www.employeebenefits.co.uk March 2014 I £6.95

ALIGNING REWARD WITH BUSINESS STRATEGY

Legal bond Withers has personal touch in reward

Hot 100 shine This year’s roll-call of the profession’s brightest stars

Financial education supplement Guide staff towards a more secure future DOMINO EFFECT Ageing workforce causes employers to rethink benefi ts strategies

EBC_0314 1 13/02/2014 15:45 noweVouchers available to order online

1) HIS CHILDHOOD DREAM WAS TO BE AN ANTIQUES DEALER 2) HE HAS A BLACK BELT IN KARATE THAT HE IS TOO SHY TO BRAG ABOUT 3) HE’D REALLY LIKE CORPORATE EYECARE BENEFITS

Corporate eyecare is an important employee benefit, as well as a legal responsibility. So it shouldn’t surprise you that in a recent survey, the majority of employees considered it a valuable addition to their benefits package. With the brand new online vouchers from Specsavers, we believe the best value corporate eyecare scheme is now the easiest too. They still start from just £17 for a full eye test, a pair of VDU glasses (if required specifically and solely for VDU use) worth up to £45, and retinal screening for the over-40s or when recommended by your optometrist. But now you can simply order and pay for eVouchers online and email them direct to your staff, saving you all time and paperwork. What’s more, you’ll automatically get detailed feedback on whoever’s redeemed an eVoucher, such as their retest dates and VDU requirements, at no extra charge. Not only that but your staff can still save £20 on their own glasses purchases, too.

To find out more, call 0115 933 0800, email [email protected] or visit us at specsavers.co.uk/corporate

Source: Research carried out among 270 companies Jan 2011. ©2013 Specsavers. All rights reserved.

EB_0314 2 03/02/2014 10:26 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk CONTENTS

IN THIS ISSUE LEADER

Briefi ngs 4 Compliance 6 Employee Benefi ts Awards 9 HR needs new plans Interactive 10 Up close and personal 13 for an older workforce George Makris of Direct Line Group The big question 15 Pensions 17 For many years, industry, government and pensions trusts got their Lessons the UK can learn from overseas forward projections for life expectancy wrong. Since the longevity numbers were corrected, it has been (and still is) an incredibly slow and Motivation 18 hard task to adjust to this new world order. Incentives that work well in the summer So, I wonder, is HR equally head-in-the-sand about what is really going to happen as the The Hot 100 21 workforce greys? Some senior HR people may envisage themselves as already retired by the Movers and shakers in reward and benefi ts time the main problem hits, so are not bothering to grasp this nettle (among all the other nettles Voluntary benefi ts 37 they currently face). Facts and fi gures from recent schemes Some leading employers have already thought through the implications. They have strategies Cover story 38 in place for their workforce planning to avoid job positions being blocked for years by staff unable As the UK workforce gets older, to afford to retire. They are looking at fl exible working and redesigning jobs so older workers can employers must reassess their motor down if necessary. reward and benefi ts strategy We are hearing talk of how workplaces might need to change. Health and wellbeing 45 Musculoskeletal problems are already a major cause of employee “Is HR head-in- How to co-ordinate a health strategy absence, and this will not reduce as we age. Illnesses that typically the-sand about strike people in their 60s and 70s will become more common in the Shares 49 what is really workplace. We are already seeing an uptick in dealing with cancer in Effects of higher savings limits the workplace, while the ravages of diabetes and heart disease will going to Special Report 52 start to make themselves felt more strongly. happen as the Salary sacrifi ce car schemes Although current wellness programmes cannot guarantee that, in workforce Employer profi le 60 the future, people will avoid these awful ailments while still needing to greys? ” Withers gives reward a personal touch work, they are where employers need to focus to at least mitigate bad Buyer’s guides 65 health in decades to come. I Computer schemes The other area that forward-thinking HR teams are getting their heads around is how many I Group income protection employees are caught between caring for both children and parents. The number caring for frail Contact directory 69 and elderly parents will increase as we work into our late 60s and 70s. Key service providers This, along with getting pension contribution levels and investment choices correct (read our cover story, Game changer, page 38), presents a huge challenge to employers and their HR Confessions 70 departments. But, for those who like to think big picture and design long-term solutions that will benefi t dozens, hundreds or thousands of people, age management in the workplace might be a new area to develop. Debi O’Donovan, Editor Supplement: Follow on Twitter @DebiODonovan Global benefi ts Editor Debi O’Donovan [email protected] Deputy editor Debbie Lovewell-Tuck Social media [email protected] Associate editor Clare Bettelley clare.bettelley@centaur. co.uk Features editor Tynan Barton [email protected] Senior reporter Jennifer Paterson [email protected] Reporter Robert Crawford robert.crawford@centaur. co.uk Art editor Deborah George, [email protected] Sub editor Bob Wells Follow us on Twitter.com for Contributors Roddy Graham, Nick Martindale Business development managers Jessica breaking news: Garland [email protected] Lisa-Jane Parker [email protected] Event twitter.com/employeebenefi t director Juliette Losardo [email protected] Account manager Richard York Supplement: [email protected] Event manager Lyndsey Urquhart Director, Centaur Business Publishing Phil Hayne [email protected] Offi ce manager/PA to director Alice Financial education Gerard-Pearse [email protected] Head of audience marketing Steph Boukhari Like us on Facebook: Look for our [email protected] Group production manager Wendy Goodbun wendy.goodbun@ ‘Employee Benefi ts’ page centaur.co.uk Cover photo Jacko

Employee Benefi ts Subscriptions 020 7292 3719 Wells Point, 79 Wells Street, London W1T 3QN Editorial queries/press releases email Join our Linkedin group by Tel 020 7970 4000 [email protected] searching EmployeeBenefi ts Fax 020 7943 8094 Web www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 3

EB_0314 03 17/02/2014 15:51 BRIEFING

HEALTH AND WELLBEING THE MONTH IN NUMBERS Employers urged to tackle £6 million The amount that 1,000 Whitbread staff mental health issues staff will share after the maturity of the organisation’s three-year and fi ve-year sharesave schemes. bit.ly/1doEl7Y Jennifer Paterson

Mental health issues cost the UK 45,000 about £70 billion a year, according Metropolitan Police Service staff to a report published by the can access its new voluntary Organisation for Economic benefi ts scheme. Co-operation and Development bit.ly/1doEl7Y (OECD) in February. Recommendations in its Mental 99.3% health and work: UK report included The percentage of Finmeccanica that employers should get much Group staff who are in its more involved in supporting staff trust-based defi ned contribution with mental health issues. pension scheme following Dame Carol Black, expert adviser auto-enrolment. on health and work at the Campaigners say employees’ mental health should be a priority for employers bit.ly/1kHwr2e Department of Health, said: “The message I take from that piece of BT, EDF Energy and GlaxoSmithKline priorities for essential change in 164,000 work is that we have got to be are good examples of employers mental health, which outlined 25 better at early intervention. that demonstrate a return on areas for health and care services to The number of employees that “We must also be proactive and investment for their focus on take action on mental health. joined bikes-for-work schemes in have workplaces where there is employee wellbeing and resilience. It will provide support for 2013, according to research by the good work, where managers are Professional services fi rm EY has employers to promote workplace Cycle to Work Alliance. well trained, where people have a launched a wellbeing programme, wellbeing, to increase productivity bit.ly/1hiZxo0 sense of autonomy and feel good called Health EY, which focuses on and prevent the build-up of stress. about going to work.” mental health in the workplace. The government will identify best 31% Stephen Bevan, director of the The programme was launched to practice for employers, and will The percentage of respondents Centre for Workforce Effectiveness coincide with Time to Talk Day on 6 provide employers and line that said their employer does not at The Work Foundation, which February, the offi cial annual day for managers with information to help offer fl exible-working hosted the report’s launch, said Time to Change, a government-run them better understand the signs of arrangements, according to many large employers are doing initiative led by charities Mind and stress and mental health conditions. research by Working Families. excellent work around mental Rethink Mental Illness to remove the Emma Mamo, policy and bit.ly/NKR7sH health in the workplace, but too few stigma around mental illness. campaigns manager at Mind, said: employers are doing it well. In January, the government “We’ve been running a campaign 89% Black said organisations such as published a report, Closing the gap: called Taking Care of Business, which makes the case to employers The percentage of Reed Smith’s that investing in the mental health employees who have registered to Moves to support mental health at work manage their savings and benefi ts of their staff should be an absolute online since the employer priority. We welcome anything the

launched a workplace savings The OECD’s report, Mental designed to eliminate the government does to reinforce this platform. health and work: UK, stigma around mental illness. message to employers.” bit.ly/1eWpGHA recommended that employers Louise Aston, Workwell director get much more involved in The government published a at Business in the Community, said: supporting employees with report, Closing the gap: “Mental health is the last workplace £1.7 trillion mental health issues. priorities for essential change taboo. Celebrities, sports people and The expected value of the defi ned in mental health, which even MPs have spoken about contribution pensions market by Time to Talk Day, on 6 outlined 25 areas for health mental health, but that hasn’t really 2030, according to research by February, was the offi cial and care services to take happened with business leaders.” The Pensions Institute. annual day of Time to Change, action to help tackle mental bit.ly/1gAeAWS a government-run initiative health conditions. @ How to measure workplace stress: bit.ly/1j2td9D

4 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 4 17/02/2014 12:39 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/news

INTERNATIONAL Advisers respond to global benefi ts trend

Robert Crawford aims to help these Adrian Swarbrick, senior employers optimise consultant at Gallagher Employee Employee benefi ts advisers are benefi ts schemes Benefi ts, said: “This has been responding to the growing trend internationally. recognised by multinational pooling among employers, particularly small Insurance broker networks for some time. Most will and medium-sized enterprises Lockton has also seen have a multi-employer vehicle, so (SMEs), of pooling benefi ts to growth across its global SMEs are able to pool their benefi ts achieve global cost effi ciencies. benefi ts businesses. without requiring thousands of staff For example, Willis Group Mike Tyler, head of on a worldwide footprint.” restructured its global benefi ts in Employers are seeking global effi ciencies in reward employee benefi ts at Employers are also using advisers January, combining its existing Lockton, said: “We are to help ensure they comply with the employee benefi ts and related Also in January, Allianz launched a actively strengthening our existing different legal requirements in the consultancy practices. It did this to global benefi ts practice to address locations and working with our countries where they operate. develop and execute a co-ordinated the needs of multinational global partners to further extend John Ritchie, chief executive global strategy. employers. Allianz Global Benefi ts our global reach. We expect this offi cer at group risk provider Ellipse, pattern to continue and quicken in said: “Employers are always trying to the next few years as more leverage the bar and try to do things What benefi ts advisers are doing organisations push into multiple globally. Employers are always countries and will seek advisers.” looking to harmonise benefi ts Willis Group restructured its the needs of multinationals. Benefi ts pooling is a particular delivery and design.” global benefi ts practice in trend for which employers are Tom Gaynor, employee benefi ts January to create a new human Lockton has seen growth in its seeking support. This involves director at Met Life, added: capital and benefi ts practice. benefi ts businesses. advisers negotiating discounted “Employers are seeing the benefi ts rates for global benefi ts schemes of economy of scale.” Allianz launched a global Met Life is talking to advisers on behalf of employers, which can benefi ts practice to address about pooling benefi ts. be useful for SMEs with smaller @ Read Willis restructures global benefi ts practice at: bit.ly/1l11ib0 budgets and workforces.

PEOPLE MOVES

BGL appoints Whieldon head of pensions at EDF Moloney moves up engagement leader. She was Drinks, global mobility The BGL Group has Energy, interim director of Lafarge Tarmac has previously compensation manager at Electronic Arts, appointed Claire pensions for the UK and promoted Alison Moloney to and benefi ts manager for manager of assignment Whieldon senior return on investment at director of reward, the UK and Ireland. Other services at EY, senior reward and Diageo, and director of performance and corporate previous roles in the industry international assignment benefi ts manager. In this pensions at Alliance Boots. HR. She was previously include UK compensation consultant at Credit Suisse role, she will lead the director of reward and and benefi ts executive at and global mobility specialist organisation’s growing Kingaby promoted performance, and has also Taylor Nelson Sofres. at PricewaterhouseCoopers. reward and benefi ts agenda, Citigroup has held the position of director which includes the creation promoted George of reward and recognition at Global mobility role Fidelity names Naylor and implementation of a Kingaby to Europe, Tarmac. Moloney has also Abbiss Cadres has Fidelity Worldwide new reward strategy for Middle East and held a number of senior appointed Tim Investment has more than 3,000 employees Africa (EMEA) head of roles at the construction Wells head of appointed Kate across the UK and Europe. pensions and benefi ts and group, including head of global mobility Naylor head of co-head of cash reward, pensions and HR consulting. In May 2013, compensation, investment Parfrey joins Heineken compensation. He has held a shared services. Wells founded a consultancy, and Moonray (private equity Heineken UK has range of roles at the banking called Wells and Co and ventures). Her previous appointed Neil group since December Kantar promotes Patel Consulting, of which he is role was head of Parfrey interim 2002, including EMEA Kantar Worldpanel the director. His other compensation – fi nancial head of pensions. pensions and benefi ts UK has promoted previous roles in the industry services, UK and India at Parfrey’s previous roles in manager, and UK Hema Patel to include group global mobility Fidelity Worldwide the industry include interim pensions manager. employee manager at Britvic Soft Investment.

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 5

EB_0314 5 17/02/2014 16:47 TAX AND LEGISLATION @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/compliance

The latest information on legislation and tax issues affecting employee benefi ts, including employees’ right to request fl exible-working arrangements, and a new raft of rule changes to emerge this year

LEGISLATION ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS

Nicola Kerr is head Signifi cant rule changes of employment at King and Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin due to take effect in April

Flexible working rule Robert Crawford

change delayed A number of tax and legislation changes affecting employee benefi ts come into force on 6 April: The extension of the right to request G The statutory sick pay percentage threshold fl exible working, which was due to come scheme will be abolished: bit.ly/1dfcATR into force on 6 April 2014, has been G The relaxation of real-time information reporting postponed because of a delay in progress arrangements for small and medium-sized of the Children and Families Bill through enterprises with fewer than 50 employees will be Parliament. This legislation will give staff withdrawn: bit.ly/M0jQb4 Changes due to statutory sick pay the right to request a contract variation for G The savings limits for sharesave will double fl exible-working arrangements, and will from £250 to £500 a month, and the maximum G The annual allowance limit on tax-effi cient require employers to consider the request value of shares that an employee can acquire with pension savings, currently capped at £50,000, will in a reasonable manner. tax advantages through share incentive plans will reduce to £40,000: bit.ly/1ggf3y6 The government proposes extending rise to £1,800 a year for partnership shares and G The personal tax allowance of £9,440 will rise to this right to all employees with at least 26 £3,600 a year for free shares: bit.ly/JyZkhr £10,000: bit.ly/1ouQDVa weeks’ continuous employment. It is G HM Revenue and Customs is to change the way G The threshold for tax exemption on expected that the current right-to-request share schemes are administered. From 6 April, employment-related loans, such as travel season statutory procedure will be abolished and employers must register online any new share ticket loans will rise to £10,000 as long as the replaced with a duty on employers to deal plans and self-certify that any tax-advantaged outstanding balances on loans do not exceed the with requests reasonably. plans comply with the legislation: bit.ly/1lOwuHu threshold at any time in a tax year: bit.ly/1ggf3y6 In January, the Advisory, Conciliation G The lifetime limit on any employee’s tax-exempt and Arbitration Service (Acas) published a pension savings will reduce to £1.25 million from 6 @ Read also A quick guide to employee benefi ts tax fi nal draft of its Code of practice for April: bit.ly/1ggf3y6 at : bit.ly/1ggf3y6 handling requests to work fl exibly in a reasonable manner along with a supplementary good practice guide, providing practical examples to help TAX & LEGISLATION employers manage the extended right. It is hoped the move away from the VAT and RTI feature in latest developments current statutory procedure will help employers take a more pragmatic approach A number of tax and legislative G The government confi rmed a report to help tackle mental health and consider individual circumstances changes were announced in delay to the pension charges cap, conditions: bit.ly/1edi4L3 when faced with confl icting requests. January and February. which was due to come into effect G The Offi ce of Tax Simplifi cation The code will have statutory force and These include: in April 2014, but has been put off published its recommendations on will be taken into account by employment G HM Revenue and Customs to 2015: bit.ly/1feHPwr benefi ts tax, including 20 tribunals when considering relevant cases. (HMRC) changed its policy on the G The government published its proposals to simplify processes: The revised implementation date for the recovery of VAT on defi ned benefi t response to a consultation on bit.ly/1d9X9HS extended fl exible-working arrangements is pensions: bit.ly/1gzU60q exceptions to the employer duties G The government increased the unknown. It has been suggested the G HMRC also announced that it around pensions auto-enrolment: fi nancial penalty percentage from government will look to implement the will stagger the introduction of bit.ly/1b2vaPT 50% to 100% of wages owed to extension later this year. real-time information (RTI) G The government launched its workers found to be underpaid, penalties from April: Closing the gap: priorities for plus a penalty fi ne of up to @ To read more advice from legal experts, go to: bit.ly/1kHoDxj essential change in mental health £20,000: bit.ly/1ctRxrG bit.ly/RYrvb6

6 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 6 17/02/2014 15:48 EB_0314 7 07/02/2014 14:54 EB_0314 8 12/02/2014 11:11 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/events AWARDS

The judging panel for the 2014 Employee Benefi ts Awards has been confi rmed. The annual awards ceremony will be held on Friday 27 June at the Artillery Garden at the HAC in London

The judges are:

Panel chair: Jackie Buttery, Laura Garnett, Debi O’Donovan, head of reward, reward business editor, Employee Eversheds partner, Benefi ts Virgin Media

Panel chair: Ian Cunning, Ethan Debbie head of reward, Kelly-Wilson, Lovewell-Tuck, LCH.Clearnet HR manager – deputy editor, UK, Ireland Employee and Nordics, Benefi ts Epson Europe

Brian James Kirkland, Brian Newman, Janine Sparks, Panel chair: Cunningham, reward and HR vice-president, senior reward Claire Bettelley, head of insurance services director, international HR, manager, associate editor, and purchasing, Axa UK Live Nation British Airways Employee BMW International Benefi ts Jenny Davidson, Susan McGarity, Donna Nind, Sharon Tebb, Carol Baylis, total interim reward head of EMEA reward compensation and rewards director, director compensation director, benefi ts manager, Hitachi Data and benefi ts, Ricoh Europe Withers Systems Doosan Power Systems Jane Earnshaw, Janet Mckenzie, Carolyn Parker, Anne Teggart, Masha reward manager, reward manager, HR business European Boldyreva, Asda B&Q partner, compensation and rewards director, Tui Travel UK benefi ts lead, Europe, Mondelez and Ireland Sapient International

Richard Farrar, Leanne McLean, Debi Povey, Ashleigh Witcher, Gary Brewer, group pensions senior general head of reward, senior benefi ts and head of reward and benefi ts manager reward, Bwin.Party pensions and organisational manager, UK, Ireland and administrator, development, Novartis Nordics, Serco William Grant Ceva Logistics and Sons Jane Fenwick, Neil Morrison, Sarah Purnell, Carol Young, head Adam Brooke, interim head of group HR head of UK of group pensions, vice-president, global benefi ts, director, reward and Royal Bank of employee Shire Penguin Random benefi ts, Scotland benefi ts (UK), Pharmaceuticals House Group Tesco JP Morgan Amber Garner, Jacqui Riches, benefi ts team manager, leader, Home employee health Retail Group management, Quintiles

For more information about the Employee Benefi ts Awards: www.employeebenefi tsawards.co.uk

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 9

EB_0314 9 17/02/2014 12:10 INTERACTIVE

@ email us at [email protected] with your views

LOVEWELL'S LOGIC LINKEDIN DISCUSSION BOARD I am looking at expanding the Flexible working is important to At my previous company, we benefi ts for an employer @ people now. So that it doesn’t @ did things re: wellness, giving Debbie Lovewell-Tuck I am working with and would affect the business, you could money towards gym memberships looks at the vital role love some feedback on benefi ts introduce core hours, say start time and exercise equipment. We even reward professionals that your employees like, must be between 8am and 10am, had fun things in the offi ce that play in businesses over and above the usual and leave time between staff loved at lunchtime discounts and vouchers side 4pm and 6pm. and breaks, such as pool of voluntary benefi ts. Ashleigh Witcher, senior tables and darts. Celebrate excellence Jane Vivier, owner, The Rewarding benefi ts and pensions Debra Corey, global reward Company administrator, Serco in the benefi ts world director, PageGroup

Earlier this month, I had a conversation with a couple of well-known benefi ts managers about the career paths for 100 Club reward and benefi ts professionals. column I was surprised to learn that while the ChrisChris Coyne looks at total reward most senior, experienced reward directors can fi nd it diffi cult to move to In association with an HR director role if they do not have some generalist HR experience, on the Learning can be very rewarding fl ipside, compensation and benefi ts experience is not necessarily a Total reward is an everyday strategies, or building complex prerequisite for becoming an HR director. phrase in our industry. But how incentive programmes. This astounded me, because reward many employers genuinely Some fi nancial services increasingly has a key role to play in deliver a total reward strategy? organisations employ whole employee performance, supporting broader business objectives. Is there a gap between teams focused on delivering according to one study). Great Now, I am certainly not tarring all HR language and practice? My annual compensation reviews. for the employer, but from the directors with the same brush because I view is yes, there is something And large sums are spent on employee’s perspective, the know many that have reward experience missing in most organisations technology to deliver these. feeling that their career is and are championing some great work from true total reward that But if investment in developing through training, around benefi ts, but I believe this needs drives performance. compensation strategies qualifi cations or accreditation to be the case more widely. Whichever total reward supports HR’s remit to attract is an engaging one, and a We at Employee Benefi ts believe that model employers use, it can and retain staff, evidence about considerable element of the all the fantastic work carried out by so probably be broken down into how it drives business holistic reward offer. So why many benefi ts practitioners deserves four blocks: base pay, variable performance seems sparse. don’t we put more effort into celebrating. This is why we established pay, employee benefi ts and If we were to pay as much thinking about it? the Hot 100 and 100 Club. Find out who non-cash reward. Theory attention to non-cash reward, I Consider the fact that there made this year’s list of the industry’s top suggests investment in each of believe the value added by our are now 532 e-learning movers and shakers on page 21. these needs to be balanced for profession could increase organisations in the UK. How We will continue the celebrations at individuals to feel rewarded. signifi cantly. To be fair, an powerful could it be if learning the Employee Benefi ts Awards 2014 in The level of investment in increasing amount is being and benefi ts technology could June. We have received a number of each will differ between written and done about this, for be integrated? nominations for Employee Benefi ts organisations depending on example around recognition With talent development Professional of the Year 2014. Employee purpose, strategy and type of programmes, job design, becoming more of a priority benefi ts professionals of the year are workforce. But it is the last culture change or across all industries, isn’t it individuals that have made an impression element, non-cash reward, that communicating purpose and time we embraced learning on the industry, be it publicly or behind I believe needs more attention. values. But very little is said and development as part of a the scenes. If this sounds like someone As an industry, we spend a about investment in learning as total reward strategy? you know, tell me about them. Email huge amount of time looking at part of a total reward strategy. [email protected]. compensation. Signifi cant Well-designed learning Chris Coyne is head of reward and effort is put into designing pay programmes have a proven HR services at City and Guilds and employee benefi ts return (a 42% improvement in Follow Debbie Lovewell-Tuck on Twitter: @DebbieLovewell The 100 Club comprises industry leading lights who have contributed to Employee Benefi ts

