Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to produce a feasibility study for a law to protect workers from stress caused by smartphones and “constant contact” with their bosses. It may ultimately forbid employers from calling staff during their free time. “There is an undeniable link between having to be constantly available for work and the rise in mental illnesses,” she said. The announcement comes after some companies had implemented similar rules. Daimler, the car manufacturer, has guaranteed stress-free breaks for its 100,000 employees by giving them the option to have all their new emails deleted while they are away. “Our employees should relax on holiday and not read work-related emails,” Wilfried Porth, a Daimler director, said. “With our ‘mail on holiday’ system they start back after the holidays with a clean desk. There is no traffic jam in their inbox. That is an emotional relief.” Deutsche Telekom does not send emails to staff in the evenings, at weekends and during holidays. In 2011 Volkswagen announced that its servers would stop sending emails to employees in the evening. Guntram Schneider, the labour minister for North Rhine- Westphalia, said he envisaged a law banning employers from contacting employees at certain times of the day, saying it was necessary for their sanity and health. The association of Germany’s pension providers said that 66,441 workers were on disability pensions last year because of mental illnesses, including depression. A large health insurer said that stress levels among workers had increased significantly in Germany in the past 12 months.
New Acas guidance on dress codes
3 September 2014
Acas has issued new guidance on dress codes and appearance in the workplace.
The guidance sets out the issues for employers to consider, rather than providing answers. Some of the areas it focusses on are tattoos and body piercings, and religious dress.
75 per cent of FTSE 100 have changed remuneration arrangements
5 September 2014
Three-quarters (75%) of FTSE 100 organisations have made changes to their remuneration arrangements in the past 12 months, according to research by Deloitte.
Many thanks to Employee Benefits for this report:
Deloitte’s annual survey on FTSE 100 directors’ remuneration found that employers are amending their arrangements as they respond to shareholder expectations and the government’s new rules on disclosure and voting. The research also found that salary increases continue to be modest with a median increase of 2.5%, while fewer organisations (16%) gave directors an increase in excess of 3%, compared to 25% in 2013. More than a third (35%) of chief executive directors and 30% of other executive directors received no salary increase. Median bonus payouts were 70% of maximum bonus opportunity, compared with 75% for 2011 and 87% in 2010. The median level of bonus opportunity is the same as in 2012, at 150% of salary. The research also found: 96% of companies now require executive directors to hold a minimum number of shares, compared with 62% last year.
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 67 of 521
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