Below inflation wage increases threaten recovery
Although private sector pay settlements could rise to 3% this year, they will remain below inflation for the second year in a row, researchers have warned. Thomson Reuters’ Incomes Data Services, which analyses renumeration data, also forecast a widening gap between public sector workers, who face wage freezes, and private sector staff, where pay rises […]
Revising the remuneration code – prepare to meet the new FSA regulations
Ruth Thomas supplies a guide to the new FSA regulations and how they may affect renumeration. After much media and market speculation, the FSA has just published its Policy Statement 10/19. Most reward professionals were familiar with the potential changes due to the huge coverage it has received fuelled to some degree by political and […]
Employees still dogged by money worries
Although fewer employees are likely to be subject to pay freezes next year, six out of 10 are worried that they will not be able to make ends meet financially. According to a study entitled ‘Employee Attitudes to Pay’ published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), even though the economy has remained […]
Take home pay growth at 50% of last year
The average growth in workers’ take home pay is just under half of what it was last year, reflecting the ongoing uncertainty in the UK economy, according to a study. The FTSE 350 Take Home Pay Index, undertaken by payment provider VocaLink and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, revealed that, although private sector […]
David Fairhurst’s decade in HR: How HR earned its place at the top table
David Fairhurst gives his opinion on how the last 10 years have changed HR and where we will go in the future. The last 10 years have been some of the most formative for HR in recent history. The so-called noughties have seen our profession go from strength to strength, from an also-ran in […]
Pay gap publishing will not be compulsory
The coalition government has abandoned plans to make it compulsory for employers to measure and disclose the pay gap between male and female workers in favour of a voluntary publishing scheme. The move, which was criticised by equalities campaigners and unions alike, will result in the relevant clause in the Equality Act 2010 simply not […]
Cable anger over watering down of bank bonus reform
The simmering tension between the Business Secretary and Chancellor threatened to boil over yesterday, after Vince Cable issued a strongly worded response to George Osborne’s suggestion that proposed UK banking bonus reforms could be toned down. Osborne, who has been accused of giving into pressure from the City, told the BBC that it “might be […]
What staff really want… a better pension contribution
The most popular benefit that European employers can provide staff in order to improve retention rates is a higher pension contribution, with nearly half of workers even prepared to sacrifice pay in return. These are the findings of a survey undertaken among 7,500 workers in Europe’s 10 leading economies, including the UK, by human capital […]
Banks to halve bonuses this year
The UK’s biggest banks are in negotiations to almost half the amount they pay out to staff in New Year bonuses in a bid to avoid potential tax penalties and avert another PR disaster. According to the BBC, the banks are holding secret talks about the issue under the umbrella of the British Bankers Association, […]
Low take-home pay still squeezing private sector employees
Although the take-home pay of private sector employees has hit a 12-month high, it has still not returned to pre-recession levels and contrasts with the “stagnating” situation in the public sector, according to a report. The VocaLink FTSE 350 Take Home Pay Index revealed that take-home pay in the private sector rose by 1.6% in […]
Get reward and recognition right; or don’t do it at all
Many companies have a reward and recognition scheme in place, but a programme is only as good as the communication and execution of it. Glenn Elliot considers how you can boost the value in your R&R. If not personally, most of us probably have a friend or family member who would identify with this employee’s […]
Ask the expert: Best way to move monthly payment?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on how to change from advance pay to arrears pay. The question: Changing from advance to arrears pay Employees are currently paid one month in advance on the 1st of the month. Obviously this can cause all sorts of recoupment problems if […]
Share schemes – the basics
Jonathan Oxley explains the basics HR needs to know to differentiate between share schemes in the second of our videos on using shares as a benefit. See the first video from Jonathan here.
Motivating employees – are shares an option for you?
Trying to be creative with benefits and renumeration? Jonathan Oxley has noticed a trend in requests for guidance on what share options work for employers and different companies. In this short video he explains that HR professionals don't need to know a huge amount about share schemes to be able to use them as a […]
Vince Cable to announce consultation into exec banking pay
Vince Cable is expected to announce a ‘wide-ranging’ consultation into banking executives’ pay today, following warnings that the industry could be heading for a “train crash” if it continues to award staff huge bonuses while refusing to lend money to businesses. On the closing day of the Liberal Democrat party conference in Liverpool, the Business […]
Exec pay on ice
The time of executive salaries increasing far in excess of inflation are now over, with more than half of FTSE 350 companies choosing not to boost the salaries of executive directors this year. This situation equates to a two-year salary freeze for many as over two thirds received no increment last year either. Where wage […]
HR is going into the war for talent unarmed
Employers across both the public and private sector fear that they are no longer able to offer the pay and benefits packages required to attract and retain key skills, an HR body has warned. Number two on the list of concerns relates to the ability of line managers to administer such rewards, while the number […]
‘Equal pay’ firms target ‘unenforceable’ pay secrecy clauses
Private sector employers should brace themselves for a wave of mass discrimination lawsuits following the abolition of a pay secrecy clause in the Equality Act. According to law firm Pannone, when the Act comes into force in October, pay secrecy clauses will become unenforceable and organisations will be unable to prevent staff from disclosing salary […]
2/3 public sector ‘would take pay cut’
With unemployment predicted to breach 10% outside of London and the South of England, nearly two thirds of public sector workers would now be prepared to take pay cuts to save their jobs. According to a survey of 1,600 public sector jobseekers by recruitment web site Totaljobs.com, a quarter said they would stomach a salary […]
Equal pay for women in HR 107 years away
The average female manager in the UK faces a wait of 57 years for their salary to be on a par with male counterparts, while equal pay for women HR bosses is a mind-blowing 107 years away. These are the findings of the ‘2010 National Management Salary Survey’ undertaken among 43,000 managers in 200 organisations […]
