Benefits

BT to allocate £50m shares to employees
BT is to distribute £50m in shares each year to staff as it sets out to improve customer service, alter its workplace culture and improve workforce morale.

Champion flexible working to improve parents’ work-life balance
Support for flexible working should be visible from leadership level to help create “human-sized” jobs that enable a greater work-life...

Worker given free cigarettes seeks compensation after cancer diagnosis
A former tobacco salesman with inoperable lung cancer is seeking compensation from his former employer after he was given hundreds...

Starbucks to pay for employees’ degrees
Starbucks has announced it will fund UK employees through a Bachelor’s degree, in an expansion of its US education programme....

O2 increases paid paternity leave to 14 weeks
Mobile network O2 has increased paid paternity leave for all permanent staff to 14 weeks, which it claimed is among...

National minimum wage: What are employers getting wrong?
Two decades after its introduction, many employers are still getting caught out by the rules surrounding the national minimum wage....

‘Business lacks transparency over parental support’
LinkedIn has claimed to have revealed evidence of a “disconnect” between employers and employees over the issue of flexible work, as most working parents feel their employers are not fully open about their parental policies.

Employee experience gains importance in benefits offer
More than half of employers plan to develop their “employee experience” in a bid to boost engagement, recruitment and retention.

Apprenticeships should be opened up to single parents
Most single parents are being locked out of apprenticeships because of a lack of part-time opportunities and the difficulty of supporting children with such low pay.

Supporting employees who are exposed to traumatic birth
Thousands of women will go through a frightening or traumatic birth, the effects of which will continue to impact on...

Tax-Free Childcare failing to attract working families
Take-up of the government's Tax-Free Childcare benefit has been much slower than anticipated, official figures have shown.

Flexible working has plateaued, study finds
The number of people using flexible working arrangements has flatlined since 2010, despite the right to request flexibility being extended...

Employee engagement: the importance of recognition (webinar)
Recognition is closely associated with employee engagement, and a lack of recognition can have a detrimental impact on the workforce....

Sharp rise in pension auto-enrolment fines
The last financial year has seen a sharp rise in the number of businesses fined by the Pensions Regulator for...

In-work poverty and the role of HR
Many UK workers are falling below the poverty line and Brexit uncertainty may be making matters worse. Steve Herbert believes...