Employment News
Failing to enhance shared parental pay may be indirectly discriminatory, finds EAT
People Management – 2 May
People Management discuss the case of Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, where the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that employers who enhance maternity pay, but only pay the statutory rate for shared parental leave (SPL) may be discriminating against men. Further claims of a similar nature are now to be expected.
All UK employment contracts ‘will have to change’ after NHS worker’s Supreme Court win
People Management – 26 April
Following a landmark decision by the Supreme Court in the appeal of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood, changes to all employment contracts in the UK may take place. The Supreme Court handed down its judgment which concluded that notice of termination takes effect when the employee reads the letter, not when the letter is sent by the employer.
EHRC gets tough on enforcing gender pay gap reporting
Lewis Silkin – 26 April
Following the deadline for companies of more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is ‘adopting a rigorous approach to enforcement’. The EHRC has sent out 1,456 letters to employers it believes failed to comply with the reporting deadline of 4 April, 2018.
Pensions News
Southerners pension pots almost twice the size of Northerners
FT Adviser – 4 May
According to research by Fintech company, PensionBee, savers in the south east of England have, on average, nearly double the pension pot to those living in the north east. The average pot size across the UK is £21,441, whereas the average pension pot for the north east is £14,513.
One in 10 over-55s targeted by pension freedom scammers
Professional Adviser – 4 May
A study conducted by Prudential has revealed that 9% of the 1,000 over 55s surveyed had been approached by suspected scammers since the launch of pension freedoms. Following the introduction of these freedoms in April 2015, one-third of respondents found the risk of being defrauded a ‘major concern’.
Defined benefit pension funding deficit falls to £200bn as of April 2018
Employee Benefits – 1 May
Research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has revealed that the funding deficit for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK has fallen to £200 billion. These figures are accurate as of April 2018, and represent a £250 billion decrease between November 2017 and April 2018.
Walmart to retain Asda scheme after Sainsbury's merger
Professional Pensions – 30 April
Following the merger of Asda with Sainsbury’s, it has been revealed that Walmart will retain the Asda Defined Benefit (DB) scheme in order to protect the interests of pension holders. The Sainsbury’s and Argos schemes combined have an accounting deficit of £261 million, whereas the ASDA scheme has a £68 million accounting surplus.
