Managing Employee Benefits

November 2018

Focused

Employee Benefits

CRACKING

DOWN ON pension cold calling

MENTAL HEALTH and

WELLBEING

Also in this issue...

Presenteeism Good news for carers Employee engagement

www.mattioliwoods.com

Saira Chambers employee benefits director at Mattioli Woods

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Welcome

Hello, and welcome to the October 2018 edition of Focused Employee Benefits, the newsletter created exclusively for you, our clients.

The employee benefits arena today is made up of many themes, from pensions saving to employee engagement and wellbeing. Recognising the diverse nature of our client’s needs, we have included a range of content from our team of specialist employee benefit consultants across the company, which we hope you find useful and informative.

If you have any queries or questions on anything within this newsletter, please contact your consultant. Alternatively, you can email info@mattioliwoods.com or telephone 0116 240 8700.

We are always keen to engage with our clients and would appreciate any feedback you have on this newsletter, which you can send to marketing@mattioliwoods.com.

Our contributors

Adrian Firth employee benefits consultant

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Ed Watling employee benefits consultant (healthcare)

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John Pollard employee benefits consultant

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About Mattioli Woods

Mattioli Woods is here to help and support our clients meet their aims and ambitions. Whether you are an internationally head-quartered business opening offices in the UK or a developed company with offices across multiple sites, we help you create the right benefits package for your employees.

Our services include:

• flexible benefits – our portals allow for all sizes of business, covering employee engagement, total reward statements and employee discounts

• pensions and workplace savings – pensions and group SIPPs

• employee health and wellbeing – financial education, executive financial counselling, healthcare and risk benefits

• specialist services – covering mergers and acquisitions and international

Government to consider five day’s paid leave for carers

In a report on how to better support employed carers, the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has said there is a “strong case” for five days’ statutory paid carer’s leave based on the existing statutory leave system.

According to the WPC, there were an estimated 5.4 million informal carers in the UK in 2016/17, with around 53% of all adult informal carers in employment: 35% full-time and 18% part-time.

In response, the Government said it “recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society”.

“The Government also recognises the important contribution carers can make in the workplace,” it said. “[We] note the WPC’s request to provide a full impact assessment for statutory carer’s leave. [This] would require extensive analysis and would need to be underpinned by practical considerations such as eligibility, extent of take up and process.

“We have set up an official level working group to work on this. This includes considering the practical questions that arise around introducing dedicated employment rights with the support of analysts so that any emerging carer’s leave proposal is most effective.”

For the Government’s full response, visit https://bit.ly/2M8zKAA.

The issue of “presenteeism”

Employers across the UK are losing valuable working time from their employees because of ill health even when they are at work, according to new research.

The Britain’s Healthiest Workplace report – compiled by health and life insurance provider Vitality and published in conjunction with the Financial Times – provides an in-depth understanding of 32,000 employees from 170 organisations health and the effectiveness of workplace health interventions.

Defining ‘presenteeism’ as “being present at work but being limited in some aspects of job performance by a health problem and thus experiencing decreased productivity and below-normal work quality”, it was found to have affected employees for 27.7 days in 2017. And, when added to sickness absence, it was found UK employers lost 30.4 days of productive time per employee – that’s six weeks a year, which is more than the statutory holiday entitlement of 28 days.

You can download the full report at https://bit.ly/2GIaU8i.

New home for Leicester office

In exciting news, the Leicester office of Mattioli Woods has moved to its brand-new building in the heart of the city’s centre.

Based at the New Walk development, the five-floor building features modern and flexible collaborative workspaces, training rooms geared towards employee learning and development, and a stunning Sky Lounge on the top floor for staff and client networking events.

The new building will not only help Mattioli Woods continue to put the client at the heart of what it does, but also continue with its plans for future growth while giving its people a workspace designed with health and wellbeing in mind.