10 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 10 17/02/2014 16:19 Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/employeebenefi t

TOP 13 MOST VISITED From the frontline STORIES ON THE WEB* Duncan Brown discusses the complexities of staff motivation

Rehumanising performance management How workplaces can affect Having spent a couple of hours describing an diffi culties of relating pay to performance 1 employee health bit.ly/1bvxFef impressive array of reward and development invariably returns to the lack of decent initiatives planned for this year, the senior HR foundation in performance management Language to avoid in pension team from a major multinational had no problem As a regular observer of engagement focus 2 communications bit.ly/1hj1KQm in defi ning their biggest challenge: performance groups in many different employers, the management. consistency of employees’ responses to the A quick guide to employee They are not alone. E-reward will soon release subject in the current climate is overwhelming: 3 benefi ts tax bit.ly/1bRTMG0 its latest research on the subject. Its previous “I can’t work any harder”; “I feel under more OTS publishes recommendations on study found that most organisations had pressure to perform, with less support”, “I had 4 benefi ts tax bit.ly/1c6F1T6 changed their process in the last three years. no say in the objectives set”, and, most But most had more reforms planned, a hamster- depressingly, “my manager spent my appraisal Court rules how to handle wheel pattern of change that seems to leave meeting looking at his computer screen”. 5 ill-health dismissals most employers berating the process but still Discussing the way forward at our recent bit.ly/NKUXC6 regarding it as a necessary evil. Aon Hewitt seminar on the topic, similar The latest research by Ed Lawler, professor consistency was evident. John Lewis plans to cut fi nal of business at the University of Southern The early E-reward 6 salary pension scheme “Organisations http://bit. California’s Marshall School of Business, found fi ndings suggest change is ly/1nz7uTE a worrying disengagement from the process are experiencing already occurring, with: by senior management, and a slightly major issues in simplifi cation of what have What makes an organisation a 7 family-friendly employer? negative correlation between effectiveness delivering these often become over- and the computer systems most large complex and over- bit.ly/1f1vuxS employers use. benefi ts” engineered processes; Ikea pays pension contributions These employers are correct in terms of its rebuilding the more 8 as bonus bit.ly/1lOMFV6 necessity. Research on the links between HR forward-looking and development aspects, management, corporate performance and rather than the review and reward dimensions; BT and BBC top pensions employee engagement generally show reinvesting in line manager training and 9 league table bit.ly/MjLRes performance management to be the most focusing on what Lynda Grattan, professor of powerful single HR component in these management practice at London Business Government to delay pension relationships, in settings ranging from major School, calls ‘conversations that count’. 10 charges cap bit.ly/NKVDrf corporations to NHS acute hospitals. The large multinational talked about But they are also right that most ‘rehumanising’ performance management Healthcare benefi ts to address organisations are experiencing major issues in processes. It would be an appropriate ‘SMART’ 11 depression in the workplace delivering these benefi ts in practice, with objective for HR and reward professionals. bit.ly/1jhxbr9 Microsoft’s well-publicised abandonment of its The Pensions Regulator publishes infamous ‘rank-and-yank’ system being just one 12 DC code http://bit.ly/1hj2CEs of many examples. Any consideration of the Follow Duncan on Twitter: @duncanbhr Fujitsu uses fl ex to communicate MOST TALKED ABOUT NEWS 13 auto-enrolment bit.ly/NKVUuh

Charity ShareAction published a “It is incredible that many major is a fundamental part of that. They *Ranked by the number of page impressions from league table at the end of pension schemes still do not must take time to understand 15 January -13 February 2014 January, which ranked the UK’s recognise that good member existing levels of knowledge workplace pension schemes for communication is essential. among members and respond by responsible investment. The BBC Employers have a responsibility to producing fresh communication and BT were top, while Barclays, ensure members are engaged with that is relevant and appropriate.” GlaxoSmithKline and Rolls-Royce their retirement savings and Alex Thurley-Ratcliff, innovation and were given the lowest scores. sharing information on investment business development, Shilling

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 11

EB_0314 11 17/02/2014 16:19 EB_0314 12 07/02/2014 16:36 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/jobs UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Consultancy experience ensures a broad view George Makris, lead reward manager and head of executive compensation at Direct Line Group, took on his fi rst in-house reward role after gathering wide experience as a research analyst and consultant

eorge Makris, lead reward Group is his fi rst in-house post, your main stakeholder and it manager and head of following three years as an analyst happens on a daily basis.” executive compensation and seven years as a consultant. In his role, Makris wears two Q&A Gat insurer Direct Line “The overall objective of the role hats: head of executive Group, found his way into the isn’t different, but the day-to-day compensation and team leader for What has been the biggest focus reward industry by accident. responsibilities are,” he says. the reward team. He is already in your new role? After graduating from hard at work on the directors’ With my head-of-executive- university, he became a research remuneration report under the compensation hat on, the biggest analyst at Manifest and a corporate new executive pay reporting thing I’m working on right now is governance analyst at Institutional c regulations, which were introduced the directors’ remuneration report Shareholder Services. In these As a consultant, the 1 October 2013, as well as rolling under the new regulations. With early roles, he was responsible for out the implementation of, and biggest objective is to my lead-reward-manager hat on, assessing corporate reward communications around, a new we are just rolling out a new structures and executive payroll come up with new grading system for all staff. global grading system. and remuneration arrangements solutions or designs” “That involves communicating for various organisations. with staff about their new grade What one tip would you give to “I had regular engagement with “As a reward consultant, the and how it affects them,” he says. someone looking to get into your the organisations I was analysing, biggest objective is to come up “We also link our current reward current role? and I used to get in touch with with new solutions or designs, but proposition into the new grades.” I have seen people having reward directors and advisers not necessarily see them all the Direct Line Group, which technical specialities and then while working for investors,” says way through. The biggest two separated from its parent group diving into one area of reward, but Makris. “Eventually I decided to changes are being able to produce Royal Bank of Scotland, in not necessarily understanding the make the move to the other side, end-to-end initiatives and September 2012, began the big picture. For people who want starting with consulting. That’s day-to-day stakeholder process of recruiting Makris about to progress, particularly those where I have spent the biggest engagement. As a consultant, 10 months ago. “I was approached,” who aspire to have a long-term part of my career to date.” you’ve got a number of [employer] he says. “I wasn’t actively looking career, it is important to Makris’sMakris’s rolerole at DirectDirect LinLinee clients, but here the business is for it, but it has turned out to be a experience as many areas of good fi t in terms of the reward as possible. organisation and my own skills. “There was a good match there What would you like your next in terms of the organisation CURRICULUM VITAE career move to be? wanting someone who had worked It’s pretty early in my Direct Line through change programmes. Group, and in-house, days. As a August 2013-present lead consultant, executive “For me, it was an environment relatively new standalone reward manager and head of remuneration and benefi ts, that wasn’t exactly a ‘green fi eld’, organisation, it has a number of executive compensation, Hay Group because a lot of the design work challenges to offer over the next Direct Line Group had been done in terms of the couple of years, at least. February 2005-April 2006 separation from the RBS Group, August 2011-August 2013 corporate governance analyst, but it was more a ‘brown fi eld’ senior manager, executive Institutional Shareholder Services environment, so coming into remuneration, Deloitte something where things are still Jennifer Paterson is October 2003-February 2005 relatively new, but with senior reporter at April 2006-July 2011 senior research analyst, Manifest opportunity to take things to the Employee Benefi ts next stage.” Jennifer Paterson

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 13

EB_0314 13 14/02/2014 09:56 EVERYDAY employee benefits

An employee benefit, Improves engagement for everyone with everyone, every day

We can provide your employees with a host of lifestyle, travel, retail and assistance services that will save them time, reduce stress and leave them feeling delighted. A broad range of services In return, your business could benefit from a more engaged workforce, a reduction to assist and delight in stress-related absenteeism and better brand advocacy from your employees. From table bookings and festival tickets, to nanny services and holiday planning, with so many services available, our benefits programmes have the potential to Available as a core or help you engage with every single one of your employees. flexible benefit to suit you Follow us on Twitter: @EverydayBenefit

LIFESTYLE TRAVEL RETAIL ASSISTANCE

To set up your free trial, please get in touch:

www.everydaybenefit.co.uk | info@everydaybenefit.co.uk | 01733 862 200 Powered by WhiteConcierge – a member of the AXA Assistance family

EB_0314 14 07/02/2014 11:21 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/comments THE BIG QUESTION

This month’s big question: What is the effect of delaying the pension charges cap?

From an employer’s Different levels of pension Most employers will perspective, the scheme charges can have welcome the news that government’s delay to the a signifi cant impact on a the proposed cap on pension charges cap member’s outcomes at charges for auto- decision is not helpful. retirement. For example, enrolment schemes will It is important that this the difference between a not be implemented complex issue is given the 0.5% annual management before April 2015. proper consideration, but charge (AMC) and a 1% That is not to say there continued uncertainty AMC, everything else is anything wrong with the creates challenges for employers and knocks being equal, can mean a difference of £12,800. aim, which is to help ensure that the schemes confi dence in pension saving among staff. Scheme charges are not just important for employers are providing for their employees For larger employers, the delay has less employees, or employers setting up new represent value for money, although a cap on impact. We have about 5,700 employees and schemes. If a cap is put in place, employers charges is a simplistic solution to that problem. our scheme’s charges are already competitive. with an existing scheme are also likely to be Employers do not have a strong commercial We negotiated these down by a further 0.5% required to review it for compliance. motivation to minimise charges, and even if last year. We have also navigated our way So, irrespective of whether a scheme is they did, they may not have the bargaining through auto-enrolment. being set up before or after any cap is power to do much about it. If we were a smaller employer that had not introduced, employers and trustees are likely Although the issue of charges is not a direct gone through auto-enrolment staging, this to seek assurances from providers that they concern for employers, the possibility of a cap delay would cause concern. Employers will be comfortably within a cap, widely could disrupt their planning for auto-enrolment. approaching staging need to take the contents anticipated in the industry to be set at 0.75%. This could have had a wide impact because the of the pension charges consultation into And it is not just the level of charges that is staged introduction of auto-enrolment has now consideration when establishing a new scheme important. Some schemes, including Nest (the reached small and medium-sized employers. or amending an existing one. Not doing so National Employment Savings Trust), have a The concept of auto-enrolment is simple could lead to the scheme design having to be combination charging structure that has enough, but the legislation implementing it is revisited in the near future. charges levied on the contributions made, as somewhat over-engineered. The additional challenge is that the power to well as an AMC. The impact of charges can vary The government has recognised it cannot negotiate better terms now may be limited, signifi cantly, both across different charging tell employers to plan for auto-enrolment 12 due to lack of scale and leverage. The delay structures and across employees, depending months ahead of their staging date on the one could make negotiations with providers harder on their earnings, contributions, and working hand, while introducing disruptive changes with and more time-consuming. and savings patterns. no reasonable notice period on the other. Employers want the best return from their It is not yet clear how the government, if it Employers should recognise that even investment into pension saving and part of that introduces a cap, will account for the different though a charges cap will not happen just yet, comes from staff believing they are in a plan charging structures that exist in the market the government remains committed to that offers value for money. Many will not gain today. But anyone involved in maintaining or addressing the risk of charges unduly reducing that confi dence until this situation is resolved. setting up a pension scheme for auto- the value of pension saving. But despite the uncertainty and challenges enrolment should give some thought to what Whether or not a charges cap will ultimately this delay may pose, the most important thing the scheme members will look like, and which be introduced, employers would be well is to get defi ned contribution scheme charging charging structure, as well as level, may be advised to focus on obtaining a competitive right. Greater transparency would be a start. most suitable for them. charging structure.

Pete Strudwick is pensions and performance Chris Curry is director of the Pensions Policy Christopher Stiles is an associate in the pensions partner at LV= Institute team at Wragge and Co

Do you agree with these views? Join the discussion by searching for the EmployeeBenefi ts group on

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 15

EB_0314 15 14/02/2014 14:00 INDUSTRY FORUM @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/pensions

What lies beneath Supplied by: auto-enrolment?

On the surface, auto-enrolment seems like a good idea, but there is a lot of work to do to make sure employees achieve a meaningful income in retirement, says Martin Palmer

Auto-enrolment is on course to breathe new case, employees must be dissuaded from life into pension saving. But what hidden thinking that minimum contributions alone will factors could affect its fate, and how can fund a comfortable retirement. The difference employers set their scheme apart? between 8% and 12% may seem an As the focus of auto-enrolment shifts from irrelevance, but the reality is anything but. large organisations in low numbers to smaller businesses in high volumes, a picture is already Join up the dots emerging of the future workplace pensions There are other ways to stand out from the landscape. Millions more people saving for pack. Simply providing access to other savings retirement and single-fi gure opt-out rates are products, for example individual savings the fi llip; comparatively low contributions being accounts (Isas), can join up the dots of short-, paid are the fl ipside. mid- and long-term saving. The design of a But outside of pensions, the government’s default investment option is also vital; by aims, to give a tax break to lower-paid staff and choosing carefully and making sure it is well bring more employees into the higher tax band, managed, a default can work harder with have taken thousands out of auto-enrolment employers’ and employees’ money. and stunted the value of contributions for Now is also the time to promote better schemes using qualifying earnings. concern if infl ation outstrips pay rises (0.9% as fi nancial education. The fl at-rate state pension at January 2014). Should this trend continue, it should provide greater clarity on the actual Flatlining contributions may fi nd itself on a collision course with level of benefi ts employees can expect from The fl atlining contributions shown are caused planned rises to auto-enrolment minimum the state. It also opens up the opportunity to by tying auto-enrolment limits to other tax contributions in 2017 and 2018. re-engage with staff in middle age and get thresholds. This presents a conundrum for The industry must work hard at these crucial them thinking seriously about their future. businesses: cutting the link will add more moments to ensure employees understand the It comes down to what an employer wants complexity to payroll processes, but importance of increasing contributions and from its pension scheme. Is it compliance with maintaining the link could continue to erode discourage the temptation to opt out. the duties, or a retention tool that makes a the value of an important employee benefi t. Until auto-enrolment, simply having a positive difference to employees’ futures? The The affordability of contributions is also a half-decent pension scheme in place may have success of any scheme hinges on what is paid been enough to distinguish an organisation’s in, and the hard truth is that, for many, auto- HOW CONTRIBUTION LEVELS benefi ts provision from its peers. But the days enrolment minima will not hit the heights of ARE STAGNATING of haves and have-nots are no more, so how employees’ retirement ambitions. can employers set their scheme apart? The But however an organisation backs its I £96.24 in 2012/12 crude answer is to pay in more: the Pensions scheme fi nancially, to prove its worth, it needs I £94.85 in 2014/15 Quality Mark (PQM) from the National to fi nd new ways to make it stand out. Association of Pension Schemes sets its Monthly contributions for an employee standard at 10% or 15% for its PQM Plus. Martin Palmer earning £20,000 based on qualifying earnings and steady state minimum But despite signs that the economy is in Is head of corporate benefi ts contributions. ruder health, raising contributions at this time proposition at Friends Life remains, for some, a distant possibility. In any

16 I MonthMarch 20142012 II www.employeebenefi ts.co.ukts.co.uk

EB_0314 16 17/02/2014 15:10 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/pensions PENSIONS GLOBAL TOP TIPS What pension lessons can the UK learn from the experiences of other countries? Nick Martindale looks at the top fi ve areas to consider

he UK has moved to try to get its will have to offer risk-profi led retirement savings crisis under investment options that take control by introducing pensions members’ ages into account. “A auto-enrolment. But what lessons simple lesson from South Africa is can the nation learn from the that too much choice is not a good Tapproach other countries have taken? thing, and don’t over-engineer investment options,” he says. Contribution levels can rise 1 Ian Neale, director of legislative specialist Reform annuity Aries, says the big message from Australia is 4 system that employees do not miss what they have Like the UK, Chile has a mandatory never had. The country’s superannuation DC environment and has poor system is based on a compulsory employer annuity conversion rates because contribution of 9.25% from employees’ salaries, of high charges. Philip Smith, head which will rise to 12% by 2019-20. of DC and wealth at Buck “A further attraction for employees is that, on Consultants, says the solution retirement, the benefi ts are, within limits, there was to cap commission entirely tax-free,” says Neale. payable to brokers and bring in an Martin Palmer, head of proposition, corporate electronic consultation-and-offer benefi ts at Friends Life, says another lesson system to help staff approaching from Australia is that employees start to retirement to search for the best engage with their pension more once their pot employees contribute 2.5% of salary,” she says. annuity and income drawdown options. becomes a signifi cant amount. “Centralised and automated administration “Chilean pensioners get greater value from keeps costs low, as does the ability of the annuities than those in the UK,” says Smith. Keep charges down central agency to negotiate with investment 2 Good outcomes in the defi ned managers directly on fees.” Collective DC plans contribution (DC) world hinge on charges as 5 Finally, a different model altogether. The well as contribution rates. Anne Bennett, Too much choice use of collective defi ned contribution (CDC) consultant in the retirement resource group at 3 The system in South Africa, where many plans, in which contributions are based on a Mercer, says: “High charges over a member’s employer DC funds date back to the 1990s, fi xed formula, is well established in the lifetime can make a very signifi cant difference offers a glimpse into the challenges the UK will Netherlands, and received UK government to the funds available at retirement.” face. Petri Greeff, director at RisCura, says support from pensions minister Steve Webb Bennett points to Denmark and Sweden as employees can be bamboozled by too much in January 2013. examples of countries where costs have been choice. “A ‘safe’ investment decision could Wichert Hoekert, consultant at Towers held down by regulation and economies of doom people to a cold-baked future when Watson, says: “This is often phrased as defi ned scale. “Part of the Swedish system is based on retiring,” he adds. contribution from the sponsor’s perspective, mandatory personal DC accounts, to which all In the longer term, Greeff thinks UK plans but defi ned benefi t from the member’s.” Such a set-up could be introduced in the UK, but would not be straightforward, he says EB IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS. . .

> Too much investment choice can confuse can help keep pension charges low. Nick Martindale is employees. a freelance journalist > A move to collective DC (CDC) plans from > A mandatory defi ned contribution (DC) defi ned benefi t (DB) schemes in the UK environment with centralised administration would not be a gradual change. @ Read also Auto-enrolment tips from Australia and New Zealand at: bit.ly/1ntEeO2 Thinkstock

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 17

EB_0314 17 12/02/2014 15:00 MOTIVATION @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/staff-motivation

SUMMER DREAMS Summer is a good time for staff motivation schemes, says Robert Crawford

s the mornings get lighter and the days get longer, employers can start MOTIVATIONAL PERKS OFFERED AS CORE BENEFITS to think of ways to motivate staff during the summer months. Extra holidays for long service 51% Employers looking to build a Organisation’s own products for staff 21% Aseasonal programme should fi rst consider how Retail/leisure discounts 16% all their reward and benefi ts schemes can work Buy or sell some holiday 15% Gym membership 12% together to achieve an overall purpose, for Student grants/repay student loans 9% example staff motivation. Travel insurance 9% Paul Bartlett, divisional director for employee Retail leisure vouchers 8% solutions at Grass Roots, says: “If an employer is seeking to build overall engagement by utilising a motivation programme over the summer, it is Sample: All respondents responsible for compensation and benefi ts in their organisation important to consider whether there is Source: Employee Benefi ts’ Benefi ts Research, May 2013 alignment across all its programmes. An example might be a consistent theme across Voucher Association, says: “Gift cards and World Cup takes place, so there’s lots of recognition, reward and the benefi ts on offer.” vouchers are a premium reward for employees. inspiration for a reward programme.” Establishing the staff audience is a key Vouchers can vary in form and there is a whole For overall staff wellbeing at work, the consideration when creating a motivation range of offerings, such as Marks and Spencer, warmer weather brings a spike in demand for programme, especially a seasonal version, to Next, Thomas Cook and Red Letter Days. bicycles, but such benefi ts should be available ensure the initiative will reach the right staff “A motivation voucher can offer staff a all year, says Grass Roots’ Bartlett. demographic and achieve the desired results. handful of summer-related options with a “Childcare vouchers and bikes are very Colin Hodgson, sales director, incentives and variety of choice. Spa days, leisure activities popular, particularly over the summer, but it is motivation, at Edenred, says: “Establish who the and store gift cards are popular choices.” good for staff if these are available throughout audience will be: is it customer service staff or Other summer perks to consider could the year, not just for a limited period over a fl ex sales teams? Then determine the objectives for include travel insurance, awaydays and enrolment window,” he says EB the period. Employers should be clear on the experience days. Creating a programme around objectives and set overall targets. These should seasons or themes throughout the year can include relevant and engaging rewards and help to get staff interested. Robert Crawford is prizes, which offer employees choice.” Edenred’s Hogdson adds: “Summer is a time a reporter at There is a growing trend among employers to be outdoors, so leisure and family-oriented Employee Benefi ts to offer staff choice and fl exibility in a rewards and prizes relate well. Employers could motivation programme. Andrew Johnson, also consider a theme for the motivation @ Read also Motivational sporting events to follow in 2014 at: bit.ly/1guNBfq

Thinkstock director general of the UK Gift Card and programme. For example, this year the Fifa

18 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 18 13/02/2014 17:04 A cheeky 53.6% off a new bike for your employees

53.6% includes in-store promotion - we always honour in-store promotions in addition to Tax and NI savings. …whilst other schemes offer just 42%* If you fi nd better savings on bikes and safety equipment elsewhere, we promise to beat them. Halfords Cycle2work scheme is quick and hassle free to set up with access to ALL the UK’s top bike brands.

