All Opinion articles – Page 18
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OpinionLucy Lewis: Omission of employment bill from Queen’s Speech is no great surprise
Yesterday’s Queen’s Speech was reportedly the shortest for nearly 10 years. It was, as many commentators have pointed out, a little on the light side, with a number of key policies and priorities not making it in to the final version delivered by HRH the Prince of Wales.The long-anticipated employment ...
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OpinionDr Duncan Brown: Should we focus on a different approach to total reward?
How is your total reward strategy holding up these days? Not that well I warrant, following the ravages of two years of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) health crisis and now facing the onslaught of the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory. So what is the problem with the common total reward ...
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OpinionAmanda Lennon: Could the HRT shortage lead to discrimination claims?
Employers should be flexible and support employees who are affected by menopause and perimenopause symptoms due to the shortage of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medication, or they could risk facing discrimination claims.A surge in demand for HRT treatment has left pharmaceutical manufacturers struggling to keep up. Many women are finding ...
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OpinionKen Akers: How employers can help employees experiencing grief at work
As a nation we have made good progress in supporting wellbeing at work and together we can improve how we handle grief, too. Coping with a bereavement at work is never easy but lack of support from an employer can make things so much worse.At Marie Curie, we know the ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is Jacob Rees-Mogg right to force civil servants back to the office?
What is your view of working from home? That seems to be the current million dollar question. Something that millions of us adapted to at speed during lockdown now seems to be coming under increasing scrutiny as the UK adapts to living with Covid.The debate around this practice was re-ignited ...
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Opinion
Lovewell's logic:
What is your view of working from home? That seems to be the current million dollar question. Something that millions of us adapted to at speed during lockdown now seems to be coming under increasing scrutiny as the UK adapts to living with Covid.The debate around this practice was re-ignited ...
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OpinionAnita North: Delay to Employment Bill is a blow to thousands of workers
In 2019, the Conservative Party stated in its election manifesto that it would “encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers had good reasons not to.” This came after public anger in relation to poor working conditions in UK factories and warehouses.These changes were wrapped up ...
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OpinionPhil Crowe: How the war in Ukraine highlights the value of employee benefits
When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the world looked on in shock and wondered how this would reverberate around the globe. An important issue facing employers right now is how to best support employees who are directly affected by the war, whether they have family in Ukraine, or whether ...
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OpinionNorman Dreger: Creating a globally consistent employee experience
Employee benefits are a critical part of any HR strategy, empowering businesses to attract and retain top talent while supporting their people during the moments that matter. Although the global workforce has been forced to cope with unprecedented change in the past few years, this can be a unifying experience ...
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OpinionKate Bishop: How technology improves benefits delivery
If you turned the clock back two decades, the employee benefits technology portfolio would have been much more limited than it is today, with employees informed of offers via notice-boards or generic emails. There was little flexibility, personalisation or two-way engagement.Today, that has all changing. A survey carried out by ...
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OpinionCharlotte Clewes?Boyne: The consultation on the draft pensions dashboard regulations
The pensions dashboards project, spearheaded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is gaining pace, designed to give people more control over their pensions. The cost of building the central infrastructure will be borne by the government, but there will also be a cost to employers. It is worth ...
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OpinionKatherine Chapman: As costs rise, how can pay strategies help employees make ends meet?
We are living in unprecedented times, with inflation at a record high and spiralling energy and food bills. The worst income squeeze on record lies before us and no one will feel it more sharply than the nearly five million people in low-paid and insecure jobs, already struggling to meet ...
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OpinionDaniela Silcock: Why master trusts have become the pension destination of choice
Master trusts have come into their own over the past 10 years. From a niche arrangement pre-automatic enrolment, master trusts have become the pension scheme type into which 84% of employees are enrolled.Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) modelling expects that out of around 15 million active defined contribution (DC) pension savers ...
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OpinionAndrea London: Attitude change needed to address ageism at work
With hybrid working models quickly becoming 'the norm' and the constant requirement instead for online productivity, virtual working and remote meetings or presentations, is our older generation cognisant of technological advances, and are they able to keep up?We seem to be noting an increased polarisation of the labour market in ...
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OpinionMichelle Last: Supporting employees through fertility treatment in the workplace
Employees will often face physical and mental issues associated with their fertility journey, which can impact workplace performance, conduct, relationships and job satisfaction. How can employers support employees receiving fertility treatment?Having a written policy dealing with potential fertility issues in the workplace undoubtedly gives an employer the opportunity to show ...
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OpinionSusie Al-Qassab: Employers can take steps to eliminate gender inequality in the workplace
When the UK government commissioned the workplace and gender equality research in order to review whether policies in the workplace were family friendly and in support of the progression of women, it was identified that the main barriers were tensions between working and caring for a family, negativity surrounding and ...
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OpinionClaire Jose: It is vital that employers support staff financial wellbeing
We all know that happiness comes from within, and it is no different with money happiness. As the cost of living continues to rise, it is more important than ever that businesses turn their attention to their staff to not only provide support for their physical and mental wellbeing, but ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: How is the rising cost of living impacting employees?
Following last week’s damp squib of a Spring Statement, headlines this week have been dominated by how much the cost of living is due to rise yet again from today (1 April). With the price of gas, electricity and council tax all set to rise, along with an increase in ...
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OpinionLee McIntyre-Hamilton: How the Spring Statement 2022 will affect employers and employees
The Chancellor’s Spring Statement has been met with much criticism since it was delivered on 23 March, not least from employers.Those who were hoping for a delay to the national insurance contributions (NIC) increases will have been disappointed, as the rise of 1.25% from 6 April is going ahead. While ...
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OpinionAndrea London: Is there is a real risk of ageism in our hybrid future?
New hybrid working models are quickly becoming the norm, with their constant requirement for online productivity, virtual working and remote meetings/presentations. However, are our older generation cognisant of these technological advances and are they able to keep up?We seem to be noting an increased polarisation of the labour market in ...