If you’re ever in the area and want to look around the new office, or you want to organise a meeting with your consultant there, get in touch with them – we look forward to showing you around!

How much does employee engagement cost?

Cost is rarely a case of finance alone and, when it comes to making sure your employees are switched on day to day, resulting in better productivity and wellbeing, it definitely isn’t. Employee benefits consultant Adrian Firth explains more…

When it comes to delivering employee engagement, there’s an age-old question: how much does it cost?

Personally, I don’t think it needs to cost a lot of money at all. If you want to deliver something specific – and it’s outside of your company’s abilities to deliver it – then, obviously, you will have to pay for a professional employee benefits provider to create and deliver it.

However, if we think about it further, should we consider cost in terms of money alone? We shouldn’t – the benefits of employee engagement outweigh any money spent.

Switched on?

There’s an old joke about a CEO who was asked how many people work in their company. “About half”, they replied. The problem humorously being alluded to? Improving engagement and increasing productivity to reach the disenfranchised – a common objective in our wider economy right now.

There are various definitions of employee engagement, but most boil down to creating an environment of stimulation, recognition, continuous learning and development, all of which lead to a greater contribution by the employee. All studies clearly point to an engaged employee being a productive employee, with such engagement making them feel they are genuinely making a difference to the company and its outcomes.

So, if we are looking at cost as being something other than monetary – i.e. the benefits the company will receive back from increased productivity and efficiency – making a difference to your employee engagement isn’t “expensive”. Plus, some solutions can be cheap, if not free, to implement, such as:

• vision: employees should understand their goals and objectives and how they will benefit the organisation

• career: staff should feel their employment is challenging and meaningful, with opportunities for advancement

• recognition: often, poor performance receives instant feedback, while exceptional performance goes unnoticed – make sure the good ones get the attention they deserve

• confidence: managers should convey the need for staff to be exemplars of high ethical and performance standards

Such engagement “essentials”, in theory, shouldn’t require high monetary investment, as they function best through robust systems, clear communications and good behaviours, all of which should be woven into an employer’s engagement strategy. Sure, there’s a cost for the various additional supporting programmes and projects, as they require industry-specific experience and expertise to be delivered, but, when you think of the bottom-line benefits of such engagement, the cost starts to dwindle in importance.

It’s good to talk

Why? Well, with trends linking engagement with health in the workplace, a focus on nurturing and developing staff has led to employers challenging subjects that in the past have proved too difficult and delicate to approach, such as personal finances and mental/physical health. With each issue having a knock-on effect to the other – a mental or physical health issue can consume an employee, leaving their finances in disarray, for example, while problem finances can lead to stress, depression and absenteeism – this focus will do no end of good for employees’ health and wellbeing, resulting in increased overall productivity. Communication and engagement on financial wellbeing in particular is hugely complementary to the wider health of the workplace, while having an overall wellbeing engagement strategy is integral to help your staff be happy at work.So, does employee engagement “cost” a lot? No – even when you do have to spend some cash. Besides, for a vital strategy that could create more switched on, productive and efficient employees, is it one you can really afford to miss out on?

Driving workplace mental health and wellbeing

It’s a subject widely discussed – but, as an employer, how do you get behind the driving seat when it comes to helping your employees care for themselves? Healthcare employee benefits consultant Ed Watling talks us through it.

Already a hot topic, the focus on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace was ratcheted up several levels by the publication of Thriving at Work – the now famous Stevenson/ Farmer report.

One issue the report looked at was how the term “mental health” covers a wide range of conditions – it’s not only stress, anxiety and depression, or even disorders such as bipolar and schizophrenia – it also includes suicidal and self-harm tendencies. And, with the report finding 15% of employees have displayed at least one symptom of a mental health condition, the wide-ranging effect of mental ill health is clear to see. However, given its complexity, such impacts may not be obvious to work colleagues – or the individual – at the outset.