For a great deal, call 0845 077 8850 or visit www.cycle2work.info

*53.6% overall savings based on a 12 month hire period where the employer funds the scheme. Assumes 2% Employee NI rate, 40% higher rate tax and Halfords 20% in-store promotion (based on the average discount available on our best selling Cycle2work bike brand, Carrera, from April 2012-Jan 2013). Savings will vary dependent on personal tax. Competitor schemes’ savings of up to 42% as at Feb 2013 (where the combined market share of Halfords Cycle2work and competitor schemes is c. 90%).

EB_0314 19 06/02/2014 17:05 EB_0314 20 07/02/2014 17:13 March 2014

BENEFITS10 MANAGERS 0

This year’s top movers and shakers in benefi ts In association with

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 21 13/02/2014 16:53 THE HOT 100

It’s really cool to be hot

t is not lost on me that to be in the Hot 100 today is a extremely smart communication skills are also fairly profound achievement. If I look back at benefi ts required, whether talking with staff or the board provision fi ve or 10 years ago, you couldn’t get away (because more of you are doing that, if you aren’t from recruitment, retention, strategy and the already on the board). Ioh-so-important war for talent. Today, that almost Every day seems to bring a new learning curve. I seems charming. Wasn’t it simpler when we just know many thrive on that, but there’s a fi ne balance needed to get good people in, keep them and keep it between fl ourishing and feeling the heat. In our work legal? The target was in sight, and there weren’t so community, there is an incredible desire to learn from many complications in the way. others in similar situations and help guide others. This We have gone through massive, disruptive change. opens up a multitude of opportunities for this year’s Yes, recruitment and retention are right up there as Hot 100ers, every one of whom has impressed essential strategic objectives, so much so that they are Employee Benefi ts’ editorial team in some way. Tobin Murphy- much more recognised by the board. Yet Not only do you have Coles what the board is unlikely to know in much opportunities to network and learn , detail is what HR directors and benefi ts “On top of all the from each other, but you are commercial managers have to do just to stand still, let essentials that showing others how they can director at alone achieve all they need to. have to be move through their own challenges. Regulation and compliance issues, What an incredible opportunity the Lorica Employee ticked off, Benefi ts, salutes some positive, some not, rear their ugly Hot 100 offers to set both the heads repeatedly, and there is no extremely smart agenda and new benchmarks for the reward and likelihood of them getting easier. communication UK businesses. benefi ts The challenges and learning curve for So, people in the Employee skills are also professionals anyone in this role are enormous, which Benefi ts Hot 100, and many more who have made calls for a little examination. required” specialists up and down the country, There are at least fi ve plates to keep have proved that it is possible to our Hot 100 spinning: Is my recruitment and retention strategy combine all the challenges and ensure that a reward working? Can I maintain a budget for longer-term and benefi ts structure ticks all the boxes. benefi ts? Do employees say ‘wow’ and understand It is encouraging to see how hard the people I know their package? Am I ticking the compliance and legal have worked to see that the regulators’ and boxes and making them future-proof? And, on top of government’s rules are fully compliant in their that, do I understand the business at an intrinsic level, organisations and, at the end of it all, make benefi ts not just its people, talent and reward requirements? work to give employees something extremely tangible. It does make me wonder: could someone who made The moving parts will continue to move, and it’s a this list 10 years ago (had it existed) have the special type of person who has rolled up their sleeves knowledge to be included today? and got on with it, not only to make it happen, but to Our environment has changed so dramatically. On make it happen so well that they are being celebrated. top of all the essentials that have to be ticked off, I take my hat off to you.

In association with

To fi nd out more, visit www.lorica.com

22 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 22 17/02/2014 11:10 THE HOT 100

LEADER

HEADLINE ACTS Congratulations to

Jackie Buttery, Eversheds: the 2014 Hot 100 Employee Benefi ts Awards winner; Employee Benefi ts Over the next 10 pages, we introduce you to our latest Hot 100 Awards judge benefi ts managers (listed in strict alphabetical order). These are people who, during 2013, were featured in our magazine or on our website for the great work they are doing with their organisations’ benefi ts packages; or people who Brian Cunningham, have spoken at our events or taken part in our roundtable discussions; and those who BMW: have judged or won gongs at the annual Employee Benefi ts Awards in 2013. Employee Benefi ts For the most part, we have deliberately selected people who were not on previous Grand Prix winner years’ lists in order to spread the recognition as wide as possible for the good work that is done for millions of employees across the land. However, this year we have also included selected individuals who have featured in previous years’ Hot 100. This is because they have continued to blaze a trail for great work within the industry and have demonstrated ongoing support for Employee Benefi ts throughout 2013. Jane Fenwick, We wish our 2014 Hot 100 group all hearty congratulations and a very big thank-you for Shire your contributions to the industry. Pharmaceuticals: Along with the 2012 Hot 100 and 2013 Hot 100 groups, this 2014 line-up of leading Employer profi le; Up Close profi le; news benefi ts managers and directors make up our 100 Club. story This year, we plan to work harder to tap into the expertise contained within the 100 Club and to build this community. As stated by our 100 Club sponsor, Lorica Employee Benefi ts (see opposite page), the people on the Hot 100 list face huge challenges. So, the more we can share and spread lessons, the better for the industry as a whole. Steve Moore, Hymans Robertson: We have already started by running a column (see page 10) written by a different 100 Employee Benefi ts Club member each month. There is an associated, active LinkedIn group, which is Awards winner; members-only and supplier-, adviser- and sponsor-free. This enables 100 Club members to speaker at Employee ask questions and receive advice from each other. And we have other 100 Club plans in Benefi ts Live the pipeline. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank-you to Employee Benefi ts’ deputy editor, Debbie Lovewell-Tuck, who put a tremendous amount of work into pulling Anna Tomlinson, this list together. Random House Group: We would also like to extend a very important thank-you to our sponsor, Lorica Employee Benefi ts Employee Benefi ts, for backing the 100 Club. We at Employee Benefi ts are now working Awards winner; with Lorica to develop more thought leadership coming out of the 100 Club. speaker Employee Benefi ts Live A big thank-you and congratulations to you all!

Debi O’Donovan Editor Employee Benefi ts

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 23

EB_0314 23 17/02/2014 12:21 THE HOT 100

100

HOTBENEFITS MANAGERS

responsible for driving the reward agenda to Here is our third annual roll call of the movers and build the employee brand and ensure the shakers in the benefi ts industry over the past year council recruits and retains the best people to deliver excellent services to the community. Her recent achievements include the Rachael Abbott and private equity clients in the FTSE 100 and introduction of performance- related reward manager, benefi ts, 250. After six years, he transitioned to a wider increments for more than 20,000 employees John Lewis Partnership reward consultancy role, also at Deloitte. as part of a review of all terms and conditions, Abbott has worked for the John Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee and the successful introduction of Herts Lewis Partnership for 31 years, the Benefi ts Live 2013 Rewards, the council’s total reward package. fi rst 15 of which were spent across three John Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le Lewis branches, mainly as a department Anouk Agussol http://bit.ly/1gEalsi and news story manager. She then moved into John Lewis’ head of people, Holiday Extras http://bit.ly/1g4fCIT head offi ce as an assistant buyer for fi ve years Agussol has worked for Holiday before joining the personnel function. Her fi rst Extras for six years and is Rachel Bern role in personnel was assistant staff and passionate about making a international compensation and benefi ts training manager before moving on to project difference and fi nding new and better ways to manager, Freshfi elds Bruckhaus Deringer management roles, mainly around managing deliver traditional HR, so she drives creative Bern began her role at Freshfi elds Bruckhaus the personnel elements of new shop openings. thinking from the team she works with. Agussol Deringer in August last year. International Two years ago, she joined the corporate focuses on innovating, designing and compensation and benefi ts manager is a new division to lead on the benefi ts proposition for implementing people initiatives. role, and involves working with non-UK offi ces the partnership. Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award on their compensation and benefi ts offerings. Reason in Hot 100: Article case study winner http://bit.ly/1lO4rrB Previously, Bern held international reward roles http://bit.ly/1iVD6mc at NBC Universal, Rexam and a European Emily Austin compensation and benefi ts role at Coca-Cola. Ed Airey HR pay and reward manager, She began working in HR at Coca-Cola’s UK reward manager, RSA Hertfordshire County Council European Group in 2006. Airey has more than a decade’s Austin has more than 12 years’ Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story experience in reward and joined experience of HR within local http://bit.ly/1nyAta3 RSA in 2012 as UK reward government, with a specialism in pay and manager. His responsibilities include RSA’s reward management. John Beadle fl exible benefi ts offering, as well as all other Having won public and private sector vice-president, performance UK-wide reward-related matters. awards, the Hertfordshire HR service, which and reward, Rio Tinto Before joining RSA, Airey was at Deloitte for covers more than 30,000 people, works to Beadle’s portfolio includes board 11 years, having joined as a graduate actuary in ensure people, and good people management, and executive reward, employee the pensions team. During this time, he worked are at the centre of the council’s business. reward, benefi ts, international mobility and on a number of projects with a focus on Austin is the lead on the council’s pay and performance management. He has more than

Jacko mergers and acquisitions for both corporate reward strategy. She and her team are 20 years’ experience in reward and HR

24 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 24 17/02/2014 16:17 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/special-reports

management in the consumer goods, fi nancial, implementing and managing its fl exible the promotion of total reward and the delivery information technology, natural resources and benefi ts scheme (Benefi ts Plus) before joining of health and wellbeing services. Buttery was a pharmaceutical industries, working in Asia, JP Morgan in 2011 as employee benefi ts and member of the winning Benefi ts Team of the Europe, the UK and US. He was vice-president, wellness manager. Year at the Employee Benefi ts Awards 2013. reward, for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award and Development in 2008 and was made a winner http://bit.ly/1jgx9zK, article case study winner http://bit.ly/1nyBsXJ, article case Companion of the Institute in 2010. http://bit.ly/1dOIyC5 study http://bit.ly/MjcUGQ and Employee Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Benefi ts Award judge http://bit.ly/1iVFRE5 Benefi ts Connect 2013 Kim Brosnan group talent director, Which? Rashree Chhatrisha Elaine Beavis Brosnan joined Which? as group benefi ts manager, Coca Cola reward director, Europe, talent director in July 2009. Enterprises Sita.aero Previously, she held senior HR Chhatrisha is a qualifi ed solicitor Beavis took up her current role in roles at the Financial Times, including interim and has more than 15 years’ HR September 2013. She previously global HR director and global head of change consulting experience, including working at spent two years at British Gas as reward and development. She has worked in a variety PWC and Mercer HR. She now specialises in director. Before that, she was at the Walt of HR roles in a number of sectors, including reward strategy and employee benefi ts at Disney Company for 10 years in a range of advertising, utilities and local government. At Coca-Cola Enterprises. compensation and benefi ts roles, and has also Which?, she has responsibility for attracting, She is responsible for all UK benefi ts within a held HR roles at Safeway Stores. retaining and developing great people. European reward team that manages Reason in Hot 100: People moves news Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Live compensation and benefi ts across the EU. She article http://bit.ly/NK36qy speaker 2013 has experience in project management, managing providers and implementation of Jeremy Bennett Margot Burleton benefi t programmes. head of reward, TMF Group head of reward, Mitie Group Reason in Hot 100: News story Bennett joined TMF Group as head Burleton has been head of reward http://bit.ly/1nyBX4f of reward in May 2013 and is at Mitie Group for more than two responsible for overseeing global years. She was previously group Dominic Ceraldi reward strategy across the business’s 114 reward manager at BG Group for six years and head of HR, Pimlico Plumbers offi ces. Before joining TMF, his career was in spent 11 years as a consultant at Towers Perrin. In the six years since Ceraldi joined Pimlico fi nancial services, spending fi ve years at Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le Plumbers, he has built its HR function from Barclays Bank where he was a senior reward http://bit.ly/1fmejU8 scratch, working closely with the managing manager in the retail and business bank (RBB) director on key strategic issues, such as functions team. Before that, he spent three Jay Butler identifying ways to take the business forward. years at private equity fi rm 3i and four years in health and wellbeing manager, Before joining Pimlico Plumbers, Ceraldi spent consultancy at McLagan Partners. UK and Ireland, Bank of nearly four years as HR manager at Southbank Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story America Merrill Lynch. Employers’ Group, where he was responsible http://bit.ly/1dsiCR2 Butler joined Bank of America for managing all aspects of the project, from Merrill Lynch in June 2005. She leads the UK HR issues, performance, employee Caroline Briffett and Ireland’s health and wellbeing programme management and fi nance to the development reward and benefi ts manager, and integrated health services, focusing on of a cohesive management group. Herbert Smith Freehills proactive and reactive interventions. She was Reason in Hot 100: Article case study Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at previously a recruitment manager for a global http://bit.ly/1lO790d Employee Benefi ts Live 2013 technical and professional services fi rm. Reason in Hot 100: News story John Chilman Adam Brooke http://bit.ly/1f0OCfk group reward and pensions employee benefi ts and director, FirstGroup wellness manager, JP Morgan Jackie Buttery Chilman, a chartered accountant, Brooke spent the fi rst 13 years of head of reward, Eversheds has held fi nancial roles at PWC, his career at the John Lewis Buttery joined Eversheds in South Western Electricity and Shell. He joined Partnership, working through the various August 2013 after spending eight FirstGroup in 1999 to consolidate and redesign disciplines of HR before being asked to carry years at rival law fi rm Freshfi elds. its pension and reward offerings. After two out a project on the partnership’s benefi ts. This Her current responsibilities include the years at HBOS as group head of reward, he led to the creation and implementation of a development and delivery of Eversheds’ reward returned to FirstGroup in late 2005 as group brand (PartnerChoice) and communication and employee benefi ts strategy across its UK reward and pensions director. strategy that encompassed existing and new and overseas operations, including Asia and the He is a trustee of the £20 billion Railways benefi ts. Brooke then spent three years at law Middle East. Buttery’s key areas of interest in Pension Scheme, chairman of its investment fi rm Freshfi elds Bruckhaus Deringer previous roles have included strategies around committee, and a non-executive director of

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 25

EB_0314 25 17/02/2014 16:17 THE HOT 100

RPMI and Railpen Investments. He is also a international compensation and benefi ts. where he was responsible for the delivery of trustee of FirstGroup’s pension arrangements Since then, Corey has held European and global reward initiatives in the UK and Europe. in the US and Canada. roles in organisations such as Gap, AS Watson, Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Pensions Honeywell, Morrisons, Quintiles and Merlin Awards judge Summit 2013 http://bit.ly/1iVGtcX, Employee Entertainments. She began her current role as Benefi ts Award winner http://bit.ly/1dOLgrj group rewards director for PageGroup at the Brian Cunningham end of 2013. She won the Employee Benefi ts head of insurance and Gail Cingolani Award for Professional of the Year in 2012. purchasing, BMW Group (UK) reward consultant, BGL Group Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Cunningham took on the newly Cingolani has worked in reward Benefi ts Connect 2013, employer profi le created role of head of insurance and benefi ts for over 10 years. article http://bit.ly/1bv2lMx, Employee and purchasing for BMW Group (UK) in 2013, She joined BGL in 2007 as Benefi ts Awards judge, speaker at Employee having spent seven years at BMW as general reward and benefi ts manager, and was was Benefi ts Live 2013 http://bit.ly/1nyCTFC manager of insurance and risk. His new responsible for the roll-out of its My Wellbeing department has responsibility for indirect programme, which was shortlisted for an Chris Coyne purchasing, insurance management, employee Employee Benefi ts Award in 2011. group head of reward and HR benefi ts and risk management. In addition to Before joining BGL, Cingolani worked for services , City and Guilds his core role, Cunningham is a director of BMW Campbell’s Grocery Products as European Coyne joined City and Guilds in (UK) Operations Pension Scheme. He is also an compensation and benefi ts analyst. She has 2008 after a broad career in HR, member of BMW’s investment committee, also held various HR roles in areas such as systems and training, and time in the Royal audit and governance committee and chairman graduate recruitment. In her current role, her Navy as a commissioned offi cer. He has a of another legacy pension scheme. He played a main focus is to deliver a reward strategy to degree in organisational studies and an MSc in prominent role in the BMW team that picked up meet the requirements of BGL’s business. strategic HR management. Within City and two awards at the 2013 Employee Benefi ts Reason in Hot 100: News story Guilds, he has a remit to deliver a global reward Awards, including the Grand Prix. http://bit.ly/M01h74 strategy to support a signifi cant period of Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Grand organisational development and growth. He Prix award winner Mark Cliff has recently taken on responsibility for http://bit.ly/1jgDMSN and http://bit.ly/1dOOLxV head of pensions, Manchester Airports establishing an HR service centre covering Group (MAG) operations and systems, health and safety, Kirsty Derry Cliff joined MAG as head of pensions from PWC employee relations and recruitment.. group HR director, 2 Sisters Food Group in January 2013 ahead of MAG’s acquisition of Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Derry joined 2 Sisters Food Group more than London Stansted airport. MAG has had a busy Benefi ts Connect 2013 three years ago. She moved from her previous year in pensions, with the setting up of a new role as UK HR director at Molson Coors Brewing £100 million fi nal salary scheme at Stansted. Simon Cumpsty (UK), where she worked for more than three MAG has also undertaken a wide-ranging head of employee relations years. Before that, she spent three years as HR pension engagement campaign as part of and reward, Dairy Crest director at Coors Brewers. appointing a new defi ned contribution (DC) Cumpsty is an employee relations Reason in Hot 100: News story provider ahead of auto-enrolment from specialist and reward professional http://bit.ly/1dOOTNX September 2013. with over 10 years’ experience of dealing with Before joining MAG, Cliff provided advice on trade unions and collective bargaining and Ian Drysdale corporate pensions, working in the ‘big four’ pensions consultations at a national level. He HR director, Glenmorangie accountancy fi rms from 2000 to 2013. has managed annual pay and bonus reviews; Drysdale joined The Glenmorangie Company Reason in Hot 100: News story annual pay negotiations, job grade and salary over 25 years ago. Before that, he spent seven http://bit.ly/1fmfRxs range implementations; relaunched and years at the Marathon Oil Company as senior reinvigorated voluntary benefi ts programmes; employee relations representative and senior Debra Corey and led Tupe transfer consultation processes. employee relations adviser. global rewards director, Reason in Hot 100: News articles Reason in Hot 100: Article case study PageGroup http://bit.ly/1bv2lMx and http://bit.ly/1jgBJOF http://bit.ly/MRDFSR Corey is an experienced senior international compensation and Ian Cunning Steve Exall benefi ts professional who has been performing head of reward, LCH.Clearnet HR employee relations compensation and benefi t roles for over 20 Cunning recently joined LCH. manager, BT Technology, years. She began her career in the US working Clearnet as head of reward, and is Service and Operations in various large organisations, working her way responsible for all reward, payroll Exall, a graduate of the Chartered up the compensation career ladder. When she and management information activity across Institute of Personnel and Development, joined moved to the UK in June 1998 with Gap for a the group. Before joining LCH.Clearnet, he BT in September 1988 and has held a variety of two-year expatriate assignment, her career worked in senior reward roles in the retail roles within HR, specialising in employee path changed and she entered the world of banking sector with HSBC and Santander, relations from 2000 to date. His remit also

26 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 26 17/02/2014 16:17 includes helping to drive BT’s health and aerospace, defence, security, software and Karen Gaynor wellbeing agenda, with a particular focus on telecommunications sectors. He has head of compensation and mental health. He has specifi c responsibility for experience of operating in international joint benefi ts, Siemens health and wellbeing and is the wellbeing lead ventures and working within international Gaynor spent four years as head for BT Technology, Service and Operations. organisations and has had wide-ranging of reward at Siemens UK and Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee involvement with employee benefi ts north-west Europe before becoming head of Benefi ts Live 2013 programmes, organisational development compensation and benefi ts. Before that, she initiatives, management development, policy worked as HR director, Siemens, partnering Verona Farquharson and process development, restructuring and Siemens’ healthcare operations division from reward and benefi ts manager, RAC performance management. 2008 to 2009, and HR manager, Siemens Following the sale of RAC to Carlyle Group in Flavell is chairman of trustees of the Magnet Technology from 2005 to 2008. She 2011, Farquharson was responsible for the AgustaWestland UK Pension Scheme and of fi rst joined Siemens in 2000, and other roles development of a standalone reward function Finmeccanica FuturePlanner. He is also a have included senior HR adviser – projects, and the acquisition of external service trustee director of the Selex Pension Scheme. Siemens Energy Services; senior HR business providers for key compensation and benefi ts He is a non-executive director of EEF. partner, Siemens Energy Services; and provisions. During 11 years in the HR industry, Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award personnel offi cer, Siemens Communications. Farquharson has worked as an HR generalist, winner http://bit.ly/1g4lX7g and speaker at Reason in Hot 100: Up close and personal specialising in compensation in 2010. Employee Benefi ts Live 2013 profi le article http://bit.ly/M06D28 Reason in Hot 100: Article case study http://bit.ly/1kHcloM Amber Garner Susan Gee benefi ts manager, Home manager of employee health Jane Fenwick Retail Group and wellbeing, Yorkshire Water head of global benefi ts, Shire Garner began her HR career in in Before Gee took up her current Pharmaceuticals 2006 when she joined Argos as a role at Yorkshire Water, she was Fenwick joined Shire’s total benefi ts administrator, responsible for head of occupational health and safety at City rewards team in February 2012. voluntary benefi ts and sharesave. of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for 12 Before that, she held similar positions at Marks Argos merged with Homebase in 2006, years, having fi rst joined the council in 1996 as and Spencer, Cable and Wireless and which brought a natural progression to her role a senior occupational health nurse. Before that, GlaxoSmithKline. She has specialised in with the new Home Retail Group. In 2010, she was head of health screening at the international benefi ts for 13 years. Garner was appointed employee share plan Yorkshire Clinic for eight years, where she was Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le co-ordinator, which enabled her to manage and responsible for the promotion, management http://bit.ly/NKaSRd, Up close personal profi le implement all employee share plans, including and development of the clinic’s health http://bit.ly/MREgUv and news story executive reward plans, for the group. screening function. http://bit.ly/1b2fGL In 2011, Garner became benefi ts manager Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee for Home Retail Group, responsible for Benefi ts Summit 2013 http://bit.ly/1iVNGK6 Stephen Field sourcing, administration, implementation and director of pensions and communications for all group benefi ts and Ria Goldby reward, Transport for London share plans for about 50,000 employees. assistant head of HR, At Transport for London (TFL), Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award One Housing Group Field is responsible for defi ning winner Goldby took up her current role in and delivering short-, medium- and long-term http://bit.ly/1gzvDbN and http://bit.ly/1gzvQeS April 2013. She moved to the people strategy relating to performance housing organisation from her role as head of management, reward and pensions. He took up Laura Garnett HR and organisational development at the his current role in July 2013, after serving as reward business partner, Mayor’s Offi ce for Policing and Crime. Before head of reward and pensions at TFL for more Virgin Media that, she spent fi ve years as an HR consultant than fi ve years. Garnett has been with Virgin at the Homes and Communities Agency. Before joining TFL, Field was group pensions Media for fi ve years. She held a Goldby has also held HR roles at Teddies manager at the Automobile Association. His number of HR project management roles Nurseries and Travis Perkins. other previous roles include pensions manager before moving into the reward team in 2012 as Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le at Centrica. reward business partner. In Virgin’s reward http://bit.ly/1iVNGK6 Reason in Hot 100: People Moves News story team, Garnett has worked across employee http://bit.ly/1c691ys benefi ts, pensions and compensation. Raffaela Goodby Previously, Garnett was HR manager for a head of HR and organisational Martin Flavell fl agship Marks and Spencer store and worked development, Birmingham vice-president of HR, in employee engagement and internal City Council Finmeccanica UK communications for British Gas. Goodby has worked in public Flavell has more than 20 years’ HR Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award services for nearly 10 years, specialising in experience at director level in the winner http://bit.ly/1eVQcRi developing, implementing and communicating

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 27

EB_0314 27 17/02/2014 16:17 You're invited to the Garden Party of the Year

Celebrate this years winning reward strategies, join us at the Employee Benefits Awards ceremony.

