Flex Bens Provision Continues to Grow

By Owain Thomas

Source: Workplace Savings and Benefits

Almost two thirds (62%) of employers currently offer flexible benefits packages and a further 21% are planning to do so in the future, research from Aon Hewitt reveals.

The survey also found that 60% of respondents opted to outsource the administration of flexible benefits with a vast majority (85%) satisfied with the service they receive.

This compares to just 50% for companies that manage the administration in house.

Aon Hewitt client director in flex administration Lorna Bradford said the study showed that the use of flexible benefits plans was widespread and on the increase.

"Offering a flexible benefits plan has very much become the norm across a number of industries," she said.

"With on-going concerns over cost and incoming challenges resulting from implementing pension auto-enrolment, we can only see the popularity of flexible benefits plans continuing to rise."

The survey questioned over 320 pensions and employee benefits managers representing around one million employees.

Overall, it showed that levels of concern around flexible benefits administration were low.

Any concerns raised tended to focus on cost and auto-enrolment, which respondents ranked as the two most important issues affecting flexible benefits over the next 12 months.

Bradford added: "With staging dates fast approaching, many employers are turning to their flex providers for help with dealing with the new requirements of auto-enrolment.

"It can be cost-effective for employers and providers to do this, by making use of the existing technology, infrastructure and data provided for flex administration.

"Our survey revealed that 35% of employers already use the same provider for both pensions and flexible benefits plan administration."

 


Social Network to Monitor Staff Benefits Mood

By Julia Rampen

Source: Workplace Savings and Benefits

Yammer is launching a tool to analyze employees’ reactions to company initiatives such as benefits.

The Microsoft-owned social network for businesses has introduced technology which tracks the emotions expressed in employees' comments, allowing employers to monitor the mood of staff in different departments and locations from a central dashboard.

The tool would analyze all employees' responses in order to gauge the overall reaction - allowing HR managers to quickly view the staff response to actions such as changing health benefits.

Underpinning the tool, created by digital technology company Kanjoya, is "emotion-aware sentiment analysis" which retrieves data from Yammer groups and can distinguish between 80 different emotions.

Users can then compare the level of different emotions expressed by employees and visualize them via a word cloud.

Its influencer analysis tool may also allow companies to pinpoint the most praised and well-liked individuals.

Yammer chief product officer Jim Patterson said: "By enabling this integration, Yammer customers will be able to recognize when something has affected employees either positively or negatively - and take action."

The tool is now available for all Yammer Enterprise users.

 


Employers Fear Supporting Staff Return to Work

By Owain Thomas

Source: Workplace Savings and Benefits
A large majority of employers feel ill-equipped to help staff return to work after illness while a significant minority are calling for auto-enrolment into group risk schemes, new research finds.

The Aviva survey revealed that just one in five (20%) organizations felt equipped to offer their employees rehabilitation support following long-term illness.

Nearly a quarter (22%) said they do not have the resource or expertise to manage people back into the workplace effectively and a similar number (25%) worried that they would have to carry on paying sick pay.

The survey of 500 employers also highlighted confusion about new state benefits and fears that introducing measures to respond to this could adversely affect workers.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) admitted they did not know how much benefit is paid through Employment and Support Allowance while nearly three quarters (72%), didn't know that people in the work related activity group could find their entitlement to ESA could stop after a year.

Just one in ten (11%) employers had reviewed their sick-pay arrangements following the welfare reform changes.

When the situation was explained, over a third (38%) of employers felt it would be a good idea to have a different approach for different conditions.

However, a quarter (24%) recognized the potential impact this could have on their workforce, noting that they would worry that employees would be forced back into work when they are not well enough to do so.

One in five (22%) also felt that it would be very difficult to have the correct measures in place to decide whether a person is fit for work.

In response to these problems, a significant minority (43%) said they thought employees should be auto-enrolled onto a scheme that gives them financial protection in the event of long-term sickness absence.

And around one in five (17%) added that they were already considering taking out group income protection.

Aviva head of group risk Steve Bridger said: "There is a concerning lack of awareness amongst employers about the State benefits relating to illness or injury.

"However, we're encouraged to see that employers recognize the benefit of auto-enrolling employees onto a scheme that gives them financial protection if they are unable to work due to long-term illness and aids rehabilitation."

 


Most Employees Not Given a Choice of Health Plans

Source: PLANSPONSOR.com

Most Americans get their health insurance coverage from employment-based plans, yet most employers do not offer a choice of health plans, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

In 2011, 84% of employers with health benefits offered only one plan; 15% had two choices; and 1% offered three or more options. Large firms were more likely to offer a variety of health plans than small firms; 42% of large firms gave two or more choices, compared with 15% of smaller firms. As a result, nearly one-half (47%) of covered workers had a choice of health plans, and according to the 2011 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, 59% of adults ages 21 to 64 with employment-based health coverage had a choice of health plans.

Among individuals covered by an employment-based health plan, those in consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) were more likely than those with traditional coverage to be given options. In 2011, 68% of CDHP enrollees had a choice of health plans, compared with 59% of individuals in traditional plans, and 48% of those with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs).

The greater variety for CDHP enrollees may be due to the fact that an increasing percentage of the CDHP population works for an employer with 500 or more employees and large employers tend to offer more benefit options, EBRI said in its July Notes.

