Articles by Hannah Uttley
Aviva Life new business leaps 14% but Friends Life fails to perform
Value of new business at Aviva Life climbed 14% in quarter one of 2015 to £247m, but results from acquired business Friends Life disappointed, according to interim figures.
Paradigm launches adviser events series
Paradigm Mortgage Services has announced a series of events for advisers including best practice in the protection industry.
Fit for Work service has three month cap
Employees have three months to return to work under the new Fit for Work (FfW) service or they will be discharged from the programme, the government has announced.
Clegg to chair mental health taskforce
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg plans to ramp up efforts to tackle mental health discrimination and improve services by setting up and chairing a cross-government taskforce.
Mental health 'culture of silence' requires 'urgent action'
UK employees are continuing to hide mental health conditions from their employers in fear that it will damage their career prospects, findings from Friends Life reveal.
NHS chief demands financial incentives for healthy workplaces
Employers who provide workplace health programmes could be offered financial incentives under proposals suggested by the head of the NHS.
Four-day week needed to reduce stress, says top doctor
Reducing the working week to four days would help to combat work-related stress and the mental ill-health associated with overwork or lack of work, one of Britain's leading doctors says.
Flexible working changes introduced but many workers will still 'lose out'
The right to request flexible working has been extended to all employees from today, where it was previously limited to just parents and carers.
Tech companies look to benefits packages over pay increases
Just 17% of technology firms will see standard pay increases across their organisation compared to roughly half of that of other industries (32%), research reveals.
OH Nurse: I do not see how Health and Work Service will work
An occupational health nurse has questioned the viability of the government's Health and Work Service (HWS) and in particular the ability to conduct return to work consultations over the telephone.
Women most worried about impact of illness on career prospects
Six out of ten women return to work early from sickness or injury because they are worried it might impact on their job prospects research finds.
Aon completes Lorica merger
Aon has completed its acquisition of Lorica Employee Benefits following an announcement in March that it would be purchasing the UK consultancy firm.
Workplace wellbeing is a 'business imperative'
The wellbeing of employees is not a "fluffy nice to have" but a "business imperative", according to Right Management Workplace Wellness.
EAPs are 'get out of jail free card' for companies
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are not a motivational tool for employees and are all about "protecting the risk of a company", says First Group reward and pensions director John Chilman.
Employers should be more 'carer-friendly'
Businesses should, as far as is reasonable, make adjustments to support employees who are caring for disabled family members, the Equality and Humans Rights Commission (EHRC) will tell the Court of Appeal today.
A third of workers would consider leaving job over poor workplace wellbeing
Employees who feel cared for are 27% more likely to stay with their current employer for over five years, compared to those who feel adequately or poorly looked after, research finds.
Aviva: Overweight adults 'living in denial'
Half of UK adults are classified as either overweight (31%) or obese (19%) yet a significant proportion believe they are in very good or excellent health, research finds.
Cycling to work could save 1m sick days each year
Employers could substantially reduce the number of days lost to sickness absence each year by taking steps to bridge the "UK bike commuting gap", analysis by Edenred finds.
Bupa backs workplace mental health culture change
Leaders of UK businesses including Bupa, BT, RBS and Mars are collaborating to launch a new campaign that aims to end the "stifling" culture of silence on mental health in the workplace.
Employers 'culturally less accepting' of paternity rights
A number of cultural and financial barriers appear set to impede the take-up of the shared parental leave scheme, according to a report by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).
Budget 2014: Govt to conduct review of pay and benefits practices
The government will undertake a call for evidence on remuneration practices to inform future policy changes, as it believes current rules can lead to "unfair outcomes".
Generali UK extends EAP support service
Generali UK has upgraded its employee assistance programme (EAP), allowing all UK employees of its group income protection (GIP) policyholders to benefit from the scheme.
Government raises minimum wage to £6.50 per hour
The government has approved a recommendation by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to increase the national minimum wage (NMW) to £6.50 per hour in October this year.
1 in 4 to work beyond age 65
Almost two-thirds of employees say they will be forced to make up for a deficiency in their pension with a wage, findings from Canada Life reveal.