Friday 27th June 2014 The Artillery Garden at the HAC, London

Book your table online at employeebenefitsawards.co.uk

General Enquiries Anna Walder Senior Events Coordinator 020 7970 4734 [email protected]

Sponsorship Enquiries Jessica Garland Business Development Manager 020 7943 8063 [email protected]

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

SPONSORED BY:

EB_0314 28 07/02/2014 11:57 THE HOT 100

effective people strategies. Her passion and previously worked for Moy Park, Egg and University in Liverpool, Jellicoe joined Cammell skills lie in enabling staff to have a better day at Lincolnshire County Council. He is a past winner Laird Shipbuilders as commercial apprentice in work, especially for Birmingham City Council’s at the Employee Benefi t Awards. 1986. He joined Norwest Holst in Liverpool in 40,000 employees. Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts 1993 as personnel offi cer and progressed Goodby launched My Birmingham Rewards, Awards judge, news article through HR to become group HR manager in a fl exible benefi ts programme, in 2011, which http://bit.ly/MRKPq8, speaker at Employee 1998 and HR director in 2008. has since being recognised by industry experts Benefi ts Live 2013 Reason in Hot 100: News briefi ng as best practice in the public sector. http://bit.ly/1bv9WKY Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Rachel Hollier Benefi ts Live 2013 http://bit.ly/1ouxLG0 HR programme manager, Justin Keppler and Big Question author http://bit.ly/1kHfsgg Astellas Pharma Europe pension and core benefi ts specialist, Guide Hollier is responsible for ensuring Dogs for the Blind Association Angela Harris the delivery of EMEA-wide HR Keppler joined the Guide Dogs for the Blind total rewards manager, projects, as well as employee engagement Association as pension and core benefi ts Europe, Baker Hughes initiatives and activities across the region. She specialist seven years ago. He moved to the Harris worked as an HR generalist joined Astellas in 2005, working in a generalist charity after two years at Heritage Lottery for many years before specialising role supporting the business after its merger, Fund as HR development and training offi cer. in compensation and benefi ts and HR systems and became HR manager in 2010. She took up His other previous roles include HR benefi ts in 1993. She has had experience applying this her current role in 2012. She has also had HR specialist at Concert Global Communications discipline within logistics, retail/pharmacy and, roles in the media industry and consultancy. and HR development adviser at Yell.com more recently, the oil service industry. Reason in Hot 100: Article case study Reason in Hot 100: News story Reason in Hot 100: News story http://bit.ly/1b2jLQa http://bit.ly/1mgfeyv http://bit.ly/1eVSq2V Neil Hopkinson Helen Knight Paula Hayes total reward consultant, SAP national wellbeing manager, head of reward and benefi ts, After more than 10 years working British Gas Network Rail in compensation and benefi ts, Knight joined British Gas as Hayes joined Network Rail in Hopkinson is now responsible for national wellbeing manager in September 2012 after serving as all aspects of reward for more than 2,500 SAP 2010. Since then, she has developed the director of policy and reward at Home Retail employees across the UK and Ireland. He joined wellbeing programme and gained widespread Group (owner of Argos and Homebase). SAP from the accountancy sector and has a support for a series of interventions. She has She is responsible for developing and strong compensation background and benefi ts wide experience in the wellbeing industry, implementing the reward strategy across experience. His current role expands into having introduced a wellbeing programme for Network Rail. This includes all aspects of bonuses, equity and recognition. Amey. Before that, she was a wellbeing reward, such as base pay, incentives, benefi ts Reason in Hot 100: News stories consultant for the Validium Group. and executive reward. She also has http://bit.ly/1eySD6h and http://bit.ly/1eVTxjc Reason in Hot 100: News story responsibility for performance management. http://bit.ly/1lOispm At Home Retail, Hayes had responsibility for Nadeen Jackson-Barker reward, pensions and employment policy. She reward consultant, Axa UK Iain MacKinnon led a strategic review of pensions and led the Jackson-Barker has worked for global compensation and work on share schemes and incentives when Axa for eight years, performing a benefi ts manager, Home Retail became a listed company in 2006. general reward role, including pay National Grid She held a range of HR roles at Home Retail and bonuses, benchmarking, job evaluation and MacKinnon has 30 years’ from 2000. Before that, she worked for recognition schemes. Recently, she has experience in HR, rotating between generalist Bradford and Bingley. become responsible for fl exible and voluntary and reward leadership roles. Most of this time, Reason in Hot 100: Article case study benefi ts and the company car scheme for Axa he has worked for National Grid, which has http://bit.ly/1jgNBQG UK. Before joining Axa, she was an executive evolved from the British Gas entity he originally offi cer in the civil service. joined. Until two years ago, he was UK Ian Hodson Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award compensation and benefi ts manager, but then reward and benefi ts manager, winner http://bit.ly/1dOXPmt and article case moved to a corporate role. University of Lincoln study http://bit.ly/1dOXHTK Reason in Hot 100: News story As reward and benefi ts manager, http://bit.ly/1dszDdV Hodson oversees all aspects of Colin Jellicoe reward, including all employee benefi ts, human resources and Lorna MacMillan pensions, payroll and role evaluation. Having employee relations total rewards manager, Middle started his career in fi nance before moving into director, Vinci East, Mediterranean and pay and benefi ts, Hodson has a background in Following education at Wirral Africa, Hewlett-Packard (HP) both the public and private sector, having Metropolitan College and John Moores After starting out in pensions

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 29

EB_0314 29 17/02/2014 16:17

THE HOT 100

administration in the insurance industry, Canon Europe, director at Franglaise Rob Marsh MacMillan spent many years managing pension Enterprises in Botswana, and European HR head of HR, business functions, Allied arrangements for blue-chip companies, such manager at Key Equipment Finance. Milling and Bakery as NCR, Motorola and National Australia Bank. Reason in Hot 100: News story Marsh is responsible for leading a team to Since joining HP 10 years ago, she has a held http://bit.ly/1ouByTC provide a comprehensive HR service across a variety of senior positions in the total rewards two sites to the fi rm’s business functions, function, including heading up centres of Isabelle Minneci including marketing, fi nance, procurement and expertise for both benefi ts and compensation HR director, L’Oréal UK sales. He took up this post in 2010 after two for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. and Ireland years as head of HR commercial at Allied In 2012, she became total rewards manager Minneci was appointed L’Oréal’s Bakeries. Marsh’s previous roles include HR for the UK and Ireland, and recently moved to a HR director, UK and Ireland in manager at Allied Bakeries, HR adviser at similar role supporting HP’s Middle East, October 2010 and is responsible for the HR GE Healthcare and HR adviser at Carlisle Mediterranean and Africa region. strategy of the subsidiary and its Facilities Services. Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts implementation. L’Oréal has more than 3,800 Reason in Hot 100: News briefi ng article Awards winner http://bit.ly/1eyTGTB employees in the UK and Ireland. http://bit.ly/1gEzbs3 After joining L’Oréal 17 years ago, Minneci George Makris undertook different assignments across UK Kate Moore head of executive and France, from recruitment and learning employee benefi ts adviser, compensation and lead reward through to HR business partner roles. Mouchel manager, Direct Line Group Reason in Hot 100: News story Moore joined Mouchel as a Makris took up his current role in http://bit.ly/1jgRKEb pension and benefi ts August 2013. Before that, he spent seven years administrator in 2004. As Mouchel grew, her as an executive reward consultant with Hay Kelly Mitchell role evolved into employee benefi ts adviser Group and then Deloitte, working across all HR business partner, policy within the HR team. Her role is to deliver and aspects of executive and all-employee pay for and reward, Home Group maintain a high-quality employee benefi ts clients based in the UK and overseas, with a Mitchell is a previous winner of the service, including managing the employee particular focus on organisations undergoing North East CIPD Innovation award. benefi ts function, which provides Mouchel’s signifi cant change. As reward and benefi ts specialist for Home employees with voluntary, core and fl exible Before his reward career, Makris was a Group, she has transformed the total reward benefi ts, plus employee reward. corporate governance analyst for Institutional approach through the implementation of a Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Shareholder Services/RREV and Manifest. market-focused pay structure and Benefi ts Connect 2013 Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story performance-related pay, as well as a range of http://bit.ly/1bRGFEU benefi ts and recognition schemes, such as car Steve Moore salary sacrifi ce and e-thank you cards, the HR manager, Hymans Kevin McGuinness Bright Ideas colleague suggestion scheme and Robertson HR manager, Karcher UK the Dream Team recognition scheme. Moore’s role in managing the HR McGuinness is responsible for leadership of all Reason in Hot 100: Article case study team covers all aspects of HR, the organisation’s HR activities. He joined http://bit.ly/MROa8G although he has a particular focus on reward. At Karcher UK over two years ago from Alstom Hymans Robertson, Moore has worked on Power, where he was HR manager. Karcher’s Margaret Mitchell reward initiatives such as defi ning the reward other previous roles include HR business senior HR manager, strategy, fl exible benefi ts, workplace savings partner at Carlsberg and a generalist HR role at Center Parcs and total reward statements. Royal Mail Group. He also spent several years Mitchell has functional The early years of his career were spent in working as an HR consultant. responsibility for pay, pensions, management consultancy with Ernst and Reason in Hot 100: News story benefi ts and reward, and the provision of senior Young before moving into HR. His subsequent http://bit.ly/1eyTPX8 HR generalist support to the business, including 14-year HR career began working for an the lead HR role in many projects. She is internet start-up followed by roles with larger Hazel McIntyre currently leading the recruitment project for employers, such as Barclays. HR director, Condé Nast the new Center Parcs village in Woburn Forest. Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award Publications Mitchell joined Center Parcs in 2001, initially winner and speaker at Employee Benefi ts McIntyre became HR director at as reward adviser, progressing to reward Live 2013 http://bit.ly/1cE25p2 and Condé Nast Publications in August manager and now senior HR manager. http://bit.ly/1kHi5i7 2012. She is responsible for all the Previously, Mitchell held various roles at organisation’s HR functions. Etam Distribution Centre, moving into HR in Neil Morrison Previously, she spent four years as head of 1991 and progressing to the role of senior HR group HR director, Penguin HR at Fox International Channels, and her other offi cer in 1996. Random House roles have included HR director at County Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le After starting his working life as a Estate Management, HR business partner at http://bit.ly/1fmn5By lecturer in psychology, Morrison

30 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 30 17/02/2014 16:17 took up his fi rst role in HR management in implementation of fl ex and online benefi ts care services to more than 500,000 people in 1996. For the next 12 years, he worked in a technology at the law fi rm in April 2006, having Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. variety of specialist and generalist HR roles in previously done the same at Ceridian (UK). Previously, Nisbet spent many years working FTSE 100 companies, including Rentokil Initial Reason in Hot 100: News articles in various HR roles within the NHS. and GUS (which became Home Retail Group). http://bit.ly/M0byA8 and http://bit.ly/1f13Kt9 Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award Morrison joined the Random House Group in winner http://bit.ly/MRS55h and http://bit. September 2008, taking responsibility for Brian Newman ly/1jgXi1k and speaker at Employee Benefi ts strategic people issues across its publishing vice-president, international Live 2013 and distribution offi ces in the UK, Australia, human resources, Live Nation India and New Zealand. Since 2010, he has also Entertainment Tina Odell sat on the main board. Newman is responsible for leading associate director, group Reason in Hot 100: Article case study and directing HR activity for all (non-US) pensions and benefi ts, http://bit.ly/NKnUhB Up close and personal international markets (27 territories). He Time Warner profi le http://bit.ly/1gzEPg5 started his career in the dot.com boom, setting Odell has more than 20 years’ up an HR function in a start-up environment experience in the management of pensions Richard Murray from scratch. His fi rst exposure to the and employee benefi ts in blue-chip group pensions manager, entertainment business came when ITV multinational organisations. She is currently FirstGroup appointed him into its production teams’ HR focused on the implementation of pensions Murray joined FirstGroup in 2008 function in 2000 but, after two and a half years, auto-enrolment across all Time Warner from a consulting background. His he moved to Live Nation as HR manager. companies in the UK. Previously, she was main areas of responsibility include risk Newman now specialises in employee pension manager for Sony Europe. mitigation, pensions in corporate transactions, engagement, working in collaboration with Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story benefi ts strategy, responding to legislative business leaders across international markets. http://bit.ly/1g4rYAE changes, and ensuring that the funding of Reason in Hot 100: Keynote speaker at pension commitments remains affordable in Employee Benefi ts Live 2013 Mike Orton turbulent times. FirstGroup’s portfolio of UK http://bit.ly/1nyMTyR and http://bit.ly/MRQBb6 director of human resources, Ince and Co pension arrangements covers in-house Orton took up his current role in September schemes, local government pension schemes Nicos Nicolaides 2006. He joined the law fi rm from the and the Railways Pension Scheme. compensation and benefi ts Chartered Insurance Institute, where he was Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee director, Intercontinental HR director for more than six years. Benefi ts Live 2013 Hotel Group Orton’s specialist skills include values-driven Nicolaides’ early career was in culture change, aligning the HR contribution to Simon Nash reward consultancy before he moved into business strategy, employee relations/ HR director, Carey Olsen corporate roles. His current role with his FTSE engagement, and compensation and benefi ts. In the seven years since Nash took 100 hospitality employer involves Reason in Hot 100: News story the HR reins at Carey Olsen, the implementing a consistent reward philosophy http://bit.ly/1mgj36F organisation has achieved top and infrastructure across Europe, the Middle directory rankings in virtually all its practices East and India. Previously, he worked in Samantha Owens and superior earnings growth, while compensation and benefi ts for Dixons Retail, corporate HR manager, Merlin undertaking a rapid global recruitment Amey and First Choice Holidays. Entertainments campaign to increase leverage and a top-to- He has used his reward skills to design salary Owens is responsible for corporate employees bottom reinvention of its reward strategy. structures, incentive schemes, fl exible in 10 countries. She is responsible for Nash was instrumental in developing the benefi ts, job evaluation and grading systems. managing the delivery of HR support to all organisation’s people and performance Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee employees in this group, as well as strategy. In 2012, Nash was shortlisted for The Benefi ts Connect 2013 implementing global employee engagement Lawyer’s HR Director of the Year award. initiatives. Previously, Owens was HR adviser at Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Elaine Nisbet Merlin Entertainments, and has worked for Benefi ts Live 2013 http://bit.ly/MRQlch employee and learning fi rms such as BK Bluebird and JPMorgan Chase. resources director, City Reason in Hot 100: Article case study Samantha Neaves Health Care Partnership CIC http://bit.ly/1gzJmz3 reward and HR information (CHCP CIC) systems manager, Mills CHCP CIC was the fi rst ‘right to request’ Carolyn Parker and Reeve spin-out from the NHS, and went live in June HR business partner, Tui UK Neaves’ earlier career was in HR 2010. It is the parent ‘for better profi t’ co- and Ireland management, specialising in HR systems. She owned business of a group of established and Parker joined Tui UK and Ireland in now manages fl exible and core benefi ts and developing businesses, providing community June 2010, starting as an HR the suite of HR technology used at Mills and health and social care, primary and specialist adviser before being promoted to HR Reeve. She project-managed the care, and primary health and integrated social operations manage, then HR business partner.

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 31

EB_0314 31 17/02/2014 16:17 THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SUMMIT 14-16 MAY 2014 ASIA GARDENS HOTEL & SPA Over 20% of delegate places ALICANTE, SPAIN already confi rmed 14-16 MAY 2014 Come and network with ASIA GARDENS HOTEL & SPA • Alicante, Spain your peers from: Meet, learn and network with other benefi ts Late Rooms, Tesco, B&Q, managers at the forefront of change. Nuffi eld Health and Ocado The 9th annual Employee Benefi ts Summit will again unite senior benefi ts “Extremely well organised and executed. Great opportunity to learn professionals, providers, consultants and experts from across the UK and Europe. more about the big issues in comp & Attendees will be informed and inspired at a two-day schedule of high-level bens and meet colleagues from other conference sessions and meetings with relaxed networking at mealtimes and organisations. Would come every year if I could!” in the evenings. Ellie Vaughan, People Data & Reward Manager, Held at Asia Gardens Hotel & Spa, Alicante, Spain the event will facilitate open Alzheimers Society discussion and the exploration of the year’s most important issues away from “Brilliant summit, very motivational, daily distractions. inspiring and thought-provoking. Valuable networking opportunity. Fantastic location and venue” Register your interest in attending at Sushma Dhonsi, Benefi ts Manager, EMC www.employeebenefi tssummit.co.uk Computer Systems UK Ltd “Informative thought-provoking Sponsorship Enquiries: Lisa-Jane Parker – T: +44 (0)20 7943 8065 – and challenging” Leanne McLean, Senior General Manager, E: [email protected] Reward (UKIN), CEVA Logistics Ltd Delegate Enquiries: Jessica Oliver – T: +44 (0)20 7943 8133 – “A true chance to share what good E: [email protected] practice will be and refl ect on current issues” Laura Edge, Pensions Manager, The London Sponsored by School of Economics “The benefi ts summit was full of new ideas to take away and the networking opportunities second to none” Kay Schoonderwoerd, Head of Compensation, Benefi ts & HRIS, Neopost Ltd

EB_0314 32 12/02/2014 11:28 THE HOT 100

Parker recently launched a pilot programme, is responsible for the development and Spencer Roach Your Life, which is aimed at producing healthier, implementation of the total reward strategy. total reward manager, Europe, happier employees. Before this, she was HR projects manager, Middle East, Africa and Russia Reason in Hot 100: News story appointed to deliver signifi cant changes to the (EMEAR), Cisco Systems http://bit.ly/1gEEAPO employer’s defi ned benefi t pension scheme. Roach has built his expertise in the From 1990 to 2004, Purbrick was head of compensation and benefi ts arena since Yvonne Pearce business performance. graduating with a psychology degree. For the group pensions manager, Daily Mail and Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee fi rst part of his career, he worked as an General Trust Benefi ts Live 2013 http://bit.ly/1f16SFw news employee benefi ts consultant for Mercer and Pearce joined the publishing fi rm in November stories http://bit.ly/1cE6W9G and http://bit.ly/ then Aon. In 2004, Roach moved into internal 2012 from her previous role as group pensions MjrX3j compensation and benefi ts, working in various director at Accenture, which she held for more roles for the EMEA reward function at than 10 years. Pearce’s other previous roles John Renz Honeywell. In his current role, he supports include pensions manager, outsourcing at director of HR, Novae Group multiple countries for US-owned Cisco. Deloitte and Touche, group pensions manager Renz previously spent fi ve years Reason in Hot 100: Article case study at Newsquest Media Group, group pensions as HR director at Mourant. Before http://bit.ly/1gEHjc1 and People moves news manager at AEA Technology, deputy pensions that, while at CMS Cameron story http://bit.ly/1c6kPAU manager at Oxford University and pensions and McKenna, he helped manage the merger of investment specialist at Prudential Assurance. Cameron Markby Hewitt and McKenna. Anthony Robertson Reason in Hot 100: News story With 20 years’ experience in HR group pensions manager, http://bit.ly/1cE6lFh management, 15 of which have been in William Hill professional services, Renz has held senior Robertson joined William Hill as Debi Povey positions with Standard Life, Grant Thornton group pensions manager in July head of reward, Bwin.Party and Linklaters. 2013, with more than 24 years’ experience in Povey joined Bwin.Party in 2010, Reason in Hot 100: Article case study pensions and benefi ts, including consultancy, initially as senior integration http://bit.ly/1gEGfVq insurance and in-house working for some of consultant. She became reward the UK’s largest pension funds, British Energy, manager the following year, before being Shelly Ribbons Barclays and Kingfi sher. appointed head of reward in 2012. Before share plan manager, Reason in Hot 100: News story joining Bwin.Party, Povey worked for Prudential Henderson Global Investors http://bit.ly/1jh1pL1 for 13 years, in roles such as reward specialist, Ribbons is the share plans and senior reward analyst and reward analyst. employment tax manager at Janet Robertson Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award Henderson Global Investors. She started her payroll and pensions manager, winner http://bit.ly/1jgZ3eU, speaker at career at Ernst and Young in 1995 in the Durham University Employee Benefi ts Live 2013 expatriate tax department and decided to Robertson joined Durham University, where http://bit.ly/1gzKe6Q and Up close and move in-house with Henderson in 2005. She she is payroll and pensions manager, more than personal profi le http://bit.ly/1cE6yIs manages the numerous share plans that 18 years ago. Previously, she worked in the Henderson provides globally across 18 payroll offi ce at Nissan Motor Manufacturing Rebecca Prebble jurisdictions to employees including share for seven years. benefi ts and global mobility incentive plans (Sip), sharesave, company Reason in Hot 100: News story manager, Catlin Group share option schemes (Csop) and a number of http://bit.ly/MS72Eq Catlin Group is a global specialty discretionary plans. She is responsible for the property/casualty insurer and Henderson share scheme platform. Nikki Roche reinsurer with underwriting hubs in the UK, Reason in Hot 100: Article case study HR manager reward and Bermuda, the US, Asia Pacifi c, Europe and http://bit.ly/1g4t8wb benefi ts, Siemens Canada. Prebble is responsible for its UK Roche has worked in the reward pension and benefi ts, as well as the provision of Jacqui Riches team at Siemens since 2007 and internal consultative benefi ts support to employee health and wellness has been responsible for leading the design overseas HR staff. She has more than 10 years’ manager EMEA, Quintiles and implementation of a number of signifi cant experience in the reward function. Riches is manager for employee projects and initiatives. Her achievements Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee health for the Europe, Middle East include auto-enrolment implementation, Benefi ts Connect 2013 and Africa region at Quintiles, where has has redesign of the car scheme and a new worked in employee wellness since 2008. She compensation plan for staff affected by the Sally Purbrick joined Quintiles in 2005, and her previous roles annual and lifetime allowance changes. head of reward, Anglian were as a nurse adviser and commercial sales Roche joined Siemens as a policy executive Water Group territory manager. after a number of HR generalist roles. Purbrick has been head of reward Reason in Hot 100: Article case study Reason in Hot 100: News story at Anglian Water since 2007. She http://bit.ly/1gEGWhx http://bit.ly/1iW8vEY