Getting help

Once individuals recognise the need for help – a challenge in itself – many are likely to initially see their GP. Unfortunately, general practitioners by definition are not mental health experts and are therefore probably not in the best position to clinically assess which form of therapy would be most appropriate. Additionally, mental health resources within the NHS are under constant pressure, with dependence on the so-called “postcode lottery” leading to waiting lists for consultations and treatment that can run to several months. With the consensus that early intervention leads the way to successful mental health outcomes, delays are only likely to worsen symptoms and complicate the condition, exacerbating the situation as a whole.

Since early intervention is recognised as being the best route to mental wellbeing, the Stevenson/Farmer report stated recommendations for the role of employers in driving good mental wellbeing in the workplace.

These are:

• developing and communicating a mental health at work plan

• building awareness of mental health among employees

• encouraging open conversations about mental health and the support available when employees are struggling

• providing employees with good working conditions

• ensuring employees have a healthy work/life balance and opportunities for development (continued)

• promoting effective people management through line managers and supervisors

• routine monitoring of employee mental health and wellbeing

This “pathway” is an ideal route to better workplace mental wellbeing, but how it is implemented can be open to interpretation.

Missing out

Many organisations still have no mental health strategy in place, so need to start from scratch and, as with most things in life, education and knowledge is often a vital first step – businesses and their staff can’t design a mental health strategy if they don’t understand what they are dealing with.

The first step should be training and awareness, perhaps by using accredited mental health first aid (MHFA) courses. These are available from a range of providers, and although content and delivery will differ, the key messages will help participants:

• identify the early stages of a mental health problem

• help someone who’s dealing with a mental health issue

• help stop someone from self-harming or hurting others

• help stop mental ill health from worsening

• help someone have a quicker recovery

• guide someone towards proper professional help

• break the stigma of a mental health problem

MHFA courses aren’t designed to produce trained counsellors, but to give participants both awareness of the issues and the skills to enable them to listen non-judgementally to colleagues. They should then have confidence to signpost sufferers to suitable help from the various agencies/organisations available – the NHS, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), health cash plans (HCPs), private medical insurance (PMI) and non-governmental organisations such as Samaritans, Mind, Heads Together and Sane.

What employers can do

With signposting to early intervention the key to reducing the impact of a mental health issue, many employers can utilise the services they have available to employees in the form of EAPs – either standalone, via group risk products (group life and income protection) or group healthcare (HCPs and PMI) – which can be an important first step.

EAPs come in many shapes and sizes, and provide direct access to help via telephone calls, and increasingly, by new technology – text messages, phone apps, etc – offering individuals the opportunity to use online tools and resources to look after their wellbeing, and self-manage some of the less serious mental health conditions. In fact, some give a mental health assessment or score.

Although these online tools are useful, people with more severe needs should seek specific clinical help from an appropriate medical practitioner.

As with most things, a variety of solutions is the best approach, matching help to individual needs. For some individuals an online service will suffice, while others may need the comfort of an anonymous phone call with a counsellor. Some require face-to-face assistance, support and treatment.

Needs must

Organisations need to take the issue of mental wellbeing seriously. Investing in training for staff and helping affected employees find assistance through both employee benefit and state solutions. Communication is key – firstly, employees should feel comfortable and supported discussing mental health concerns, and secondly, they must know where and how to pursue suitable help.

After all, there is little point in putting mental wellbeing benefits in place if staff aren’t aware of the help available and/or are too embarrassed or worried to seek assistance.

Hanging up the telephone: cracking down on pension cold calls

Earlier this year, you may have seen headlines regarding a cold calling ban on pensions. Employee benefits consultant John Pollard explains this further.

When the ban comes into force, the Government, working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR), will proactively communicate the fact the practice is illegal, informing consumers they should put the phone down when approached.

Why is this important?

Most of us believe we would spot a scam, yet scammers can be articulate and financially knowledgeable. They also have credible websites, testimonials and materials that can be hard to distinguish from the real thing.

