dimensions of work-related stress. These workers were also 46% more likely to get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep each night and 21% more likely to be obese.
Many employers aim to mitigate the impact of a long or stressful commute by offering flexible or home working arrangements to employees. The study showed that flexible working has a positive impact on both employees’ physical and mental health and their productivity. Employees who are able to work flexibly were less likely to be stressed or depressed, and were also less likely to smoke, be obese or get insufficient sleep. These employees also had an additional five productive days each year compared to those with no flexible working arrangements. However, the study’s results suggest that working from home does not bring the same benefits. Employees who were able to work from home but did not have flexible working arrangements were in fact the least productive, losing 29 working days each year – even more than those with no home working or flexible working arrangements.
Read the full press release from Vitality .
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Do your employees know about the new Childcare Choices website 30 May 2017
The Childcare Choices website includes a Childcare Calculator for parents to compare all the government’s childcare offers and check what works best for their families.
Working parents can start applying for help with their childcare costs through the new digital childcare service.
Through the Childcare Choices website parents can also pre-register for email alerts that will notify them when they can apply, as well as providing details of existing government childcare offers.
Parents of children who will be under 4 on 31 August 2017, and parents of disabled children under 17, will be able to apply through the childcare service for Tax-Free Childcare. Parents of 2-3 year olds who will be eligible for a 30 hours free childcare place in September, and are younger than school age, can apply through the childcare service and start arranging their place with their childcare provider. Parents with more than one child can apply for all their children when their youngest child becomes eligible.
All of this can be done through the government’s Childcare Choices website.
CIPP comment
The Policy team would be interested to hear members’ views:
Are you being affected by the rollout of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC)? Is there a reduction in employee requests for childcare vouchers? Are you experiencing an increase in questions from employees? Do the UK wide differences in childcare provision make a difference? Maybe you are a childcare provider - how are you finding the new system? Have you been able to register easily? Can you track payments authorised through and processed from the TFC accounts?
All feedback is welcome so please do take a moment to share your experiences so far by emailing us at policy@cipp.org.uk .
Thank you.
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The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Policy News Journal
cipp.org.uk
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