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 33

EB_0314 33 17/02/2014 16:18

THE HOT 100

Stevan Rolls George Serls Jo Steer head of HR, Deloitte reward and pensions manager, reward manager, Marks and Rolls joined Deloitte eight years ago, initially as Canal and River Trust Spencer director of resourcing and mobility before Serls joined this not-for-profi t Steer has worked at Marks and moving to his current role. He joined the organisation in April 2013 to Spencer for nine years, initially as accountancy fi rm from Ernst and Young (now further develop his reward career in this sector a generalist in a variety of retail HR roles before EY), where he held a variety of roles, including after a short spell with Sanctuary Housing. specialising in people policy and moving to a UK head of employee relations, recruitment Serls started his reward career at fi nancial reward manager role in 2011. and CBS HR, and head of resourcing. services group Cattles, where he was involved Her current role includes responsibility for a Rolls’ other previous employers include Ford in signifi cant pay and benefi ts changes, full reward agenda and has included Motor Company and ASE Business including in many corporate acquisitions and management of the annual pay review, bonus, Psychologists. disposals. After more than 20 years there, he recognition and voluntary benefi ts, as well as Reason in Hot 100: Article case study moved to North East Lincolnshire Council. developing reward solutions for a variety of http://bit.ly/1mgsEKT Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story new business initiatives. http://bit.ly/1jhhPTq Reason in Hot 100: News story Vicky Rose http://bit.ly/MRVz7R reward, pensions and mobility Jonathan Sparham manager, Norton Rose head of HR operations, Sharron Swann Fulbright Novae Group HR director, Reeves and Co Rose was previously reward Specialist underwriting Swann’s whole career has been manager at Inmarsat and managed the organisation Novae has about 270 spent in HR or HR-related compensation and benefi ts function at the employees split between offi ces in London and disciplines. She spent six years Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi until August 2013, Zurich. Sparham joined Novae in March 2013, working for ICI/Akzo Nobel, four years as HR when she moved to Norton Rose Fulbright to having worked for American Express, Unilever, manager at one of its manufacturing sites and lead the reward, pensions and mobility team. Convergys and Procter and Gamble. His two years on an international business Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story background is in global mobility and reward. transformation project. http://bit.ly/185wfVY Reason in Hot 100: People moves news story She moved to Xchanging as an HR business http://bit.ly/1f1ldlc partner for three years, covering multiple sites David Russell and implementing its offshoring programme. group HR director, William Hill Janine Sparks Reason in Hot 100: News story Russell has been group HR reward manager, BA http://bit.ly/1c6ltOQ director at William Hill since March Sparks is a senior reward manager 2001, just before its launch on the with British Airways with Hayley Tatum London Stock Exchange. responsibility for employee executive people director, Asda Russell has worked in HR for over 30 years benefi ts for BA’s 36,000 UK-based employees. Tatum has worked in retail all her working life, in in the leisure, service and manufacturing Her remit includes pension, medical benefi ts, luxury goods in airport retailing and then 20 sectors. He is an HR generalist. reward communication and staff travel. years with Tesco, where her last position was After a period in hotels and contract Previously, Sparks worked at Lloyds TSB UK and RoI operations HR director. catering, Russell spent nine years at Alpha Asset Finance where she was head of reward In August 2011, Tatum joined Asda to Airports Group, latterly as HR director for the for 19 years. become executive people director. She is airline catering division, and was then divisional Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts responsible for developing and leading HR HR director for Courtaulds Textiles. Professional of the Year 2013 strategy, supporting 180,000 employees. Reason in Hot 100: Big Question author http://bit.ly/1cEqaft She has been an active member of the http://bit.ly/199SKZS Ambassadors Apprenticeship Network since Irene Stark 2007. More recently, she has been invited to Jabbar Sardar group HR director, ATS join the Talent and Skills Leadership Team for director of HR and organisational Euromaster Business in the Community and is a member of development, Cafcass Stark spent a number of years at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Sardar has more than 13 years’ experience as a Marks and Spencer, in stores and Employment and Skills Board. senior HR professional in a public sector in its head offi ce training team, before Reason in Hot 100: News stories organisation. He joined Cafcass in 2006, after becoming an HR consultant. She then took on http://bit.ly/M0fi Sd and http://bit.ly/MRVYal spending fi ve years as head of HR at Education HR roles with Conoco Dupont and Calor Gas Leeds. Sardar has also spent time as senior HR before joining Npower as head of HR in its Sharon Tebb professional at Leeds City Council and HR business division. Stark is now group HR compensation and benefi ts professional at both Bradford Council and the director at ATS Euromaster. manager, Withers University of Bradford. Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Tebb joined international law fi rm Reason in Hot 100: News story Benefi ts Summit 2013 Withers from KPMG in 1996 and http://bit.ly/1eWhVRO http://bit.ly/1c6l9Qa progressed through a number of HR roles

34 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 34 17/02/2014 16:18 before specialising in reward in 2004. responsibility for pay and reward for the UK, Ian Wright She manages the UK benefi ts programme and Ireland and Scandinavia. She has more than 22 compensation and benefi ts advises on those in Withers’ European and years’ experience in HR and her roles have director, Attachmate Group Asian offi ces. Tebb has a particular interest in included resourcing offi cer, senior training and Attachmate Group is a US- risk benefi ts and is a trustee of the Withers development consultant, HR adviser and headquartered global enterprise defi ned benefi t (DB) pension scheme. She was management development manager. software company with 3,400 employees, instrumental in the launch of its fl exible Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le comprising Novell, Attachmate, NetIQ and benefi ts programme in January 2013. http://bit.ly/1dP9KAI SUSE. Wright is based in Bracknell and joined Reason in Hot 100: News stories Novell in 2008 following compensation and http://bit.ly/1cEa4T2 and http://bit.ly/Mjtw19 John Whitaker benefi ts management roles at SAP and JP benefi ts consultant, BSkyB Morgan. He cut his teeth in pay and reward as a Katherine Thomas Whitaker joined BSkyB in January compensation consultant with Watson Wyatt. group HR director, Mitie Group 2013 and has worked in benefi ts Reason in Hot 100: Profi le article Thomas joined Mitie Group in for more than seven years, with http://bit.ly/MjuKJW, speaker at Employee October 2010 as group HR previous roles at IHS, Asperity, Equiniti and Benefi ts Connect 2013, speaker at Employee director, responsible for Lloyds TSB. He works on BSkyB’s benefi ts in the Benefi ts Live 2013 http://bit.ly/1g4vifm establishing and driving the people agenda for UK and Ireland, covering more than 24,000 the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing and energy staff, including pensions, healthcare, voluntary Beth Young services business. Previously, she was group and salary sacrifi ce benefi ts. head of reward and talent and leadership director at BT, responsible Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award engagement (deputy head of for the end-to-end talent strategy for BT’s winner http://bit.ly/1g4uEhS HR), Peverel Group 105,000 employees across the globe. Thomas Young has more than 15 years’ joined BT from Serco Group, where she was Andrew White experience in all aspects of strategic and managing director of the Serco Best Practice European compensation operational HR. She has spent 12 years with Centre. Prior to that, she was a management and benefi ts manager, Peverel, which employs 4,000 staff across consultant for 11 years for Deloitte Consulting Hitachi Europe multiple sites. She previously worked for BAE and Hay Group. White has specialised in Systems and Siemens. Young has held a Reason in Hot 100: Employer profi le compensation and benefi ts for more than 15 number of senior HR roles with Peverel. http://bit.ly/1eW51mJ years, having held both consultancy and Reason in Hot 100: News story in-house roles. He has worked for organisations http://bit.ly/1fmsWqB Anna Tomlinson such as Accenture, Arthur Andersen and head of HR, publishing, Unisys, and rejoined Hitachi Europe in 2013. Carol Young, Random House Group White has global experience in reward head of group pensions, Royal After graduating from the London programme consultation, redesign and Bank of Scotland School of Economics with a implementation, having held roles with direct Young took up her current role in masters in HR, Tomlinson joined Network Rail’s responsibility for the UK, Middle East and February 2014, and leads the graduate scheme, where she rotated through Africa, Continental Europe and Asia pensions and international mobility teams. the full spectrum of HR specialisms. She then Pacifi c regions. Previously, she was head of pensions at worked with the Network Rail employee Reason in Hot 100: News story Heineken in the UK for nearly fi ve years. There, relations team, dealing with three trades http://bit.ly/1gEL2Gp she led the team responsible for all aspects of unions, before moving into a generalist HR UK pension strategy covering the Scottish and business partner role within the major projects Gareth Williams Newcastle pension plan, a closed £2.6 billion and investments division. HR director, Ramboll UK DB scheme, and the Heineken UK fl exible In 2009, Tomlinson joined the Random Williams has been in his current retirement plan, a DC arrangement launched in House Group as HR manager for the publishing position for nearly two years. At 2011. In 2013, she became an elected member side of the business, looking after the running Ramboll, he is focused on issues of the NAPF’s Defi ned Contribution Council. of the HR team and focusing on employee such as cultural change, staff engagement, Young’s career includes almost 10 years as an wellbeing, benefi ts, and work-life balance. In performance management and organisational investment consultant with Mercer. 2013, she was made head of HR for publishing. effectiveness. Before joining Ramboll, Williams Reason in Hot 100: Speaker at Employee Reason in Hot 100: Employee Benefi ts Award was divisional HR director at Informa for more Benefi ts Connect 2013, Up close and winner and speaker at Employee Benefi ts than six years, when he led and directed talent personal profi le http://bit.ly/1eyZEnx, speaker Live 2013 acquisition, succession and retention strategy at Employee Benefi ts Pensions Summit 2013 and HR policy within its largest division. http://bit.ly/1gzQITr and http://bit.ly/1mgmCtE Sarah Weston Williams has also worked for organisations and Employee Benefi ts Awards judge. reward manager, PSA such as Pearson, Reed Elsevier and Oxford Peugeot Citroen University Press. As reward manager at PSA Reason in Hot 100: Article case study @ See also The Hot 100 Benefi ts Managers 2013 at: bit.ly/1jKx7DG Peugeot Citroen, Weston has http://bit.ly/1gzPI1u

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 35

EB_0314 35 17/02/2014 16:18 The UK’s number one magazine for all your benefi ts solutions

■ The latest news and analysis on what’s happening in the benefi ts arena ■ Expert comment and opinion from the industry’s leading professionals ■ Leading exclusive research reports from across the industry ■ Essential supplier contacts for all your benefi t needs.

Do you know what the latest updates are on auto enrolment? Tax legislation? We do and we’re here to help you stay on top of your game. Subscribe to Employee Benefi ts today and keep up to date with the latest news and developments across the industry.

1 year subscription – £92.00 PRICES 45% discount 2 years – £168.00 55% discount 3 years – £205.00 www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/subscribe

Call us: 020 7292 3719 Email our subscriptions team at: [email protected]

EB_0314 36 12/02/2014 12:50 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/voluntary-benefi ts VOLUNTARY BENEFITS CHOICE SNIPPETS Here is a round-up of facts and fi gures from recent developments in voluntary benefi ts schemes across the country. Tynan Barton reports

£155 million VOLUNTARY BENEFITS has been donated to charity through workplace payroll-giving schemes, by more 25% IN THE NEWS nancial of employees who than one million employees in 2012/13 G Swiss Re has extended its fi Source: HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) cycle to work arrive footprint. subsidy programme2 for staff that aim bit.ly/KCZFj9 feeling motivated, to reduce their CO while 18% arrive bit.ly/LPPIiI feeling happy G Virgin Media has donated cycling 75% of employers Source: Cycleguard research, published in October 2013. equipment worth more than £3,000 to would consider retaining their bit.ly/1kvLwUq disability charity Scope through its existing childcare voucher scheme bikes-for-work scheme. after the government implements its bit.ly/1bEXFy3 proposed new scheme in 2015 ts Source: Jelf Employee Benefi ts research, published in G Health and social care provider Care December 2013. UK has launched an online benefi bit.ly/1gmeQrk portal that includes access to employee 67% of respondents who are discounts through smartphones, responsible for managing tablets or computers. benefi ts and reward in UK bit.ly/1aMW1cU organisations have access to ts G Manufacturer NSK Bearings voluntary benefi ts extended its voluntary benefi Source: Employee Benefi ts Salary survey 2014, published in programme to 590 employees in January 2014 December 2013, in addition to the 300 37% of women consider bit.ly/1f4Xy16 staff previously involved. retail vouchers a valuable bit.ly/JMRctI employee benefi compared to 24% t of men G Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has streamlined its range of legacy health Source: Capita Employee Benefi 59% of respondents are published in November 2013 cash plans into a single plan from BHSF ts research, offered childcare vouchers, bit.ly/18YMPHd followed by pension for its 10,000 UK employees. contributions (50%), bikes-for- bit.ly/1dMAsKo work schemes (39%) and payroll-giving schemes (25%)

Source: 2014, publishedEmployee in January Benefi 2014 ts Salary survey bit.ly/1f4Xy16

164,000, employees joined a bikes- ffor-work scheme in 2013

Source: Figures from the Cycle to Work Alliance, January 2014 bit.ly/MDX8qp

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 37

EB_0314 37 12/02/2014 15:15 GAME CHANGER As the UK’s workforce ages, employers will have to reassess their benefi ts strategies to meet employees’ changing needs, says Clare Bettelley

38 I Month 2012 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 38 12/02/2014 14:25 COVER STORY

he UK’s changing demographic will Jo Thresher, head of money at work at create a number of challenges for benefi ts consultancy Jelf Group, says: “It’s about Viewpoint employers, but perhaps the most employers educating employees that [the pressing will be the need for minimum contribution of] 1% isn’t enough, and Richard Wilson is organisations to help employees just because they’ve been put in a pension DC pensions and Tunderstand the realities of living longer. scheme doesn’t mean they’ve got a pension; it investment policy Employees aged over 50 make up 27% of probably means they’ve got a pot of money lead at the National the UK workforce, and by 2020 that proportion that’s not worth very much.” Association of is expected to rise to one-third, according to Employers could, of course, increase their Pension Funds the Department for Work and Pensions’ report own contribution levels, but this is not an easy Employing older workers, published in February proposition for HR and benefi ts professionals to 2013. For many employees, this will mean pitch to their fi nance directors and fellow board The last 12 months have been hard work having to save more of their income into a members, particularly at a time when the world for HR and benefi ts professionals in pension scheme to be able to afford to retire. is just climbing out of recession. dealing with pensions. Many have had to Pensions auto-enrolment is helping to Darren Philp, head of policy at The People’s set up a scheme to prepare for auto- educate staff about the need to take Pension, says auto-escalation may be a more enrolment, or revamp their existing responsibility for their own retirement income pension to make it more appropriate. and save at least the required minimum But employers’ focus on pensions and contribution of 1% of salary into their pension. retirement will not end when they reach But the downside of the legislation, c their staging date. Their next challenge introduced in October 2012, is that it is creating Just because employees is to help older workers who are a false sense of security, with many employees have been put in a pension approaching retirement. believing pension scheme membership will With the state pension age rising and automatically give them an adequate pension scheme doesn’t mean employers no longer able to compel staff at retirement. So employers have their work they’ve got a pension” to retire, more employees will be working for longer, and many will have a more

Jacko cut out to educate staff about their fi nances. Jo Thresher, Jelf Group gradual transition from work to retirement. This makes it even harder for staff to plan, and even more important for ESTIMATED AND PROJECTED AGE STRUCTURE OF THE UK them to secure a good deal in converting POPULATION, MID-2010 AND MID-2035 their pension pot into a retirement income. Savers lose up to £1 billion a year by not AGE getting the best annuity deal. Staff need support to stand any chance of deciding 100 on the right plans and buying the best 2035 2035 annuity, and employers must consider 90 whether they are offering enough help. Employers must also consider whether their auto-enrolled staff are engaged 80 enough and have realistic expectations. In October 2013, the National Association of 70 Pension Funds conducted research with newly-enrolled scheme members, published in its Automatic-enrolment 60 report, one year on. Most employees agreed with auto-enrolment and were 50 relieved to be saving at last, but there was a realistic awareness that they were not MALES FEMALES saving enough, with 60% saying they 2010 40 2010 were likely to save more in the future. But this will not happen unless 30 employers facilitate it. Employers that want staff to be able to afford to retire will 20 want to help them put more aside, perhaps with escalating contribution levels. Whatever employers’ approach, they 10 must be mindful of the fact that getting staff into a pension scheme was always 0 going to be the fi rst step in a long journey.

Source: Offi ce for National Statistics, 2011 www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 39

EB_0314 39 12/02/2014 14:41 EB_0314 40 12/02/2014 12:20 COVER STORY

CASE STUDY UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN Focus is on skillsets, not age

The University of Lincoln faces For example, ongoing budget challenges in managing its ageing cuts in the university sector have workforce, particularly in terms of driven the University of Lincoln to talent management. recruit staff with fi nancial Ian Hodson, reward and management skills. benefi ts manager, says: “This was never a massive “Universities are an interesting requirement for staff in higher case because the point of education because it wasn’t a academia is to bring in new priority,” says Hodson. “But now thinking or research, which we fi nd we are looking for staff often means we must ensure we who have those skills because have the capacity to allow for that’s what we need. That’s not new staff. about age, but about us, as a programme alongside the core Meanwhile, the university is “Also, in an academic context, business, identifying the need to workforce,” says Hodson. expanding its benefi ts offer to an employee’s subject area is bring in those skills.” The university also operates a support older workers by often their personal interest As well as natural staff role review process to underpin providing fi nancial education and rather than just a job, so retiring attrition, the university creates any organisational restuctures healthcare benefi ts, such as means much more to them than the headroom required to recruit that are required. “While we can’t health screening. just not coming to their desk.” new talent through an intern always create extra headroom for Hodson expects organisational The university manages its programme that it launched two additional roles, we have a very restructures to become workforce planning strategy to years ago. “We have made room prominent role review process, increasingly common as ensure it has the right talent to for the skillset that generations Y which managers can use to help employers strive to recruit new deliver its business objectives by and Z bring, very much around them identify which aspects of a talent into ageing workforces focusing on employees’ skillsets technology and different ways of role and which competencies while complying with age rather than their age. thinking, by running the need to change,” says Hodson. discrimination law.

palatable proposition for employers’ boards to “As employees start getting pay rises, they However, Philp warns that auto-escalation digest. This involves part, or all, of an might be encouraged to put a proportion of puts an onus on employers, and HR and employee’s future pay increases being paid that into their pension and save for the longer benefi ts professionals, to provide workplace automatically into their pension fund. term,” says Philp. “We’ll hear more about this.” fi nancial education and management programmes to help staff understand the importance and implications of increased EMPLOYEES’ DIFFERENT WORKING PATTERNS savings in the context of their desired lifestyle in retirement. Optimise returns unpaid But Britt Hoffman, head of DC at pensions consultancy P-Solve, says the defi ned temporary contribution (DC) pension market fi rst needs to

part-time shifts overhaul itself to ensure employees’ pension job-sharing savings are working as hard as possible to home-working optimise their investment returns. zero-hours For example, the requirement for DC assets to be priced daily needs to be addressed fl exi-time because it is preventing scheme members from reaping the rewards of investing in a term-time diversifi ed range of assets, including higher- yielding, illiquid assets such as property. “It’s about trying to close employees’ funding gap,” says Hoffman. “Everyone is familiar with [employers’ funding] defi cit when it comes to seasonal defi ned benefi t [DB] pensions, but actually that Created by Employee Benefi ts using data from Employing older workers, Department for Work and Pensions, February 2013 www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 41

EB_0314 41 12/02/2014 14:38 COVER STORY

of their health and ability, as well as fl exible IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS. . . working for employees who want a phased retirement and to work fewer days a week. > Older employees may choose to work employers to rethink the make-up of their David Sinclair, assistant director, policy and because they enjoy their job, not because benefi ts package. communications at the International Longevity they can’t afford to retire. Centre, says: “One of the big problems we have > Workforce planning should be about with the current system is that lots of > The ageing UK workforce will require employees’ skillsets, not their age. employees suffer when they go from working full-time to not working at all.”

defi cit is just as real for DC scheme members.” approach to pension fund asset allocation. She Volunteering opportunities Hoffman says pension providers need to suggests applying the sophisticated Providing information about volunteering apply diversifi cation and a more active investment techniques used by DB scheme opportunities near employees’ homes is one providers, such as using fi nancial instruments way employers can help to support older to hedge risk, to DC schemes to help optimise workers who, as well as needing to build employees’ investment returns. support networks where they live, also typically c But employers also need to consider how to seek more meaningful types of work as they One problem is that lots of support staff who want to continue working get older, says Sinclair. employees suffer when simply because they enjoy it. “By giving employees a slow way out of the This may require supporting staff to workforce and into their community through a they go from working full- restructure their pension to refl ect their longer phased approach to retirement, employers can time to not working at all” working lives. But it may also call for employers keep staff longer and pass on skills,” he adds. David Sinclair, International Longevity Centre to rethink employees’ job roles in the context Sinclair thinks the changing demographic of

