This week’s news in brief

Absence management views

More than 95% of employers want to manage absence more effectively, according to research by employment information provider IRS. By taking part in an exclusive IRS survey, you can have the opportunity to share their success stories. The brief, confidential survey will give you access to the feedback from other employers about the most effective ways of managing absence.

The government has announced proposals to increase workers’ holiday entitlement from 20 days per year to 28. The government said up to six million workers would benefit from an extra eight days of annual holiday under the plans. Some employers currently include the eight bank holidays as part of workers’ 20-day annual leave entitlement.

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Pension closure at WH Smith

High-street retailer WH Smith plans to shut its final salary pension scheme. The move would affect about 2,000 workers who are members of the scheme. It has been closed to new recruits since 1995. WH Smith said the costs of continuing to run a final salary scheme would be “high and difficult to predict”.