agreement, guaranteeing minimum wages and holiday pay for self-employed couriers, could yet unravel if HM Revenue and Customs ...
-
OpinionSally Wilson: Good mental wellbeing is good for business
The current increased attention to mental wellbeing at work, and the growing recognition of its paritywith physical health, is long overdue.High profile campaigns such as Time to Change,Mates in Mind and Heads Together have contributed to this shift in thinking, but there is still a lot of work to do.There ...
-
OpinionMatthew Smith: Supreme Court rules on meaning of 'unfavourable treatment'
In Williams v The Trustees of Swansea University Pension and Assurance Scheme and Swansea University the Supreme Court confirms a common-sense approach to the meaning of 'unfavourable treatment' under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010.Williams had a disability under the Equality Act. He had originally worked full-time, but was ...
-
OpinionNick Kemsley: Employee wellbeing is an evolutionary journey
Organisations need to think of employee wellbeing as a continuum, rather than a series of ad-hoc initiatives. To do this, we need to begin to influence thinking and engage employees and their managers in wellbeing.This involves education and breaking through into other elements of physical wellbeing, such as nutrition, work ...
-
OpinionHelen Smith: Creating a wellbeing strategy that gets positive business results
Encouraging employees to lead healthy and fulfilling lives, both in and outside of work, can be hugely beneficial to a business and its people.According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the most common reasons organisations focus on employee wellbeing are to become a great place to work, ...
-
OpinionVinita Arora: Is unlimited holiday a positive reward strategy or a potential headache?
In a changing workplace where job seekers increasingly value work-life balance over remuneration, some are turning to unlimited annual leave to attract top talent.In theory, flexible holiday can make commercial sense, as happier staff are generally more productive. However, there can be pitfalls, both legally and practically.Legally, employers are required ...
-
OpinionMatthew Potter: What are the impacts from Iceland's minimum wage non-compliance case?
According to the national minimum wage regulations, a salary sacrifice scheme that brings the gross pay of a salaried employee below the minimum wage threshold is technically a breach, attracting fines and a requirement to put employees back into the position they should have been in, had the sums not ...
-
OpinionDr James Chandler: Occupational health is a valuable employer investment
The value of occupational health, whether to stakeholders, employees, employers or the government, is well documented. It has been highlighted by two in-depth reports, Occupational health: The value proposition, and Occupational health: The global evidence and value, published in May 2017 and April 2018 respectively, by the Society of Occupational ...
-
OpinionElysia McCaffrey: Gender pay gap action plans are just as vital as the reporting data
In the first year of reporting on the gender pay gap, the Government Equalities Office was encouraged to see compliance from more than 10,000 of those employers identified as being in scope of the regulations.This means that every large organisation across the country has calculated the difference between what they ...
-
OpinionRuth Wilkinson: Proactive occupational health helps create sustainable business
The workplace is evolving. Increased life expectancy and new ways of working, such as the gig economy and ‘always on’ access to technology, are transforming employment - and not always positively.Organisations have moral and legal duties to implement effective occupational health and safety, including provision of health surveillance for certain ...
-
OpinionJennie Doyle: Employees are an organisation's most important asset
People spend a third of their waking lives at work; for many, this can mean sitting indoors at a desk for long periods of time, staring at a computer screen, and having few proper breaks. This can have a detrimental effect on physical and mental health, negatively impacting productivity and ...
-
OpinionDr Sayeed Khan: Valuable occupational health services need better marketing
Occupational health is not marketed as well as it should be, that much is clear. We need to get the message across that occupational health nowadays is much more than just screening and surveillance.Physicians often discuss three tiers of occupational health practice. The first is around surveillance and screening, which ...
-
OpinionDr Kellie Vincent: Challenges and opportunities for urban employees
London features as one of the Rough Guide's top five cities to visit; however, according to Expert Market's The best and worst cities for commuting report, published in June 2018, it is one of the 10 worst cities in the world. In the same survey, Leicester made the top 10; ...
-
OpinionJames Townsend: What will employment status look like in 2019?
Until recent years, the term 'gig economy' was virtually non-existent. However, a number of high-profile cases involving organisations such as Pimlico Plumbers and Uber have put the employment status of casual workers in the spotlight.Recently, the courts and tribunals have been tasked with determining how those working in the gig ...
-
OpinionDuncan Brown: Is total reward flexibility the wrong target?
Reward professionals have, quite rightly, been obsessing for many years about the need for greater flexibility, a desire which in fact drove the whole total rewards movement. Uniform market-identikit packages with a lack of innovation and no element of flexibility are limited in their perceived value, and restrict female and ...
-
OpinionCharlie Barnes: Iceland’s Christmas savings scheme could cost £21m in back pay
Prior to Christmas, retailer Iceland was told by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that it owed employees up to £21 million in back pay due to its Christmas savings scheme. The reason? The national minimum wage.Under the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, certain deductions made by the employer count towards ...
-
OpinionKatherine Wilson: Employers need to be confident in supporting carers at work
Juggling work alongside caring for a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill can be a tricky balancing act. Nevertheless, many make this commitment, particularly those in their 40s and 50s.Juggling work and unpaid care: A growing issue, published by Carers UK in February 2019, shows that almost ...
-
OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Five ways to help employees facing retirement
In the new world of freedom and choice in pensions, one of the fundamental elements of employee financial wellbeing is retirement preparation. Many employees will turn to their workplace for support at this stage of their life, so Wealth at Work has listed five ways employers can help staff who ...
-
OpinionHelen Undy: Employers should help staff build financial resilience
Overstretched, overdrawn, underserved: Financial difficulty and mental health at work, published by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute in May 2017, found that two-thirds of UK employees who are struggling financially also show at least one sign of mental ill-health. These are issues that could affect their ability to ...
-
OpinionPaula Bailey: Preparing for a year of landmark employment law reform in 2019
This year is set to be an eventful one in the world of employment law. The recurring theme is pay, which is likely to dominate the employment law agenda for 2019.Firstly, itemised payslips are on the agenda. From 6 April 2019, the legal right to a payslip will be extended ...