EB_0314 42 12/02/2014 14:25 the UK workforce will see savvy employers have historically used the default retirement employers may need to review their benefi ts focus on transferring skills between different age (DRA) as an excuse for not managing package to ensure it addresses the needs of generations of employees, rather than on age-related issues in their workforce, such as older workers. This may involve adding health simply helping older workers to retire to make the need to train underperforming employees screening, optical and dental check-ups, as well room for younger talent to come in. who are approaching retirement. as physiotherapy. “If an employer’s most promising employee “Getting rid of the DRA means employers The International Longevity Centre’s Sinclair is 68, a rational organisation has to make the have to do performance reviews properly and says: “There is a big role for HR professionals in most of that person’s skill,” he says. become a lot more age neutral,” he says. “This age management and working out how they “Employment should be about ability, not age.” creates challenges in skilling-up managers to manage this. Is there a different package they Sinclair says HR and benefi ts professionals manage people a lot older than them.” might want to offer older employees?” Managers also need to be With careful planning and employee input, educated about how to support employers can create a cost-effective age older workers in managing their management strategy on which both staff and health, and to recognise fi nance directors can agree. But employers health-related issues that may must act immediately to address the issues EB affect their ability to perform in their job. These may include impaired vision and hearing, and Clare Bettelley is musculoskeletal problems. associate editor of Employee Benefi ts Employers’ occupational health teams can support older workers to remain fi t for work, as @ Read also Key healthcare benefi ts for an ageing can employee benefi ts. But workforce at: bit.ly/L8ZFr6

EB_0314 43 12/02/2014 14:25 EB_0314 44 12/02/2014 12:02 HEALTH AND WELLBEING

KEEPING IN STEP Responsibility for implementing an employer’s health and wellbeing strategy can be divided between several teams, so co-ordination is vital, says Tynan Barton

aking a holistic approach to staff with staff once they had a problem, so that Industry best practice dictates that health and wellbeing may be easier would be a very reactive service. As employers healthcare governance structures outline an said than done, but it can be achieved have progressed, they have realised that employee’s ‘healthcare journey’, a roadmap of with the right team structure. employee wellbeing isn’t just about staff who all the benefi ts an employer may use to Responsibility for providing a health are having problems at work, it’s ensuring they support an employee with a health issue. Tstrategy is often divided between several get the most out of their workforces, and make teams, particularly in larger organisations. But the workplace a great place to be.” Best of breed this can result in ineffective strategies and An employer’s geographical spread can But Doug Wright, medical director at Aviva UK inadequate staff support as teams fail to shape its healthcare strategy. Wolfgang Seidl, Health, says employers must move away from understand their particular responsibilities. head of health management consulting, the tendency to run healthcare services in Healthcare teams have typically comprised Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mercer, says: isolation, in a best-of-breed way. “Not only is some, or all, of an employer’s reward and “Some organisations are more dominated by this disconnected for the employer, but also for benefi ts staff, HR department, occupational HR, some more by occupational health. Also, the employee, and most health conditions don’t health, health and safety, and fi nance, with some global organisations are very centralised, work like that,” he says. “The solution typically healthcare benefi ts, such as private medical and others very local in their decision-making. cuts across the different internal agents in a insurance and group income protection (GIP), Both are acceptable as long as they have the business, and the different providers.” sitting among them. governance structure to bring it all together.” Employers should start their holistic But as employers become more mindful of employees’ wellbeing, they are increasingly IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS. . . aware of the importance of these teams learning to work together, and understanding > Responsibility for an employer’s health and governance structure, determining where how best to support this. wellbeing strategy provision may be divided responsibility lies between teams. Mark Armour, clinical director of between multiple teams. rehabilitation provider RehabWorks, says: > A shared healthcare benefi ts dashboard can “Traditionally, teams tended to work in ‘silos’. > A cohesive strategy relies on a clear give all teams access to relevant data.

Jason Ford Jason The occupational health department worked

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 45

EB_0314 45 13/02/2014 12:04 HEALTH AND WELLBEING @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/healthcare-and-wellbeing

CASE STUDY SEVERN TRENT WATER Teamwork helps keep staff healthy

Severn Trent Water runs a holistic while reactive services include health and wellbeing programme physiotherapy. A functional with the help of multiple teams restoration programme gives focusing on keeping staff fi t. employees rehabilitation support, The benefi ts and occupational enabling them to return to work health teams sit within the HR as soon as possible. team, as do health and safety and Deborah Edmonds, wellbeing teams. occupational health and hygiene The high risk of employees manager at Severn Trent Water, developing musculoskeletal says: “The goal of the programme problems through manual tasks, is to stimulate change in how such as digging holes, is a staff think about their role in particular focus of the teams. preventing musculoskeletal their ability, because work will injured employees alternative or Severn Trent’s health and disorders, and how they are going inevitably become harder with lighter duties, but some sort of wellbeing programme, Fit for the to keep fi t.” age, particularly for staff in support is essential. future, focuses on preventing She says it is crucial for staff manual roles that require lifting, “I don’t want staff to go home at staff injuries and maintaining of all ages to maintain their for example. the weekend in pain because of the their current fi tness levels with fi tness levels to be able to Edmonds says it may not work they’ve done over the course the help of provider RehabWork, perform their roles to the best of always be possible to offer of their working day,” she says.

healthcare strategy project with a strategic “When talking about this collectively, instead sources that are often disjointed otherwise.” overview of their current healthcare benefi ts, of about different silos, ultimately it is all about Whatever culture or structure an and the staff tasked with delivering these. good staff management. Without wellbeing organisation has, strong communication supporting engagement, employees are going between all relevant stakeholders tasked with Board ownership to get burnout, and we know the links between delivering its healthcare strategy, and a strong Business in the Community (BITC)’s Workwell high engagement and high productivity.” governance plan for them to follow, is the key model advocates board ownership to oversee Employers must then consider where their to create an effective, holistic employee health the different strands. Louise Aston, director of employee benefi ts data is held and what it and wellbeing strategy EB BITC’s Workwell programme, says: “The consists of. A benefi ts dashboard that holds Workwell model articulates all the elements, in such data is one of the tools employers can use terms of what employers can do to create an to connect the teams responsible for delivering Tynan Barton is environment for the whole employee to their healthcare strategy. features editor at fl ourish, and that is in terms of creating an Mercer’s Seidl says: “When I talk to Employee Benefi ts environment that promotes better physical and organisations and show them a dashboard to psychological health, better work, better track the various data sets and create a story @ Read also Use employee data to target health strategy at: bit.ly/1eRWp0t relationships and better specialist support. of health, I get buy-in from those various

We’re experts in providing access to quality healthcare That’s why we offer a range of health plans, from private medical insurance to health cash plans

To find out how we can help your business call 0845 075 0063 or email [email protected] Private health insurance Health cash plans Dental plans Self funded health plans

Part of Simplyhealth. Cover is provided by Simplyhealth, a trading division of Simplyhealth Access. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by

1111078-SA6 the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Terms and Conditions apply. Calls may be recorded.

46 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 46 13/02/2014 12:04 Over 40 years, we’ve fine-tuned the delivery of our occupational health services across a range of industries.

• Employee assistance programmes • Absence management • Health surveillance • Health assessments • Vaccinations and travel health • Ill health retirement • Legal and HR services • Corporate wellbeing

Accessing our services is easy. We own 16 clinics nationwide and have 200 partner clinics throughout the UK. Or, our fleet of mobile health units can come direct to your door.

To find out more call us on 0800 917 0470, email us at [email protected] or visit our website www.capita.co.uk/healthandwellbeing

EB_0314 47 06/02/2014 17:02 Pensions Investments Insurance

EB_0314 48 14/02/2014 15:58 SHARES

Viewpoint

Andrew Pendleton, SAVINGS professor of human resources management at the University of York.

SHAPE UP The government’s move to double the sharesave monthly savings limit from Higher limits for share schemes will help employees £250 to £500 follows several years of boost their tax-free savings, says Robert Crawford campaigning by organisations such as IFS Proshare and share plan administrators, but who is likely to take advantage of it? Recent research by Andrew Robinson, a

Thinkstock professor in accounting and fi nance at the University of Leeds, and myself, in collaboration with YBS Share Plans, part of Yorkshire Building Society (YBSSP), offers some answers. Financial behaviour and decision-making by participants in share plans, a survey presented at the IFS Proshare conference in October 2013, found that, of more than 4,500 employees participating in sharesave plans administered by YBSSP, 28% are saving at the current limit of £250 a month. Nearly 90% of these employees indicated they would be willing to save more if the sharesave limit was increased. The main objection to raising the limit is that it will mainly benefi t higher earners. It is true that the proportion of staff saving at the current maximum of £250 rises n December 2013, the government sharesave allowance is a generous move by the with income, but it is not just higher announced plans to increase the savings government. The increases follow extensive earners who will gain from the increase. limits for employee share schemes from lobbying by the share plan market. In the survey, more than 20% of those April 2014. The savings limit for shareshave Ashley Price, head of Yorkshire Building earning £20,000 to £25,000 a year save schemes will double from £250 to £500 a Society’s (YBS) Share Plans (YBSSP), says: the full amount currently allowed, and nearly 30% of those saving at the £250 Imonth, and the maximum value of shares an “These signifi cant increases are a very positive limit make no other regular savings. employee can acquire with tax advantages move by the government.” One big infl uence on whether staff through share incentive plans (Sips) will rise by increase the amount they save in £300 a year to £1,800 for partnership shares Raise the limits sharesave is likely to be their colleagues. and to £3,600 a year for free shares. As the changes come into effect, many The survey provides strong evidence that The new limits provide an extra incentive for employers may look to raise the savings limits the amount sharesave participants save employees to benefi t directly from their in their existing share plan schemes. each month is highly correlated with the employer’s business success and increase Stephen Chater, share plans director at proportion of their friends at work that are their tax-free savings. employee ownership law fi rm Postlethwaite, members of the plan. Mirit Ehrenstein, professional support lawyer says most employers will need to start by Employees are more likely to seek of employee incentives at Linklaters, says: “It is checking if their current schemes’ rules need information and advice on sharesave from a good thing for employees to revel in the to be changed. their colleagues than their employer or success of their employer. Employees can “In most circumstances, they shouldn’t need their family and friends. It is clear peer now save so much more each month in a to be altered,” he says. “Employers will have effects are an important infl uence on tax-effi cient manner.” rules in place that state that the maximum sharesave behaviour, and employers This is the fi rst rise in share savings limits contributions are set at a certain number, or a should take this on board. since 1991 and Ehrenstein says doubling the level prescribed by legislation.”

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 49

EB_0314 49 12/02/2014 15:09 SHARES @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/share-schemes

CASE STUDY ASDA Clear communication checks out Supermarket chain Asda’s communicate the scheme to sharesave scheme regularly sees employees. This year it has millions of pounds paid out to focused on answering key employees in shares when the questions from staff, such as three-year plan matures. whether the scheme is for In July 2013, staff shared £61.7 everyone, and whether million under parent organisation employees can get their Walmart’s three-year sharesave savings back. scheme, with payouts to “We focus on trying to make individual staff ranging from communications clear,” says £3,000 to more than £15,000. Lawson. “We [send] invitations, Sarah Lawson, shares and fl eet which go out to each employee manager at Asda, says: “The with certain information about sharesave scheme is one of our when they can join the scheme, most popular benefi ts. The and we also have a guide that take-up has increased goes out to our people managers allow more time to prepare. wanting to save up to £500 a year-on-year.” and general store managers “We are looking at the month, and we are getting advice The scheme saw its highest explaining how the share feasibility of it for our from our legal teams and take-up in 2013, when more than scheme works.” organisation,” says Lawson. “We contacts about the 34,000 employees took part. To Although the new, higher are also looking at the number of administration and the rules. help boost take-up and clarify investment limits come into force employees currently paying in the “We won’t be able to do it for details about saving through on 6 April 2014, Asda is looking to maximum, what we think this year, but we are looking at sharesave, Asda takes pains to implement these from 2015 to employees’ mentality is about it for 2015.”

But if an employer has a fi xed investment new maximum. “Organisations will look at April, employers can defer implementation of limit, such as the £250 a month set for the new limits in the light of their own rules, the new limits, says Equiniti’s Ainsley. “Most sharesave schemes, and the rules of its as well as their strategy for share plans and share schemes are launched in the spring or scheme are not linked to any new legislation, cost,” he says. “It might be the case that autumn,” he explains. “Employers could defer then it will need to make a formal change to its some employers will increase their limit, but the change to get the maximum value for share plan rules. “The change will probably then not to £500.” employees that have chosen to go up to the need to go through certain procedures, such as maximum limit.” a board resolution, so that the change can be Communicate effectively Although the new limits will encourage made,” says Chater. Nick Throp, co-founder of communication employees to save more and could persuade Phil Ainsley, managing director of employee consultancy Like Minds, says that when more employers to launch a share scheme, the savings at Equiniti, says some employers might implementing any changes, employers need changes have been criticised for enabling look to increase their limit, but not up to the to communicate effectively with staff about highly paid staff to save more tax-free, says what is happening. Linklater’s Ehrenstein. “It would be ideal for an organisation to “I can’t help feeling that it will benefi t those IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS. . . communicate the new limits and explain why it that don’t need it,” she says. “Those that are wants its staff to participate,” he says. “I think very highly paid will get more of a tax-effi cient > Share plan limits will increase for what works best is having employees’ investment. But those employees that can sharesave schemes and share incentive testimonials about what they have done with afford it and are hitting the limits, and their plans on 6 April 2014. the savings they have earned from being in a employer then raises the limits, they may well share scheme.” be tempted to save more.” EB > To implement the new limits, employers Employees need to know all the basic should check to see if their scheme rules information about a share plan, such as how need changing. much it will cost them, adds Throp. “Employees Robert Crawford is need to know how much it is going to cost a reporter at > If rules and limits are not linked to a them each month, how long they will be paying Employee Benefi ts change in legislation, any rise in limits will and what happens if the shares go down in require a formal change. price,” he says. @ Read also Share scheme limits to increase at: bit.ly/JyZkhr Although the changes come into effect on 6

50 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 50 12/02/2014 15:09 BUILDING A TRUSTED HERITAGE SINCE 1864

Being part of Yorkshire Building Society, which is the second largest building society in Britain, attracting 3.5 million customers, we have been able to develop our share plan service offering over the years through our Society’s commitment to growth and its continued investment in its people and technology. Why not put your Share Plans in our trusted hands....and relax

Let us take care of every detail, contact: Louise Drake, National Sales Manager Direct line: 01274 263 101 Mobile: 07810 636 276 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ybsshareplans.co.uk

Yorkshire Building Society is a member of the Building Societies Association and is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Yorkshire Building Society is entered in the Financial Services Register and its registration number is 106085. Head Office: Yorkshire House, Yorkshire Drive, Bradford BD5 8LJ. All communications with Yorkshire Building Society may be monitored/recorded to improve the quality of our service and for your protection and security. Charges to 0845 numbers vary. Prices can be checked with your phone provider. Mobile calls usually cost more. BUILT ON YBM 5773 11 02 14 TRUST

EB_0314 51 11/02/2014 14:40 SPECIAL REPORT CAR SALARY SACRIFICE Thinkstock

Employers need the full facts to build a business case for a salary sacrifi ce car scheme, says Robert Crawford STEER FOR SAVINGS

efore introducing a fl eet salary Before implementing a scheme, employers just to save staff money. “A business case can sacrifi ce scheme, employers need to must understand the facts in order to build a include that it’s cheap and that employees get know the key issues. Knowing how business case. This can be a complex task, but a brand new, fully maintained car, but that is to build a business case, how to there are key matters to consider. just half of it,” he says. “The best schemes are implement a scheme successfully One of the most important is that schemes set up to tick an organisation’s green agenda Band determining how it will benefi t staff and are typically cost-free for the employer. and help cut organisational costs.” the organisation, can all boost take-up rates. Another is that schemes can be managed by Gary Killeen, fl eet services commercial Paul Hollick, chief commercial offi cer at the provider. Most providers can manage all leader at GE Capital, says project plans can run provider Alphabet, says: “Employers need to aspects of car maintenance, including to several hundred pages, so it is essential to know the likely uptake, the internal costs of servicing, breakdown cover and insurance, and make documentation as watertight as possible. implementing a scheme and what their handle ongoing communications about, for “Done correctly, detailed work on scheme provider can offer in terms of launching it. It’s example, driver and car safety. This can be built modelling, design structure and policy about how much a scheme will benefi t an into the business case for a scheme. decisions, with no gaps or ambiguity, will pay employee as much as an employer.” Hollick says the best schemes are not set up dividends,” he says. “Correct documentation from a legal and tax compliance perspective is IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS. . . also essential, of course.” As part of building a business case, an employer also has to obtain HM Revenue and > Salary sacrifi ce car schemes are because of the tax breaks available. typically low-cost or cost-free for the Customs (HMRC) approval for its scheme. employer to introduce. > Employers can put buffers in place to In a salary sacrifi ce car scheme, an protect them from the effects of early employee forgoes a portion of their gross > Low-emission cars are popular in schemes termination and long-term staff absence. salary in exchange for savings on tax and national insurance (NI). The employee will save

52 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 52 17/02/2014 11:28 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/company-cars-and-fl eet

tax and NI on the sum that has been sacrifi ced, for it, but this could impact other things, such as and the value of the car benefi t is subject only tax credits and their state pension entitlement. Viewpoint to benefi t-in-kind (BIK) tax. Communications must be clear.” The most recent change to BIK tax structure, Two issues often overlooked by employers in April 2013, saw the low tax band of 5% considering a salary sacrifi ce car scheme relate applied to all cars emitting 75g/km of carbon to parental leave and early termination. Alastair Kendrick is tax director at dioxide (CO2) or less. This will drop to 50g/km When an employee goes on maternity or for the 2015/15 tax year. paternity leave, their employer is contractually MHA MacIntyre A salary sacrifi ce scheme also produces obliged to continue to provide all the benefi ts of Hudson savings for employers, on NI contributions and a salary sacrifi ce scheme, despite the possibility corporation tax. Although the employer still has of an absent employee suffering a signifi cant to pay NI contributions on the provision of a car, drop in salary, or even being on unpaid leave. this will normally be much less than the NI Moore says: “One of the issues organisations The main driver for a company car contributions that would have been due on the are reluctant to put in [to schemes] are salary sacrifi ce scheme is the tax portion of salary sacrifi ced. conditions for unpaid leave. Employers can build savings available to the employer and When implementing a scheme, the best way things into their policy, such as pots of money to the employee. for employers to boost take-up is regular cover any costs incurred. Most organisations try The major saving arises for the communication to staff. Methods could include to keep the scheme design simple.” employee because they no longer pay a benefi ts portal, an intranet, a staff magazine Roddy Graham, commercial director at tax and national insurance (NI) on the or e-newsletter, email bulletins, text messages, Leasedrive, says that despite the risk of early portion of their earnings that is roadshows, forums, posters, payroll termination fees, offering a car as a benefi t can being sacrifi ced. communications and staff open days. help employers retain staff, with scheme Instead, they pay income tax on the contracts usually lasting two to three years. benefi t in kind on the car. So if an Duty of care “If an employee leaves, they either give up the employee is selective over the car Mike Moore, director at Deloitte Car car and pay the early termination fee, but most they take, there are savings that can Consultancy, says constant communication will tend to stick with their employer,” he says. be achieved. keep a scheme fresh in employees’ minds. “Essentially, it is another way of locking in to an Savings for the employer relate to “There are two reasons why [employers] have employer. However, the employee could choose the NI on the earnings sacrifi ced and to get it right,” he says. “Firstly, so employees to buy the car outright.” the Class 1A NI arising on the benefi t are aware of it and understand the implications. Introducing a car salary sacrifi ce scheme in kind. “Also, there is a duty of care for the employer brings extra administration for employers, But it should be remembered that to let staff make informed decisions. especially when tax changes occur. Employee the taxation regime for company cars Employers should not give personal and tax contracts will need to be updated in relation to changes every year and those doing advice, but should inform employees that they any increase in VAT or NI contributions. the estimates of cost savings need to are giving up salary and are getting a benefi t Providers can help employers work through bear this in mind. Also, it is often overlooked that the employer can enjoy a saving on ADVANTAGES OF A SALARY SACRIFICE CAR SCHEME mileage allowances paid, depending on their policies, because the employee will no longer be using their own car Employee sacrifi ces salary, Employee and potential Employer provides new, for business travel. which covers full cost of car employer savings through tax, fully serviced, insured and provision to employer NIC and purchasing power In a salary sacrifi ce scheme, the maintained, low-CO2 car employee cannot enjoy the approved mileage allowance payment, currently BENEFITS 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles in a tax year and 25p per mile thereafter, Remuneration Increased benefi ts choice Signifi cant commercial savings but will instead be reimbursed at the at no extra cost for employees over alternative U Uprivate arrangements U advisory fuel rate, the amount of which varies according to the car’s Recruitment/retention Overall enhancement to the Employees bought in to the engine capacity. scheme and motivated to stay U remuneration package U U Depending on levels of business mileage, this can deliver signifi cant Increasing demand from Corporate social Low CO2 emission cars savings for the employer. responsibility employees/shareholders for The employer can make a further U Ugreen employer initiatives U saving by recovering 50% of the VAT Corporate health Can help to manage health and on lease and maintenance costs. HM and safety U safety issues from grey fl eet U Revenue and Customs has issued detailed guidance on this.