Asked about the main reasons for enrolling in their plan, 50% of CDHP enrollees reported they chose that offering because of the lower premium, while 45% said the opportunity to save money in the account for future years was a primary concern. Among individuals with traditional health coverage, 39% cited the good network of providers and 32% reported the low out-of-pocket costs as the main reasons for enrolment.

Among individuals with a choice of plans, CDHP and HDHP enrollees were less likely than those with traditional coverage to say they were extremely or very satisfied with the quality of care received.

More information can be found in the July EBRI Notes at https://www.ebri.org.


OUTMATCHED

Fewer employers are offering a company match to their retirement benefits, a new study by the Society for Human Resource Management finds. About two-thirds of companies currently match their employees' contributions today, compared with 75 percent in 2008.


WORK/LIFE SURGE

Technology has spawned an increase in work/life balance among U.S. workers over the past three decades, according to a Workplace Options study. Forty-three percent of respondents said they've seen an increase in work/life benefits and access to professional development in their current job compared with their first-time job. Also, 28 percent said their current company has increased work/life benefits in the past five years despite the rough economy.


Benefit Aspects of Employee Leaves of Absence

Employee leaves of absence raise a number of difficult questions under federal employment laws.  Must a requested leave be granted?  Under what conditions?  Must the employee's position be held open so that the employee may return to it after the leave?

In addition to those questions, employers often must address the benefits-related aspects of any leave of absence. Complicating a benefits manager's task are a host of federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, COBRA and more.

Learn what you need to know to cope with leave-related challenges from your workforce. Please contact us for more information.


LEVEL WELLNESS

A recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 61 percent of companies are offering some sort of wellness initiative this year, up only slightly from 58 percent in 2008. Although wellness adoption by employers seems to have leveled off in the past few years, the elements of the programs have changed. For instance, 45 percent of polled employers said their program includes health and lifestyle coaching, compared with 33 percent in 2008.


OSHA launches heat safety phone app

Source: https://www.wave3.com
By Joey Brown

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – The extreme heat can be a work hazard for some people, and for that reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has created a mobile phone app to help keep workers safe.

The OSHA Heat Safety tool provides vital safety information whenever and wherever it is needed on workers' mobile phones.

The app allows workers and their supervisors to calculate the heat index for their work site and displays a risk level to outdoor workers. It also issues reminders about protective measures that should be taken at that risk level to protect against heat-related illnesses.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are responsible for the safety and health of their workers, including conditions that could lead to heat-related illness.

To get the free smart phone app, search for "OSHA Heat Safety Tool" at the App Store.

 


How can company policies prevent injury?

Source: https://www.riskandinsurance.com

Implementing, enforcing policies can improve bottom line, study suggests

Prescription drug abuse, texting, and falls by older adults are among the emerging injury threats cited in a new study. It suggests policymakers and others implement and enforce policies to reduce preventable injuries.

More than $400 billion is spent annually in lifetime costs for medical care and lost productivity resulting from injuries. While the report focuses on steps states can take to prevent injuries, the recommendations are also appropriate for employers trying to reduce workers' comp costs and improve their bottom lines.

Injuries are the third-leading cause of deaths nationally, according to the researchers. Among the most common types are:

  • Falls. "More than eight million Americans suffer falls that require medical attention each year," it says. One in three people age 65 and older experiences a fall annually, and falls are the leading cause of injury deaths in adults over 65 years of age. Falls can be reduced "by as much as half" among participants involved in exercise programs.
  • Violence. Injuries caused by intimate partners alone cause more than 2,000 deaths a year. Nearly three in 10 women and one in 10 men have experienced physical violence, rape, or stalking by a partner.
  • Misuse and abuse of prescription drugs. The report notes the dramatic increase in the past decade, saying prescription painkillers are responsible for approximately 15,000 deaths and 475,000 emergency room visits a year.

For employers, injuries mean lost productivity as well as increased workers' comp and health care costs. Adults between the ages of 25 and 44 comprise 30 percent of the U.S. population but account for 44 percent of injury-related productivity losses.

Overall, businesses lose $326 billion in productivity annually due to injuries. Motor vehicle and other road-related accidents are responsible for $75 billion of the total while falls account for $54 billion, and struck by or against costs $37 billion.

"Many injuries are predictable, preventable and controllable," according to the study. "For instance, researchers found that seat belts can greatly reduce the harm caused to individuals in motor vehicle crashes."

The study, The Facts Hurt: A State-by-State Injury Prevention Policy Report, cites research showing seat belts saved an estimated 69,000 lives between 2006 and 2010. However, 18 states do not have primary seat belt laws.

Thirty-one states do not require helmets for all motorcycle riders, although research says they saved an estimated 8,000 lives from 2005 to 2009.

The researchers ranked the states in terms of their injury prevention efforts based on 10 key indicators. They included whether the state has enacted a prescription drug monitoring program, whether it has a primary seat belt law, and whether it requires a helmet for all motorcycle riders.

California and New York received the highest score while Montana and Ohio netted the lowest.

"Millions of injuries could be prevented each year if more states adopted additional research-based prevention policies and if programs were fully implemented and enforced," the report says.

"We could dramatically bring down rates of injuries from motor vehicles, assaults, falls, fires and a range of other risks even more if more states adopted, enforced and implemented proven policies," said Amber Williams, executive director of the Safe States Alliance. Hers was one of several groups that teamed up with the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the study.