Sickness absence falls by almost 40% in 20 years
The average number of days lost to sickness absence has fallen by almost 40% since 1993, dropping from an average of 7.2 days per worker to 4.4 days in 2013.
Employers would 'almost be crazy' to ignore HWS
The only way the government's new Health and Work Service (HWS) can work effectively is if "people are forced" to take part, says Jelf Employee Benefits head of benefits strategy Steve Herbert.
1m more workers receiving workplace benefits in last year
The number of workers without access to workplace benefits has dropped by around one million over the last 12 months, according to research.
World Cancer Day: Prevention 'absolutely critical' for global cancer burden
The burden of global cancer is rising and there is a "real need" to focus on preventing it through tackling smoking, obesity and drinking, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Only half of NHS trusts support staff mental wellbeing
NHS trusts are failing to fully support staff's health and wellbeing, with just over half (57%) having a mental wellbeing policy in place, research reveals.
Wellness initiative boosts workers' activity levels by 72%
A nationwide initiative to improve the health of the British workforce has seen activity levels of UK workers rise by 72% and surpass NHS guidelines by 137%.
AE and group risk: breaking the bond
The first year of auto-enrolment has enjoyed low opt-out rates and relatively high levels of compliance. But what does this mean for group risk schemes? Hannah Uttley investigates the impact of AE on the group risk market.
Direct correlation between employee income and health, study finds
Lifestyle risk factors are more prevalent among low income earners, a study has found, demonstrating a direct link between income and health.
Prevention 'the future' for employee healthcare
Prevention is the key to sustainable employee healthcare and reducing the associated long term costs and absence levels, according to Jelf Employee Benefits.
Flexible working reduces employee stress
Almost seven in ten (69%) employees say that flexible working is critical in easing work-related stress, according to a survey.
Over £1bn group risk claims paid out in 2012
A total of £1.2bn worth of group risk claims were paid out during 2012, helping over 23,000 UK families to avoid financial distress, research finds.
Brits more likely to insure pets than themselves
Britons are twice as likely to hold pet insurance than a critical illness policy, despite family and health issues being top concerns, research finds.
Court of Appeal rules employers cannot 'rubber stamp' employee disability
The Court of Appeal has ruled that employers cannot ‘simply rubber stamp' an opinion provided by occupational health advisers regarding an employee's disability.
Half of employees looking for new job due to lack of trust
Over 87% of employees will be looking for a new job in 2014, with over half (52.6%) doing so because they do not trust their boss, research finds.
Employers failing to fully support expat employees
Expats who have moved abroad to work feel they would have benefitted from a greater level of support from their employers, research finds.
'Disability confidence' of employers 'crucial' to employment rates
More employers should become ‘disability confident', the disability employment service provider Remploy urges.
DWP's Health and Work Service advice plans slammed as 'templated rubbish'
The amount of experienced occupational health therapists available is "not enough to meet the timescale" of the government's new health and work scheme, an independent occupational health adviser says.
Employee value proposition 'defines employment deal'
Less than half (43%) of employers have a long-term plan in place for getting the most out of their employee value proposition (EVP), research has found.
Employers believe healthcare benefits are 'unsustainable'
Almost two-thirds (62%) of employers do not believe that their current healthcare benefits are sustainable in the long-term, a survey finds.
Recognition motivates employees to go further in role
Three-quarters (73%) of employees say that recognition motivates them to do a better job, research finds.
Over half of employers support group risk auto-enrolment
More than half(52%)of employers would be supportive of auto-enrolling employees into group risk protection products, latest research finds.
Employers expect productivity to increase in line with economy
Employers are less likely to increase staff levels in 2014 as they expect productivity to improve once the economy picks up, research has suggested.
Employers urged to update cancer care provision
Employers should be reviewing their current stance on cancer care and delivery by considering bespoke treatment pathways, according to Towers Watson.
Quarter of overseas staff would return due to ill health
Access to good quality healthcare is a top concern for people working abroad, with one in 10 (10%) admitting to having little knowledge of how overseas health systems operate.