Source: Deloitte

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 53

EB_0314 53 17/02/2014 11:28 SPECIAL REPORT CAR SALARY SACRIFICE

CASE STUDY LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL Scheme boosted green credentials

Leicester City Council introduced was to identify a need for the a salary sacrifi ce car scheme in scheme, and we did, because we November 2013 for 13,600 wanted to reduce benefi ts costs eligible employees. and come up with something The scheme, operated by more cost-effective.” Tusker, includes motor insurance, A salary sacrifi ce car scheme servicing and maintenance, fi tted the bill because the council roadside assistance, tyres and felt it was offering staff more glass, plus protection against than just a car. “We are supplying redundancy, resignation and staff with a car that is brand new maternity leave. and saves the employee tax and emissions cap of 120g/km to Tusker can do, where possible, is Before implementing the national insurance,” says Laywood. encourage staff to choose to supply cars from local dealers scheme, the council wanted to “That formed a large part of the fuel-effi cient and more and maintain them locally, so that reduce the cost of its employee business case. environmentally friendly cars. business stays in the area.” benefi ts, having previously “We also informed staff that But the stand-out point of the Communication was also key, offered a central user allowance the car was not only insured, but business case was that the and involved emails and intranet for employees to travel to work in fully maintained with roadside scheme improved the authority’s messages. “The communication their own car. recovery. We wanted everything green credentials and kept strategy was to tell staff about Cory Laywood, HR, pay and to safeguard the employee while business local, says Laywood. the scheme and how it related to benefi ts manager at Leicester they have the car.” “A big thing for us, because we staff, which aroused interest

City Council, says: “The fi rst thing The council has set a CO2 are a council, is localism. What before it went live,” says Laywood.

the administration details. Dennis Dugan, car take advantage of the 10% and 13% BIK tax employers a low-cost option to reward staff.

fl eet manager at consulting engineers WSP, brackets. “Low CO2 emission cars are best Alphabet’s Hollick adds: “There is scepticism says: “Most of this can be auto-piloted by suited to salary sacrifi ce schemes and the that it is too good to be true and hard to providers, but employers need to be aware of numbers are increasing day by day,” he says. communicate. But it’s a win-win for both the administration processes and have the “As emission laws change, I can only see the employer and employee.” EB procedures in place to cope.” pool of [greener] cars getting bigger.” Employers should also note current buying Electric cars are also becoming more trends in car schemes, which lean towards cars common in salary sacrifi ce schemes. The Robert Crawford is that are more fuel-effi cient and green. attractions of these include a government a reporter at Damien James, chairman of the Association grant of up to £5,000, low recharging costs and Employee Benefi ts of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO), says the most no BIK tax, rising to 5% in 2015-16. @ Read also What is the future shape of salary popular models are those with CO2 emissions Overall, a salary sacrifi ce car scheme is of 94g/km or less, which enable employees to straightforward to introduce and offers sacrifi ce car schemes? at: bit.ly/1fcJTJQ

We’re experts in providing access to quality healthcare That’s why our health plans come with award winning, world class service

To find out how we can help your business call 0845 075 0063 or email [email protected] Private health insurance Health cash plans Dental plans Self funded health plans

Part of Simplyhealth. Cover is provided by Simplyhealth, a trading division of Simplyhealth Access. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by

1111078-SA8 the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Terms and Conditions apply. Calls may be recorded.

54 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 54 17/02/2014 11:28 Salary sacrifice car scheme?

A straightforward, highly valued benefit that saves money for your employees and your business

Go straight to Tusker

Learn more: [email protected] I 0333 400 1010 I www.tuskerdirect.com

EB_0314 55 10/02/2014 10:08 SPECIAL REPORT CAR SALARY SACRIFICE DRIVING THE FACTS Employees must be fully informed of the pros and cons of a salary sacrifi ce car scheme before they decide whether to join, says Robert Crawford

mployers need to consider a number of things when communicating a salary sacrifi ce car scheme to staff. Thinkstock Some employees might see signing up to a two-or three-year salary Esacrifi ce car deal as a fi nancial burden, so employers must emphasise the positive side, such as the savings that can be made on tax and national insurance (NI). Matt Duffy, head of online consultancy at Lorica Employee Benefi ts, says: “An employee is, of course, going to benefi t from all the great things [in a scheme], but employers need to communicate how to take advantage of tax and NI savings, which will vary between individuals and the cars they take.” Current tax rules encourage take-up of cars

with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions below 120g/km, but HM Revenue and Customs will adjust the company car tax bands every year This allows staff to pay less income tax and minimum wage. Also, employers and up to 2016-17. A car’s tax bracket is determined NI, but they may instead pay benefi t-in-kind tax. employees must be aware of the ongoing

by its fuel effi ciency: cars with higher CO2 There is a clear cost benefi t for the employee if changes to tax bands for company cars, which emissions incur higher tax. the benefi t-in-kind tax due is less than the could affect the cost of schemes. The appropriate percentage of a car’s list income tax and NI that would have been paid. Another important consideration is the price that is subject to tax for the 0-50g/km implications of long-term employee absence,

CO2 band will be 5% in 2015-16 and 7% in Negative aspect such as maternity leave or sickness. In the case 2016-17. For cars in the 51-75g/km band, the tax But one negative aspect is that staff may have of maternity leave, while the employee’s pay rate will be 9% in 2015-16 and 11% in 2016-17. to pay an early termination fee if they leave a will gradually reduce, the salary sacrifi ce Staff should also be told how a salary scheme early. Gary Killeen, fl eet services contribution to their car cannot be altered. sacrifi ce car scheme operates. Fundamentally, commercial leader at GE Capital, says: “Of David Hosking, chief executive offi cer of an employee contractually agrees to a salary interest is whether the employee knows, fl eet provider Tusker, says: “Employers that reduction in exchange for a benefi t. understands and controls the full range of are looking to introduce a scheme should do scheme costs, such as termination, absences so with [a provider] that is experienced in IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, from work, damage and accident costs.” dealing with these issues and dealing with READ THIS. . . Some employers will seek insurance cover for complex schemes.” termination fees incurred after an initial period, GE Capital’s Killeen adds: “Whatever an > Employers should tell staff about but many will build their own pool of money by employer decides to communicate, a clear and potential savings on income tax and adding a premium to cover exit penalties. concise policy that is fully understood by the national insurance. “Mitigating the risk can be managed,” says employee is essential.” EB Lorica’s Duffy. “Employers can put in insurances > Employees need to know that company to cover claims from the fi rst six months. They car tax bands will change every year until Robert Crawford is 2016-17, which could affect cost. also put in a pot of money for the employee should there be any debt.” a reporter at > Employees may incur early termination Staff must also be warned about other Employee Benefi ts costs if they leave the scheme or associated risks. For example, employees their employer. cannot legally sign up to a salary sacrifi ce @ Read also Top luxury car models with low carbon dioxide emissions at: bit.ly/1cGeJ9P agreement if it takes their earnings below the

56 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 56 17/02/2014 11:26

@ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/company-cars-and-fl eet INDUSTRY FORUM

Why cars can be the Supplied by: trickiest benefi t

There are four key points for employers to consider when designing and implementing a salary sacrifi ce car scheme to ensure it meets their own and employees’ needs, says Guy Roberts

Three: How does an employer know its scheme is consumer credit compliant? Simple: make sure everything is done within the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act. This includes documentation, licensing from the Financial Conduct Authority, and the employee’s consumer credit rights. The scheme provider should be able to do this. Employers might take the view that car salary sacrifi ce is not actually consumer credit, but a bikes-for-work scheme is always treated as consumer credit and the basics of the arrangements are the same.

Four: How can administration be After a house, a car is typically the biggest they could build a contingency fund by minimised? purchase a person makes. So it is no surprise increasing the charge to each employee. This is down to what the scheme provider can that cars are quickly becoming an essential Effectively, this is self-insurance, so it may not facilitate. Employers can waste a lot of time part of a competitive benefi ts package. be permitted to do this. Fourth, employers and resource trying to redeploy cars, dealing However, company cars have always posed could take out an insurance policy and pass on with recharges, early termination fees and car challenges. Problems can include balancing the cost to each employee. damages. There are three main options for issues such as the choice of cars, recharges Options two, three and four are often done dealing with recharges and damages: and ex-employees leaving cars behind. together, but they all represent additional cost First, the scheme provider manages all A well-designed salary sacrifi ce scheme and administration, which reduces the these issues directly with staff. Second, the delivers the many benefi ts of a company car to attractiveness and take-up of a scheme. provider bills the employer and the employer employees, together with ways to mitigate or, bills its staff. Third, the provider offers a ‘no better still, not create any scheme risks. Two: How can scheme take-up be quibbles’ solution. These reduce instances of When designing a scheme, there are some maximised? recharges, but costs are built into the lease. key points to consider: For most staff, this will be a new concept, so A large organisation could design its own awareness, education and early adopters are structure, but this takes time and capital. Most One: How should early termination risks key to a successful scheme. employers will look to a specialist provider. be managed? A fully functioning online service is a good So think about the insights above and make The biggest issue to face is what happens tool. But ordering childcare vouchers is quite these key drivers in the selection process for a when an employee leaves. Employers have different from getting a new car. A scheme provider and scheme design. several options, depending on their provider. should be web-enabled, but this isn’t the key to First, they can tell their provider the success. The most important thing is to enable employee has left and their liability is fi nished. employees to discuss their options with Guy Roberts is director at Second, they can try to redeploy the car to someone. Roadshows, drop-in sessions and a SG Fleet someone else by subsidising the cost. Third, helpline are the real keys to driving take-up.

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 57

EB_0314 57 14/02/2014 16:54 EB_0314 58 13/02/2014 12:29 CAR SALARY SACRIFICE SPECIAL REPORT TIPS FOR SUCCESS Employers must consider several key factors if they are to achieve a successful car salary sacrifi ce scheme, says Roddy Graham

n recent years, awareness of car salary sacrifi ce schemes has increased Thinkstock signifi cantly, leading to many new launches. Estimates for the number of cars covered by salary sacrifi ce schemes vary signifi cantly, Ibut a realistic fi gure would be 50-75,000 cars. This fi gure is expected to grow in coming years. The number of providers has also increased signifi cantly and recent focus has been around the ‘employee experience’. Many suppliers are concentrating on making schemes as simple and user-friendly as possible, from initial promotion of the scheme through web-based quotation processes, order and delivery, to service, maintenance and repair (SMR). Fully expensed A well-structured car salary sacrifi ce scheme KEYS TO SUCCESS will provide the employee with a new car, fully expensed, with the exception of fuel, over a G A successful car salary communications to keep the Important, too, is the quality fi xed period, typically two to four years. The full sacrifi ce scheme may see scheme fresh and at the of the employee experience, costs of the scheme, including administration, 10-15% of employees taking front of employees’ minds. both in terms of the helpdesk national insurance (NI) and other costs, are paid advantage of it. However, New joiners are likely to be support and the web-based for by the employee through a reduction in more typical take-up rates the most receptive, so details tools provided. gross salary. The employee saves tax and NI on are much lower, averaging should be included as part of the salary sacrifi ced, but is liable for benefi t in 2% to 3% of eligible staff. their formal induction. G In recent years, the debate kind (BIK) tax on the car provided. This latter on salary sacrifi ce has moved point makes schemes particularly attractive G Communication is key to G Potential providers should on from the basics to how to for lower-emitting/lower taxation vehicles. success. It starts with the not just demonstrate enhance the employee Employees can enjoy the benefi ts and status scheme’s launch and technical competence, but be experience and integrate it of a company car at a lower-than-expected continues with regular able to deliver compelling into the wider benefi ts offer, cost, with savings on income tax and NI reminders and one-off employee messages. increasing its appeal. contributions outweighing BIK contributions. They also enjoy the use of a more fuel-effi cient,

low CO2, fully serviced and maintained new car owned cars used for ‘at work’ mileage. of ordinary maternity, paternity and adoption for the fi xed period, backed by comprehensive Importantly, it is a cost-neutral method of leave, employers are legally obliged to continue insurance provided by the employer. enhancing the value of the total reward to provide all an employee’s contractual Employers pay a more tax-effi cient package and can help to attract and retain benefi ts, so the salary sacrifi ce benefi ts must remuneration and reduced Class 1A NI talented employees. continue to be provided, with any associated contributions. As long as the necessary As employers often fear the potential costs costs being met by the employer EB ‘buffers’ are put in place, it costs employers that may be incurred if an employee leaves the nothing to introduce a salary sacrifi ce organisation, they need to put buffers in place scheme because it is managed as a normal to cover early termination, excess mileage, Roddy Graham is company car scheme. outstanding fi nes, damage, and so on. Careful chairman of the Institute of Car salary sacrifi ce schemes also enhance scheme design, policies and procedures can Car Fleet Management corporate social responsibility (CSR) and help mitigate these risks, and provide a fi nancial employers meet duty of care responsibilities buffer for any unrecoverable costs. @ Read also Key considerations for salary sacrifi ce car schemes at: bit.ly/NBHYTc by eliminating the grey fl eet risk: privately Also, it should be noted that during periods

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 59

EB_0314 59 17/02/2014 15:52 EMPLOYER PROFILE Robert Greshoff

PERSONAL TOUCH Law fi rm Withers is a progressive organisation but has traditional values about benefi ts, keen to treat its employees in a personal way, says Clare Bettelley

lobal law fi rm Withers survived an months after merger talks with Speechly and she works hard to ensure this remains the eventful year in 2013, including a Bircham were called off. case. “We always have to be on the lookout for dip in profi t and a spate of merger These events could have threatened to things that staff want,” she says. “It’s about that talks with rival Speechly Bircham. reduce the time available for compensation key skill, listening, and if we can deliver The organisation reported a 7% and benefi ts manager Sharon Tebb to engage something, we do it.” Gdecline in net profi t, down from £24.2 million in with Withers’ lawyers about their benefi ts as Tebb applied this philosophy to the 2011/12 to £22.5 million in 2012/13, based on they strive to boost their fi nancial organisation’s new fl exible benefi ts plan, which revenue of £117.8 million. Profi ts per equity performance. Their annual bonuses are largely was launched in January 2013. She started the partner also fell, from £386,000 to £370,000, based on their chargeable hours. project with a survey to ascertain employees’ over the same period, according to its fi nancial But Tebb insists that Withers’ staff remain as needs and then used the fi ndings to determine results for 2012/13, published in July 2013, two interested in their benefi ts package as ever, the range of benefi ts Withers would offer, and

60 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 60 13/02/2014 14:16 CAREER HISTORY

Sharon Tebb was just 16 when she began her career as a junior secretary for professional services organisation KPMG, after learning to type on the government’s Youth Training Scheme. “I marched up to KPMG with my CV and a little folder of two-line letters that I’d typed and got an interview,” she says. “It’s quite embarrassing, really; I think they felt sorry for me.” Within 18 months, she was promoted to senior secretary and then to the newly-created role of departmental supervisor at the age of 24. But it was not until she was assigned to work for two of KPMG’s senior partners, who looked after training and development and HR, respectively, that Tebb began to develop an interest in HR and employee benefi ts. “I was there for years and it was a fantastic employer with brilliant benefi ts, but one day I decided I didn’t want to be somewhere for too long,” she says. An impromptu trip to a local recruitment agency resulted in Tebb joining Withers as personal assistant to the director of personnel and administration and the director of training in 1996. “I’ve been here a long time, but every year is different,” she says.

how it would present and deliver them. launched last September. The programme was ‘bite-sized’ group presentations on a fi nancial “The intranet had all the information on it, but introduced following the results of a staff topic of their choice once a month, delivered by not the strategy behind it,” she says. “Plus, we survey Tebb undertook as part of her fl ex Tebb or the employer’s IFA fi rm, Legal and wanted to show the true value of our benefi ts.” project, which revealed that employees wanted Medical. “With lawyers, you have a short time to Withers appointed Willis Employee Benefi ts more help and advice on retirement planning. keep their interest,” says Tebb. to provide an online fl exible benefi ts platform The programme offers staff 20-minute, Withers has also been reviewing its benefi ts that covers four areas: protection and recognition; health and wellbeing; ethics and sustainability; and leisure and lifestyle. WITHERS AT A GLANCE The platform is powered by benefi ts technology provider Staffcare, and includes Withers is a global law fi rm where the organisation was Withers’ group personal pension (GPP) scheme, that employs more than founded in 1896. which is provided by Friends Life, life 100 partners and over 700 Withers represents some assurance, dental insurance and childcare staff in 11 offi ces spread of the world’s wealthiest vouchers (see box, page 63). across Europe, the US, the individuals and families. The fl ex plan launch, which included the Caribbean and Asia. The average age of its introduction of total reward statements, helped Its UK workforce totals employees is 39 and the Withers to boost its pensions take-up to 85%. 424, excluding fi xed-term, average length of service is The fl ex platform also gives staff access to contract-based staff and 10.5 years. The majority employer-funded independent fi nancial self-employed consultants, (63.4%) of its workforce adviser (IFA) appointments, which are part of a who are based in London, is female. fi nancial education programme Withers

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 61

EB_0314 61 13/02/2014 14:16 EMPLOYER PROFILE

providers to ensure it gets value for money. part of a 15-strong HR team, she remains “Benefi ts are incredibly important, but we committed to the fi rm’s personal touches, such have to ensure we are using them wisely,” says c as the continued provision of old-style benefi ts. Tebb. “If providers want us to be loyal to them We’re all in the boat These include £150 worth of wedding vouchers as a client, they have to offer value for money.” together: we’re trying to get and £450 (plus VAT) towards the conveyancing Following its risk benefi ts review in 2013, costs of buying or selling a property. Withers switched group income protection on, do our jobs and make it “Even though we are a very progressive fi rm, provider from Unum to Friends Life. a good place to work” we like to do something different,” says Tebb. “I Although the UK business remains Tebb’s Sharon Tebb, Withers think employers lose sight of those personal focus, her review now extends to the benefi ts touches, or they’re so big that they can’t offer offered to staff in 11 global offi ces, spanning them. We like to do them because I think they Europe, the US, the Caribbean and Asia. The Swiss social security system has three make us stand out from other organisations.” Switzerland is her current focus. “We are pillars: old age and survivors/disability Tebb’s personal touches include having a just reviewing the Swiss pillar [social security] insurance; an occupational pension plan; and regular dialogue with her workforce. For system because we’ve got everything where it private investment options. example, she phoned every employee who should be in the UK,” she says. “We’re doing a Despite the size of Tebb’s remit, which she took the time to complete her staff survey, spring clean of other countries.” manages with just one other staff member as including those whose requested benefi ts she

Case study Withers’ private medical insurance cover to investigate some stomach offer, but she particularly values an (PMI) has proved particularly useful problems, for which she has been annual, employer-funded fl u jab. “I use for Karen Harrison, head cashier in referred to a range of consultants. this each year because two years ago, the law fi rm’s fi nance team. Withers funds the PMI and Harrison just before my son’s second birthday, She used the cover for an pays the annual excess fee of £150. he was diagnosed with cancer. He’s operation to remove a cyst from her But it is the employer’s dental now in remission, but I’m keen not to brain four years ago. “If I’d gone down healthcare plan, from Denplan, that get a cold,” she says. the NHS route, it would have taken appeals most to Harrison’s husband. Harrison recently started donating quite a while to get the surgery done, “He’s fastidious about his teeth, so it’s £10 a month to the Make a Wish especially having just had a baby, so it been great because he’s been able to Foundation for children and young was useful to be able to go private,” go to our local private dentist and get people aged between three and 17 Karen Harrison she says. “It was a major operation, so the treatment done for £55 a month, living with life-threatening illnesses. head cashier, it was the peace of mind, and the which is fully refunded,” she says. “I’ve also got group life assurance, fi nance team follow-up has been amazing.” Harrison also uses the childcare which is a great comfort because it’s Harrison is now using the health vouchers and season ticket loan on four times my salary,” she says.

62 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 62 13/02/2014 14:16 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/industry-sectors

THE BENEFITS

Pension > A group personal pension in which Withers matches employee contributions up to 5%

Healthcare > Life assurance is employer-funded and available at four-times salary, up to £750,000, which can be fl exed up to eight-times salary or down to two-times salary through a fl exible benefi ts scheme. > Group income protection, employer- funded and up to 75% of salary. > Private medical insurance, employer-funded. > Dental insurance on a voluntary basis through salary sacrifi ce. > Doctor’s consultation service, with each employee offered two employer-funded consultations a year. placement scheme for support staff. > Eyecare vouchers, employer-funded. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES The two-week scheme was set up in > Employer-paid fl u jabs. November in partnership with Islington Council > Health screening, with staff offered one IMPACTING BENEFITS and City Action, a free volunteer matchmaking employer-funded session every two years G Recruit, attract, retain and, most service for City-based employers and after two years’ service up to age 50. community organisations. It saw volunteers Over-50s offered annual appointments. importantly, engage key talent. from Withers’ support teams train four local, > Corporate gym membership , employer- G Promote the organisation’s corporate unemployed parents in a range of business funded but reclaimed from employees through salary sacrifi ce. and social responsibility agenda. skills, such as interview techniques and appropriate business attire. G Optimise the health and wellbeing of Additional benefi ts the workforce. CSR interest > Employee assistance programme, Tebb says the strategy is driven by increasing employer-funded. CSR interest from both clients and prospective > Client referral commission based on 5% employees. “When recruiting trainees, they’re of all fees billed, employer-funded. could not deliver, to explain which benefi ts she asking what we’re doing with CSR,” she says. > Long-service recognition, planned to introduce and why. “Organisations that haven’t got some sort of employer-funded. “If you don’t go back to staff, and you don’t scheme are not in a good place.” > Performance-related bonus for support staff and a chargeable-hours bonus with deliver, they’ll be reluctant to complete one of Tebb’s part in helping to meet clients’ needs, extra discretionary performance-driven your surveys again,” she says. “The way to through the CSR policy and her commitment to element for exceptionally performing encourage survey participation is to keep staff providing personal benefi ts touches, stands fee-earners, employer-funded. involved. It’s time-consuming, but it’s worth it Withers’ staff in good stead for boosting the > Recruitment award worth £2,500 for because those staff feel valued. We’re all in the organisation’s future fi nancial performance. the successful introduction of legal staff boat together: we’re all trying to get on and do It also means Tebb has her work cut out as and £1,500 for secretarial and support our jobs and make it a good place to work.” she continues to review Withers’ benefi ts and staff, employer-funded. Most recently, Tebb’s personal touches have roll out new perks, which this year will include > Will writing, discounted. involved her and her benefi ts and HR emergency child and elder care. > Volunteering opportunities. colleagues roaming the fl oors of Withers’ Refl ecting on her 17-year career with the > Give-as-you-earn. London offi ce selling cakes to raise money for organisation, she says: “Every time I think I > Bikes for work. the charity the organisation supported in 2013, must move on, the fi rm gives me something > Workplace café. Macmillan Cancer Support. new to do. It’s like that every year.” EB > AA Fleet Scheme breakdown cover. Charity support is part of Withers’ corporate > Childcare vouchers. social responsibility (CSR) programme, which > Computers and mobile phone scheme. Tebb helped to create. It includes pro bono @ Read more about fl exible benefi ts at: > Season ticket loan. bit.ly/1cLB6an work for the employer’s lawyers and a work

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 63

EB_0314 63 13/02/2014 14:16

INDUSTRY FORUM @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/benefi ts/tax-effi cient-benefi ts

Logging back in to Supplied by: computer schemes

Employee demand for technology has never been higher since the days of the Home Computing Initiative, says Daniel Gillborn

Scheme administration only requires the employer to complete what is a familiar CASE STUDY SANTANDER process to most. Benefi ts in kind do not attract employees’ class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs). They are, however, subject Stephen to class 1A NICs, payable by the employer. The Gambles. senior reward manager, employer initially makes a class 1A NIC saving Santander UK via an employee reducing their salary, but then repays the same amount via a P11D(b) charge. As such, the employer does not incur any cost The Home Computing Initiative (HCI) was a in providing the scheme. “We introduced a computer scheme government programme introduced in 1999 to when we refreshed the whole of our improve the IT skills of employees and grow the Employee NI savings fl exible benefi ts offering at the end number of internet users. It allowed employers Employees can access a wide range of IT of 2012. It has been a hugely popular to provide personal computers and peripherals equipment, including highly desirable Apple and valued benefi t with our staff, to their staff without the benefi t being taxed. products. Employee savings are available on NI enabling them to save money by In April 2006, HM Revenue and Customs of up to 12% for basic-rate and 2% for taking advantage of the NI savings (HMRC) announced the removal of the initiative higher- and additional-rate taxpayers. Direct available as well as spreading the without any consultation because of claims payments from salary can be spread over 12, cost over two years, interest-free. that higher-rate taxpayers were abusing the 24 or 36 months. Payments from salary are There is a great range of items scheme and that computers had become more interest-free and there are no credit checks. available and the products are affordable and relatively well used. Most people The organisation will enhance its corporate always up to date. had some access to computers and so the social responsibility (CSR) policy and improve “In the fi rst month of the scheme, nearly 1,300 employees took purpose of the scheme had been achieved. how it is seen as an employer. A scheme can advantage of it and, after 14 months, Since the abolition of HCI, there are no also help to increase staff loyalty and improve this has climbed to more than 3,650 government schemes in place that legislate for IT skills with minimal administration. staff, which is 13% of our UK the provision of computers and technical In 2011, when Computingscheme helped employees. Of the 18 benefi ts equipment to staff by their employer. However, launch Sky’s fi rst scheme, we were included in our fl exible benefi ts the Employment Income Manual (EIM) 21699 overwhelmed by its 43% uptake and have offering, the computer scheme is – Particular benefi ts: computers: partial realised since that there is latent demand the third most popular, after exemption: abolished 2006/07 states: “For among employees for the latest technology. holiday trading and private arrangements entered into on or after 6 April A computer salary sacrifi ce scheme enables medical insurance.” 2006 to provide a computer to an employee an employer to offer employees something for private use, the employment income tax different and universally relevant. This benefi t treatment is the same as for any asset can enable an employer to make IT hardware provided by an employer for private use.” engagement and usage more accessible and Daniel Gillborn is director, So, the provision of IT equipment can be attractive to staff, while promoting improved Computingscheme by Grass Roots treated as a benefi t in kind (BIK), and this is the computer literacy, helping to expand its mobile Group basis for a new crop of computer schemes. and home-based workforce.

