Reward News
Reward news
ASDA equal pay claim AN APPEAL by ASDA to block an equal pay claim involving 10,000 workers has been rejected by the employment appeal tribunal (EAT). Male and female claimants are seeking to compare their jobs in the retail stores with the jobs of those working in ASDA’s distribution centres. ASDA has been granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB trade union, commented: “Instead of wasting money on litigation, we ask ASDA to be a market leader in solving this wide-ranging industry problem.” Cost base of businesses THE ANNUAL workforce survey of over 1,400 businesses undertaken by the British Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Middlesex University London (http://bit.ly/2xYFF6F), reveals that automatic enrolment (AE), the national living wage (NLW) and the apprenticeship levy (‘the levy’) have increased the cost base of businesses, which could lead to reduced opportunities for investment and wage growth. ● 75% report an increase in costs due to AE, with 23% indicating a significant increase ● 50% report increased costs due to the NLW, and ● 20% report increased costs due to the levy. Based on the forecast that the NLW will increase to £8.75 per hour by 2020, 38% of respondents said that they would raise prices of products and services, with a further 25% expecting to reduce pay growth. Just 35% of business would take no action, compared to 46% in 2016.
Low SShPL and SShPP take-up FIGURES FROM HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which were released under a freedom of information (FoI) request made by People Management , reveals that 7,100 men received statutory shared parental pay (SShPP) in the 2016/17 tax year, indicating few men may have taken advantage of SShPL. An earlier FoI request from law firm EMW revealed that just 3,000 parents took SShPL in the first three months of 2016, whereas 155,000 mothers took maternity leave and 52,000 fathers took paternity leave during an equivalent three-month period during 2013/14. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development last year found that just 5% of fathers and 8% of mothers had taken SShPL, but 21% of employers had received requests for SShPL. Further figures published by EMW show that though 661,000 mothers and 221,000 fathers took maternity and paternity leave in the year to March 2017, only 8,700 parents took SShPL. In response to a written question submitted to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Margot James MP, parliamentary under-secretary for the department, replied: “We will evaluate shared parental leave in 2018. We anticipate commissioning survey work to measure take-up as part of this evaluation.”
Zero-hour contracts fall STATISTICS PUBLISHED by the Office of National Statistics in September, reveals that in May there were 1.4million employment contracts which did not guarantee a minimum number of hours in use, down 33% from a peak of 2.1million in May 2015. The Labour Force Survey (http://bit.ly/2xYxmrl) found that 883,000 people (2.8% of those in employment), had a zero-hours contract role as their main job between April and June 2017, compared to 903,000 (2.9% of those in employment) between April and June 2016. Flexible working RESEARCH FROM flexibility experts Timewise busts the ‘mum myth’ about who works flexibly and why, and highlights how much UK businesses have underestimated the demand for a pattern of working that shuns the 9-to-5 routine. The report Flexible Working: A Talent Imperative (http://bit.ly/2yppMY8) reveals that: ● 63% of full-time (FT) employees already work flexibly ● 60% of FT employees who work flexibly say flexible working is part of their contract, but for 40% it’s an informal agreement ● 87% of self-employed FT people work flexibly. The preference for flexible working is strong amongst both men and women. 84% of male and 91% of female FT workers either currently work flexibly, would like to work flexibly, or would prefer to work part-time (PT). Among FT workers, 92% of those age 18–34, 88% of those age 35–54, and 72% of those aged 55 or above+, either currently work sor would like to work flexibly or would prefer to work PT. The most important reasons that FT workers who work flexibly find this to be important include: ● allows more control over work/life balance (an average of 57% across all age groups) ● reduces commute times – most important among those age 35–54 (37%) ● allows more time for leisure and study – most important among those age 18–34 (37%) and among those aged 55+ (32%) ● helps with caring for children and other dependents – similarly important for those age 18–34 (33%) as those aged 35–54 (28%). Amongst FT workers who do not work flexibly but want to, 77% see it as being beneficial or very beneficial; and 71% of FT workers who have a flexible working arrangement say it is essential or very important to them. Some 70% of PT employees who would prefer to continue working PT say their PT arrangement is essential or very important to them.
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Issue 35 | November 2017
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
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