Opinion – Page 69
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: Should we have a national living wage?
Earlier this week, I read several articles in the Financial Times about how the world will be watching the UK when the new national living wage of £7.20 an hour for workers over 25 comes into effect from today.These articles described how countries around the world, including Germany, Japan and ...
-
OpinionDr Fehmidah Munir: Breaking up sitting time can improve physical and mental wellbeing
Sitting for long periods has been found to be harmful. We will sit at our desks at work for a long time and then go home and watch TV. So we are sitting again. Prolonged sitting has been linked to a risk of diabetes, obesity, and a lot of metabolic ...
-
OpinionStephen Chater: Share schemes offer significant tax incentives
Typically, an organisation’s choice of employee share scheme will depend on the degree of employee share ownership that it wishes to introduce. One employer might want only key people to own shares, whereas another might prefer all employees to become part-owners of the business by introducing an all-employee share scheme.Various ...
-
OpinionIan McKenna: Smart technology can drive engagement with retirement savings
Achieving effective engagement with employees about their retirementbenefits is crucial for an employer to get the best return on such spend. If people do not understand something, it is virtually impossible for them to appreciate its value.Smartphones and tablets can now make this far easier, but this needs more than ...
-
OpinionLouise Neilson: Health cash plans and PMI proactively support staff
The National House Building Council’s (NHBC) health and wellbeing strategy is supported by benefits that help to attract and retain talent. We want to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to wellbeing, ensuring that our employees are well at work and as productive as possible, and to support ...
-
OpinionGeorgina Beechinor: Home is where the start is in pensions auto-enrolment case
One qualifying criteria for pensions auto-enrolment is that, under their contract, an individual is a “worker”, “who is working or ordinarily works in Great Britain”. The UK Pensions Regulator (TPR) has power to issue compliance notices to employers that fail to comply with this requirement.In the case of The Queen ...
-
OpinionGeorge Bull: Salary sacrifice can benefit both employer and employee
Salary sacrifice arrangements are very simple, highly effective and potentially beneficial to both employee and employer. It is almost too good to be true.At the heart of a salary sacrifice arrangement is an agreement between an employer and an employee to change the terms of the employment contract to reduce ...
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: Is menstrual leave a forward-thinking or outdated concept?
Earlier this week, Bristol-based organisation Coexist hit the headlines with the news that it has introduced ‘period leave’ for its employees.This will enable staff to stay home should they feel the need to without having to make excuses or take the time as sick leave.I have to say I’m in ...
-
OpinionConor D'Arcy: Consider the long-term consequences of approaches to the national living wage
Since its announcement last summer, the national living wage (NLW) has rarely been far from the headlines. Commentators have discussed its merits and demerits, but whatever your opinion, it is a big deal: the Resolution Foundation estimates that it will result in a pay rise for roughly 4.5m workers.But pay ...
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: Fleet goes futuristic
It’s fair to say that cars and I aren’t the most natural of pairings. I have no interest in regularly upgrading the car that I drive and couldn’t name the latest must-have makes and models if my life depended on it.Yet, this week, my interest was piqued during a discussion ...
-
OpinionWhat are the key issues affecting global employers’ benefits strategies?
The rise of the global employer, and the importance of emerging markets for expanding organisations, has changed the way businesses engage with their employees. The needs arising from different cultural norms and fulfilling the expectations of a varied workforce have created rich, robust employee networks, but with it has come ...
-
OpinionTim Middleton: Striking the right balance with pension communications
The new tax year sees yet another adjustment to the rules governing tax relief for registered pension schemes. As the current regime celebrates its tenth anniversary, one of its principal objectives, a simplification of the tax rules, now seems a cruel and ironic joke. There will now be no fewer ...
-
OpinionSally Hart: A crisis is not something employers can control, but they can be prepared
Being prepared for the unexpected will give an employer peace of mind, faster resolution, and highlight commitment to the safety and wellbeing of employees.Employers should consider potential risks and review all insurance policies to ensure cover is adequate, as insurers often exclude things like war and acts of terrorism. Emergency ...
-
OpinionLynette Jacobs: Employers need to determine their objectives in extending a share plan internationally
Extending a share plan internationally is no longer an exception and the considerations for a small organisation extending participation into three jurisdictions and a multinational group operating a plan in 80 countries will be the same.The employer should first determine its objectives in extending the plan overseas, typically to strengthen ...
-
OpinionLovewell's Logic: Why should we celebrate success?
On Wednesday evening, I attended the Top Employers annual certification dinner, which recognised the 71 organisations that have been awarded a place on this year’s list – in a setting that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Harry Potter novel.The employers recognised this year included: Asda, Estee Lauder ...
-
OpinionJuliette Graham: The implications of the Bank of England's proposal on bonus buy-outs
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) last month published a controversial proposal on buy-out bonuses aimed at stopping employees at the largest banks from being able to wipe the slate clean when they move firm. The proposal requires new employers to reduce or clawback buy-out bonuses if the ex-employer decides that ...
-
OpinionJonny Gifford: Why employees do not naturally engage with workplace savings schemes
The world overloads us with information at every turn and our minds do not like it. Detail clings to financial advice, on the other hand, like so many limpets. Of course it does: advisers need the detail to consider eventualities, recount sub-clauses and cover their backs. But our minds quickly ...
-
OpinionDr Christine Grant: Employers can provide training and education to help staff switch off
The switched-on culture is becoming a well-used phrase that describes many of us with constant access to technology. It seems that we can never fully remove ourselves from the impulse to gaze at a screen, leading us to merge together work and non-working activities. Organisations are becoming concerned with the ...
-
OpinionDr Shainaz Firfiray: Staff motivation needs to be carefully planned to suit different generations
A major challenge that managers face in contemporary workplaces is motivating employees. However, the inducements that motivate are unique for every individual. As employers are instinctively concerned about meeting their business objectives, it is worthwhile for them to strike meaningful relationships with their employees and together identify the things that ...
-
OpinionMark Fenton-O’Creevy: Is there a case for workplace financial education?
In difficult financial times any employer will think twice before incurring additional costs, and training budgets are notorious for being trimmed in hard times. So why would an employer seek to invest precious training resources in a topic without apparent direct relevance to performance?Many employers do not. Consumer market research ...