64 I MonthMarch 20142012 II www.employeebenefi ts.co.ukts.co.uk

EB_0314 64 17/02/2014 11:05 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/resource-centre/buyers-guide BUYER’S GUIDE

PRODUCT FILE COMPUTER SCHEMES Salary sacrifi ce arrangements can make the latest technology more affordable for employees, says Nicola Sullivan

Thinkstock The facts

What is a computer salary sacrifi ce scheme? The benefi t, usually offered via a fl exible or voluntary benefi ts scheme, enables employees to pay for a computer, laptop or tablet out of their gross pay, resulting in partial tax and NI savings for the employee and NI savings for the employer. However, unlike other tax- effi cient benefi ts, such as bikes for work, which receive a full tax break, a computer is taxed on 20% of its value every year. computer salary sacrifi ce £1,000, their annual benefi t-in- with many making their profi ts scheme is an effective kind tax (on 20% of the value, or from selling accessories and Where can employers get more way for employers to help £200) would be £80. For this tax insurance cover, employees’ information? A staff fund the cost of treatment to apply, the employer orders may be subject to Information about how computer state-of-the-art technology. must own the equipment and fund administration and delivery fees. salary sacrifi ce schemes work The benefi t, usually offered the cost of it on behalf of staff, Some employers offer staff can be found on provider through a fl exible or voluntary who then pay the employer back computers in a straightforward websites. HM Revenue and benefi ts scheme, enables over a fi xed period, normally two discount scheme, rather than Customs’ website gives details on employees to pay for a computer, to three years. through salary sacrifi ce. Although the tax treatment of computers. laptop or tablet and related Given that the tax break is less there are no tax and NI savings, Who are the main providers? accessories, such as printers and than it was under HCI, employers this arrangement allows shorter Providers include AV Corporation, cases, out of their gross pay. This are keen to use their bulk repayment periods and opens up BHSF, Clarkwood Enterprise, results in partial tax and national purchasing power to secure the benefi t to low-paid workers. Computingscheme, insurance (NI) savings for the discounts on the cost of the Computer salary sacrifi ce Computershare Voucher Services, employee of up to 12% for equipment. Discounts of 3-5% off schemes need effective Exertis Micro-P Employee basic-rate taxpayers and 2% for the retail price can be achieved, communication to ensure staff Benefi ts, Let’s Connect, P&MM higher-rate taxpayers, as well as NI and further savings could be understand: the impact on their Employee Benefi ts, Stormfront savings for the employer. available if extended warranties take-home pay; the tax treatment and Techbenefi ts. However, unlike other benefi ts and insurance cover are taken out. and benefi t-in-kind liability; and that use salary sacrifi ce how the hire and payment arrangements, such as bikes for Spread the cost agreement between them and STATISTICS work, which receive a full tax Another attraction of a computer their employer is regulated. break during the period of lease, a salary sacrifi ce scheme is that it It is also important to reiterate of employers offered computer is taxed on 20% of its allows staff to spread the cost of an employee’s obligations if they 3% computers through a value every year. By contrast, computing equipment across leave the employer before the fl exible benefi ts scheme in 2013 under the home computing monthly payments without agreement ends. Normally, they initiative (HCI), which was needing credit. However, some will be expected to settle any of employers offered scrapped in 2006, employer- providers will require employers to remaining payment out of net pay. 5% computers as a provided computers received a fund the cost of a consumer credit voluntary benefi t in 2013 100% tax break. or hire agreement. At the moment, if a 40% Although most providers do not @ Read also Personal computer schemes rebooted at: bit.ly/M5OAHE Source: The Benefi ts Research 2013, conducted taxpayer selected a laptop costing charge for setting up a scheme, in March 2013. Total respondents: 561

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 65

EB_0314 65 17/02/2014 11:53 Employee benefi ts. We’re more than qualifi ed.

Operating for over 145 years Serving 90 million customers in over 45 Serving 91 of countries the top 100 Top 5 Fortune 500® employee companies benefi ts provider in over 20 markets Number 1 life insurer in the US*

Enjoy the reassurance of working with an experienced employee benefi ts provider – with award-winning service.**

As part of a leading international employee benefi ts provider, MetLife Inc., we combine global experience with local know-how. Our UK experts work closely with colleagues worldwide to ensure we always deliver the right solutions, service and support – all of which are refl ected in our 97% customer satisfaction rating† across over 6,800 schemes. For more on how we deliver world class solutions Call 0845 603 8899 or visit metlife.co.uk/atwork

*The #1 claims based on Life Gross Written Premium at the end of the year, as per Axco reports. **Awarded Company of the Year at the Financial Adviser Service Awards 2012 & 2010. †Taken from MetLife internal portfolio data, as at December 2013. Products and services are offered by MetLife Europe Limited which is an affi liate of MetLife, Inc. and operates under the “MetLife” brand. MetLife Europe Limited (trading as MetLife) is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request. Registered address 20 on Hatch, Lower Hatch Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Registration number 415123. UK branch address: One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA. Branch registration number BR008866. The Trustee of the MetLife Master Trust for the MetLife Registered Group Life Policy is Castlewood Trust Corporation Limited, a company incorporated in England with company number 4240495 whose registered offi ce is 9 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YF. www.metlife.co.uk © 2014 PNTS 1574/1 0214 EB

EB_0314 66 13/02/2014 12:28 @ www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk/resource-centre/buyers-guide BUYER’S GUIDE

PRODUCT FILE GROUP INCOME PROTECTION GIP is a highly valued benefi t, and there are lower-cost options for employers to explore, says Sam Barrett

Thinkstock The facts

What is group income protection (GIP)? GIP pays a regular monthly benefi t if an employee is unable to work because of long-term illness or injury. Benefi ts are payable until the employee returns to work or, if earlier, state pension age. Fixed-benefi t term policies are also available, typically for periods of two to fi ve years. As well as fi nancial support, GIP gives employers and employees access to rehabilitation. This can include advice on adapting an employee’s role to suit their illness or injury.

What are the origins of group income protection? roup income protection age, currently 65, or earlier if the an employee’s return to work. The fi rst modern GIP policies (GIP) is an insurance employee returns to work or if it is For example, as soon as an were written in the 1950s, but a policy that provides a a limited-term policy. insurer is notifi ed that an broader form of cover, the Holloway scheme, was available replacement income to The cost of cover depends on employee is off work and could G from the late 19th century, an employee if they are unable various factors, including the age become a claim, it will case- offering retirement benefi ts as to work because of long-term profi le of employees, occupation manage the absence and put well as income replacement. illness or injury. and claims history. Policy features together a rehabilitation plan for As well as being a valued will also affect the premium. For the employee. This could include a Where can employers get more employee benefi t, GIP supports example, to reduce the cost of return to work on a part-time information and advice? employers by covering any cover, an employer could select a basis, or to a lower-paid position. Industry body Group Risk contractual promise of long-term longer deferred period, a lower Where this happens, the insurer Development (Grid) promotes sick pay to employees. level of benefi t and a limited will pay a partial benefi t, so the group protection products. Its Standard policies pay between payment term. employee is not out of pocket. website has information about 75% and 80% of annual salary The nature of the most group income protection and following a set waiting period, Additional features common causes of claims contact details for intermediaries known as the deferred period. This While GIP provides a highly makes this type of support and insurers in the market. is typically 26 weeks after the desirable fi nancial benefi t for an particularly useful. According to employee fi rst goes off sick. employee who is unable to work research published by Group Risk What are the costs involved? Full cover costs between 1% and Benefi ts are paid to the because of illness or injury, a plan’s Development (Grid) in December 1.5% of gross payroll, but a employer, which deducts tax and additional features can be even 2013, the two largest causes limited-term policy can reduce more valuable. national insurance before paying of claims in 2012 were mental the cost to 0.25%. the employee. The amount that is Most insurers include a illness and musculoskeletal paid can be fi xed or can rise in line rehabilitation service, which can conditions, each accounting for with infl ation or a set percentage. help employers manage sickness 21% of claims. These are areas The policy will pay out until the absence and provide advice and where early intervention and employee reaches state pension medical intervention to facilitate targeted treatment can boost an

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 67

EB_0314 67 17/02/2014 11:16 BUYER’S GUIDE

PRODUCT FILE

employee’s chances of recovery. STATISTICS The facts To give their rehabilitation services the best possible chance The increase in the number of lives covered under group of success, some insurers offer an 7% income protection (Group Watch 2013, Swiss Re, April 2013) What are the legal incentive for early notifi cation. For implications? example, Legal and General offers GIP has an exemption from a bonus of 5% of the annual The value of income protection claims paid in default retirement age premium to employers with 2012 (Group Risk Development, December 2013) legislation, which means £305m schemes covering at least 250 employers can stop providing it staff if they notify the insurer of at when employees reach the state The percentage of claims that were for musculoskeletal least 80% of absences within a pension age. problems or mental health conditions (Group Risk set timeframe. 42% Development, December 2013) What are the tax issues? Similarly, Ellipse gives a 10% Employers can usually get premium discount to employers corporation tax relief on that report all absences before the The cost of long-term sick leave to UK premiums and it is not end of the fi fth week of absence £3.1bn businesses (Centre for Economic and Business considered a P11D benefi t. or if there have been no Research report for Unum, June 2012) employees absent for more than What is the annual spend? four consecutive weeks in a year. According to Swiss Re’s Group staff suffering from stress and if the government introduced Watch 2013 report, published in EAPs on offer mental health problems. some form of incentive to do so. April 2013, in-force GIP Insurers have also added a variety Almost two million employees But, with auto-enrolment premiums totalled £563 million of benefi ts to keep GIP attractive had GIP cover in 2012, according continuing to roll out, such a move in 2012. even when there are no active to Swiss Re’s Group Watch 2013 is unlikely to happen soon. In the Which providers have the claims. The most common of report, published in April 2013, but meantime, insurers are seeking to biggest market share? these is an employee assistance sales are expected to have risen attract employers with more No market data is available, but programme (EAP), which provides further because of pensions affordable options. the largest provider is Unum, telephone-based support and auto-enrolment. As employees are Top of these is the limited-term which accounts for about 50% of information on topics ranging from opted into their employer’s policy, which can cut the cost of the market. Canada Life is in stress and mental health problems pension scheme, the link between cover by up to two-thirds. Rather second place, and other players to debt and parenting advice. EAPs workplace pensions and GIP than provide cover until state include Aviva, Ellipse, Friends can also support line managers by schemes has meant that many pension age, these plans pay out Life, Legal and General, Personal providing assistance with staff have automatically received for two to fi ve years, after which a Group and Zurich. work-related issues. GIP cover, too. lump sum of up to fi ve-times And although EAPs may be In fact, there are now calls to salary can be made. This lump sum Which providers have relatively common across the GIP make GIP a compulsory benefi t. could be used to pay redundancy increased their market share market, many insurers are looking Supporters of this move argue or fund early retirement. the most? to add features to differentiate that having insured benefi ts in Also, some insurers are looking Again, no market data is their products. For example, Ellipse place would signifi cantly reduce at ways to spread the cost available. offers an absence management the welfare burden on the state. between employer and staff. For service to make employers aware There are already indications instance, the fl exible funding of potential claims, and Legal and that employers back this step, arrangements on Unum’s Select General introduced an interactive especially if they were offered a plan enable an employer to pay a online stress toolkit in 2013 to help tax incentive. For example, in its fi xed amount for each employee, line managers identify and support Group Risk Employer Research, make a partial contribution of up Grid found that 52% of to 75% of the total contributions employers surveyed on behalf of the employee, or would support an allow employees to fund 100% of initiative to auto-enrol their contribution. employees into group As state benefi ts continue to risk protection reduce, insurers will explore other products alongside lower-cost options to enable more pensions. In addition, employers to take out GIP. 62% of respondents would be encouraged to offer their @ Read also How providers give added value: bit.ly/1gbgU4O employees protection

68 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 68 17/02/2014 11:16 CONTACT DIRECTORY

BENEFITS SOLUTIONS BENEFITS SOLUTIONS

At You at Work we’ve been helping employers create satisfied employees since 1998.

At Work We believe that by thinking from an employee’s Jelf Employee Benefits is one of the UK’s perspective about how their work fits into leading benefits consultancies, with a track record Defining Benefits their life, employers can deliver a total benefits of innovation and commitment to clients. We package that really adds up. construct tailored packages of support and advice to best suit you and your employees. That’s why we’ve launched plusyou™, the first online benefits platform to incorporate a Our comprehensive package of services is designed to help you improve the physical, emotional and range of employee support modules as well as financial wellbeing of your employees and includes: our comprehensive voluntary benefits suite, all s!UTO%NROLMENTAND0ENSIONS#ONSULTANCY TM under one roof. s(EALTHAND7ELLBEING3OLUTIONS Jelf Employee Benefits A defining set of benefit choices and tools that s2ISKAND0ROTECTION#ONSULTANCY (ILLSIDE#OURT s&INANCIAL%DUCATION simply make your employees’ lives better, and s&LEXIBLE"ENEFITS will define you as an employer of choice. "OWLING(ILL New Enquiries #HIPPING3ODBURY s)NTERNATIONAL3ERVICES Steph Shehan For us, it’s not just about rewards. "3*8 Working with you, we recommend the most 07500 890 924 appropriate blend of products and services to [email protected] For us, it’s all about you at work. Tel:  provide the best fit for your objectives. We have been recognised by industry peers for our customer 0800 037 0125 Email: [email protected] www.youatwork.com focused approach and have won awards across all [email protected] Web: www.jelfgroup.com areas of the business.

VOLUNTARY BENEFITS BENEFITS TECHNOLOGY A leading provider of Lifestyle Refresh your benefits platform Management; Employee Discounts; We can help you deliver a fresh, cost effective Concierge Services and Reward & and engaging benefits platform through our Recognition solutions. market leading software and services. With a range of clients from SMEs to large Staffcare Our integrated Benefits Portal can help you multinational organisations we are able to offer: 4 communicate, manage and administer: G Discounts – from over 3000 vendors which %REFRESH STAFFCARENET can be tailored to company or regional W: staffcare.net sFlexible Benefits s(OLIDAYSAND!BSENCE requirements Follow us: s4OTAL2EWARD s'LOBAL"ENEFITS G Concierge – facility to organise everything STAFFCARE s!UTO %NROLMENT s(23ELF 3ERVICE Xexec Ltd. from booking a holiday to finding a plumber 3TAFFCARE46 s"ENEFITS%NROLMENT s7ORKPLACE3AVINGS Tel: 0207 042 0756 G Reward & Recognition – fully integrated Email: [email protected] global platform 3TAFFCARE Web: www.xexec.com G Retail Vouchers – online ordering system Contact us now at [email protected] to see Contact: John Palman and salary sacrifice 3TAFFCARE what we can do for you.

www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk I March 2014 I 69

EB_0314 69 13/02/2014 12:56 CONFESSIONS OF A BENEFITS MANAGER Creative writing Candid is asked to take over the corporate pension newsletter and fi nds that the skills of a spin doctor are among the requirements

ig Bad Boss wants me to take trustees to send me a photo. do I explain that one to a layman? I also gives me the opportunity to over the pension newsletter. Big Bad Boss has asked me to have to dumb it down to the point add a funky burglar graphic. BHe has the audacity to tell me make sure the defi ned benefi t plan of saying he will manage the Finally, we end the newsletter it will be good experience. looks positive. Well, I don’t see how I scheme’s liability-driven investment with a section on company news. Personally, I don’t look for good can do that when the defi cit is a portfolio. Well that’s clear, then. This is meant to reassure members experience in the offi ce, because I number that frightens me, even We have a section on the funding that the company is solvent and full don’t like to be disappointed. I am though I am used to working with plan. Smarmy suggests that, of cash, so it can carry on making certainly not going to look for it in big sums. Worse, it is pretty much despite the fact we have not made eye-watering contributions to fund the context of pensions. Silly man. what it has been for the last few any of the investment returns it led the defi cit, seemingly indefi nitely. Still, I can see why he might want years, despite massive payments us to believe we would, we can still Big Bad Boss provides a a fresh pair of eyes on the from the employer. I really don’t see pay off the defi cit in fi ve years’ time summary from the Higher Beings’ newsletter. Smarmy Consulting has how I can make such dire news into as planned. I can write that down, report, but I have to edit it carefully. been preparing one for us for many a pretty picture. That gives me an but I still don’t get it. How can we be There is far too much talk about years, and it has, frankly, fallen idea. I’ll put the numbers inside a on track if nothing has happened as restructuring and reorganisation. I asleep on the job. You only have to nice graphic of a safe and perhaps well as we planned? leave in a few bits about pick up a copy and you will start no one will notice. Smarmy says that recent results, refurbishing offi ces and buying a rubbing your eyes and looking Investment returns post-valuation, are business in Poland. That is about the around for somewhere to snuggle have been lousy, and much better. Having sum of the good news on offer. I down. Dull, that’s what it is. the chart shows a c I am not worked with it for the feel like a spin doctor, creating Extremely dull. long lists of negatives. convinced I last few valuations, I political lies for the people. It’s For a start, it shows the old Even though we paid know it always says a dirty job. company logo. Whoops, I must have Smarmy a small will live to see that. You need a lot of Finally, the photos have come in forgotten to send the new one. No, fortune for advice, we the DB plan fully smoke and mirrors to from the other trustees. One of the come to think of it, Smarmy had the were in property survive as an actuary. employee-nominated members, new logo on a pitch it made for when we should have funded, and I am Still, I will present a bless him, has sent a photo from some other work, but its pension been in corporate not that old” nice graph showing the last century. He even had hair people work in a fusty little side bonds, and in the funding level back then. wing all on their own, and I don’t corporate bonds growing steadily over Most of the trustee photos look expect they get out much. when we should have been in the next fi ve years until we are like mug shots from Crimewatch, Apart from the logo, there are property. The only positive return 100% funded. I will show it, but I and I wonder if it is such a good some dreadfully outdated graphics. in the whole slide is the hedge still don’t believe it. I am not idea after all. Perhaps I can get our Where did they get those? And as fund. Not that I can say much about convinced I will live to see the plan marketing folk to touch up the for the cheesy employee photos, I that. I have seen the hedging fully funded, and I am not that old. photos a bit. They could also help can tell you one thing: they are not strategy, and it is impossible to I think we should, once again, me choose new fonts and a livelier photos of our real employees; they explain to anyone without an warn members about the pension colour theme. Who says pension are all smiling, for a start, and they actuarial qualifi cation. liberation scams kicking around. The work is not creative? are attractive. We have also appointed a thought of transferring someone’s Next time... Candid researches One thing I don’t see are any liability-driven investment manager, pension pot to a dodgy scheme is insurance pools. photos of the trustees. Surely, and those guys don’t come cheap. I enough to keep the trustees awake members would like to know who is have a description from Smarmy of at night. We can write about the taking care of their retirement? I what he will be doing, but I barely procedure changes we have made @ Read more Confessions at: bit.ly/RKlOt2 fi re off a quick email asking the understand it myself. How on earth to help prevent this happening. It

Employee Benefi ts accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to material submitted for publication. Copyright Centaur Media plc. All rights reserved. Independent assurance by No part may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Employee Benefi ts is published by Centaur Media plc., the UK’s premier PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP UK independent business publisher. For information about the range of products produced by Centaur, visit www.centaur.co.uk. The site contains details of Website Print vacancies at Centaur. You can subscribe online to Employee Benefi ts at www.centaursubs.co.uk. Subscriptions: 1 year: £92, 2 years: £168, 3 years: £205. audience audience 51,597 18,870 ISSN 1366-8722

70 I March 2014 I www.employeebenefi ts.co.uk

EB_0314 70 17/02/2014 11:20 Come and see us on stand A11

book UPCOMING now COURSES

24th – 28th March 2014 Compensation Management

23rd – 27th June 2014 Compensation Management

• Advance your career • Learn from respected reward professionals • Build knowledge, confi dence and expertise in reward and benefi ts

Practical, specialist training in the core skills of compensation and benefi ts Visit www.totalrewardgroup.com/academy/home or contact Nelia Freitas on 01732 780777

EB_0314 71 11/02/2014 15:31

EB_0314 76 04/02/2014 10:54