Figures released over the summer revealed victims of pension fraud lost on average £91,000 each in 2017, and that 32% of pension savers in the 45 to 65 age range do not know how to check if they are speaking with a legitimate pensions adviser or provider 1 . Further back, Citizens Advice Bureau research found 9 in 10 people would miss the warning signs of a scam 2 .

Once scammers have successfully taken control of a pension fund, it can be invested in unusual and high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds, storage units or, simply stolen outright.

What will the ban actually do?

The ban will prohibit a wide range of activities through which people could be encouraged to access their pensions savings to invest in inappropriate or scam investments. This includes offers of a ‘free pension review’ and incentives to release pension funds early. It does not, however, extend to firms located overseas and, there will be exemptions – these will apply to FCA-regulated firms or to trustees or managers of occupational pension schemes regulated by TPR.

For example, these exemptions will cover calls from advisers following referrals (such as a solicitor referring a customer to a financial adviser), calls from a third-party administrator of an individual’s pension fund, and calls from a provider to the beneficiary of a deceased member’s fund.

Will a cold calling ban stop scammers?

Probably not, and it could promote scammers to consider other more sophisticated ways in which to scam their way into our pensions savings. However, the ban will look to minimise loopholes and should be flexible enough to be updated to counter emerging threats.

What the ban will definitely do, however, is shout loud and clear that scammers operate in the pensions arena, and that

with due diligence, clear guidelines and collective working between advisers, providers, employers, trustees and individuals, we can all stop being the prey for scammers.

Advisers, providers and trustees are already ensuring consumers comply with anti-money laundering requirements and issue warnings when individuals invest or take pension benefits, but we need to do more.

As our client, we recommend you follow the Pensions Regulator guidelines, encouraging your employees to visit either www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart or www. thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pension-scams to download guides and leaflets on what a pension scam looks like, how to avoid one, and what to do if a scam is suspected.

Everyone needs to know that no legitimate firm will cold call about a pension unless they have been given express consent or have an existing client relationship with the caller.

Consumers should:

• reject unexpected offers

• not be rushed or pressured

• seek impartial information and advice

• check who they’re dealing with using the FCA’s Financial Services Register

What is Mattioli Woods doing to help?

As provider, trustee, adviser and an employer, Mattioli Woods takes the issue of scams very seriously. We appreciate in a world of instant results that sometimes the procedures we go through may seem long-winded, but they are there to ensure the protection of everyone we deal with. So, if we query a new e-mail address, ask for clarification of a bank account, or ask for further information on a transaction, we hope you understand we are doing it to protect you, not to frustrate you.

Protection is of paramount importance when it comes to the data we hold. We have procedures in place governing the disclosure of personal information to third parties, data security and for checking the identity of individuals requesting information. This holds true internationally, too – any UKbased organisation acquiring personal data through others abroad must ensure they comply with data protection legislation, so our procedures also govern how we deal with data transfer out of the European Economic Area. If you wish, you can request a factsheet detailing the data protections we have in place.

The fact is, none of us want to end up becoming the prey of a scammer. Therefore, let’s work together to ensure our future is secure, rather than theirs.

1 http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/press/regulators-warn-public-of-pension-scammer-tactics-as-victims-report-losing-average-of-91000-in-2017.aspx

2 https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-citizens-advice-works/media/press-releases/consumers-missing-pension-scam-warning-signs-reveals-citizens-advice/

Issue 1 was produced in November 2018 Mattioli Woods plc, 1 New Walk Place, Leicester, LE1 6RU

www.mattioliwoods.comAuthorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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The articles herein represent the views of the author and are not intended as a personal recommendation to make an investment. Investments can go down as well as up in value and you could get back less than you invested. The value of tax reliefs depends on your individual circumstances. Tax laws can change. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice. Any investment decisions should be taken with advice, given appropriate knowledge of the investor’s circumstances.