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Owain Thomas

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Articles by Owain Thomas

Protection Review 2015: ABI develops workplace sick pay statement

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is developing a workplace statement that will allow employers to tell employees exactly what sickness benefits they are entitled to.

  • Income Protection
  • 16 July 2015
Towers Watson merges with Willis in £11.4bn deal

Towers Watson has merged with insurance broker Willis Group in an $18bn (£11.4bn) deal to create a wide-ranging global advisory, broking, and solutions provider.

  • Adviser / Broking
  • 30 June 2015
Fit for Work service completes rollout in Wales

The Fit for Work (FfW) service has fully rolled-out across Wales and is also active in much of England.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 30 June 2015
NICE guidance puts senior management at the heart of workplace wellbeing

The body which develops clinical guidelines for the NHS has published guidance to support employers in creating healthy workplaces which will boost productivity.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 25 June 2015
Employers do not have skills to support mental health

Addressing mental health is still a massive challenge for the vast majority of employers.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 11 June 2015
Group risk rehab returns 1,500 to work early

More than 1,500 employees returned to work following rehabilitation from group risk benefits, according to trade body Group Risk Development (Grid).

  • Group Protection
  • 05 May 2015
European Court rules insurers need to include economic consequences of policies

Insurers are being warned by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that they must ensure consumers are able to understand the economic consequences of the policy being taken out.

  • Insurer
  • 23 April 2015
MetLife includes health check-ups in wellness week

All 400 staff at MetLife are being offered individual health consultations on key issues such as Body Mass Index and cholesterol levels.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 13 April 2015
Employers not liable for foreseeing stress related illnesses

The threshold for employers to foresee stress related illnesses in the workplace has been judged as a very high one.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 08 April 2015
Fit for Work to begin national rollout next week

The Fit for Work (FfW) service is to begin its nationwide rollout programme next Monday.

  • Group Protection
  • 06 March 2015
Benefits spend dips below 15% of salary

A decline in the number of active defined benefit pension schemes has fuelled a reduction in the cost of workplace benefits.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 12 February 2015
Time to Talk day: Ignoring mental health one of 'biggest threats to wellbeing of business'

Employers are being urged to take the issue of mental health within their workforce seriously on Time to Talk Day.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 05 February 2015
Employers want to spy on staff health app data

The majority of bosses would happily examine their employees' health app data if they thought they were faking sick leave.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 03 February 2015
Bupa launches corporate health and wellbeing app

Bupa is launching a wellbeing app that lets employers support and encourage the entire workforce to improve their health.

  • PMI
  • 22 January 2015
Fit for Work service taking first referrals

GPs in Sheffield are the first in the country to be able to refer patients to the Fit for Work (FfW) service, COVER's sister title WSB has exclusively revealed.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 14 January 2015
Competition regulator suffers embarrassing private health review climb down

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been forced to admit it got the biggest outcome of its inquiry into the private healthcare market wrong, An exclusive report from COVER sister title WSB has revealed.

  • Individual PMI
  • 24 December 2014
Fit for Work service launches

The Fit for Work (FfW) service has officially launched today.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 15 December 2014
Patients will travel 100 miles for better hospital care

Hospital patients would be willing to travel up to 100 miles to ensure they could attend a hospital with a better infection record.

  • PMI
  • 23 October 2014
GPs to refer only a third of eligible employees to Fit for Work service

GPs expect to refer just a third of eligible patients to the incoming Fit for Work (FfW) service and want it to be extended to people not working.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 13 October 2014
Health and Work Service to be renamed

The Health and Work Service (HWS) is expected to be renamed for a second time by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

  • Employee Benefits
  • 10 October 2014
Mental health patients given waiting time limits

Patients with mental health problems in England are to be given greater priority for treatment when waiting time targets are introduced in April.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 08 October 2014
Employers not explaining DRA-removal to older workers

Older workers are not being told about their right to continue working past age 65 while many employers are also choosing to restrict benefits for staff above this age.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 02 October 2014
Health and Work Service launch delayed until December

COVER's sister title WSB has exclusively revealed that the introduction of the Health and Work Service (HWS) has been delayed until December.

  • PMI
  • 29 September 2014
NICE guidance urges employers to promote culture of workplace wellbeing

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) wants employers to give line managers more flexibility and power to support workers' health and wellbeing.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 24 September 2014
Fixed-term staff not eligible for same benefits coverage

Employers do not have to give fixed-term employees the same insurance coverage as permanent staff.

  • Income Protection
  • 23 September 2014
HMRC reveals details of tax relief for return to work treatment

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published its proposals for the tax relief to be applied to employer funded return to work interventions.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 19 September 2014
Employers urged to support staff with musculoskeletal conditions

A report from The Work Foundation and Fit for Work UK is accusing employers of not doing enough to support people with chronic musculoskeletal disorders.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 08 September 2014
Employers demand transparency from private medical care

Employers believe greater transparency is required from private medical treatment providers - a view echoed by consumers.

  • PMI
  • 24 July 2014
Altmann appointed older workers' champion

Ros Altmann is taking on the government's new role as business champion for older workers.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 14 July 2014
Govt urged to take lead in tackling workplace mental health

The government must take the lead in tackling mental health related sickness absence and lost productivity, an influential commission argues.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 08 July 2014
GPs could be incentivised for HWS referrals and lose fit note responsibility

GPs could be given incentives to encourage them to refer employees to the Health and Work Service (HWS), but may lose the responsibility of issuing fit notes.

  • Income Protection
  • 25 June 2014
Global firms still developing benefits strategies

Multinational companies are still at the early stages of developing their global benefits strategy and management approach.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 24 June 2014
Dead staff still entitled to holiday pay

Employees who have died with outstanding holiday allowance should be paid this after their death, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 12 June 2014
Staff loyal to employers with good workplace benefits

Almost three-quarters of employees would remain at their current employer if they were offered a good benefits package, research reveals.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 30 April 2014
DWP slashes number of employees HWS will assist by a third

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has cut the number of employees its new Health and Work Service (HWS) will be able to support back to work by more than a third.

  • Marketing
  • 08 April 2014
Insurers promise to pass healthcare competition savings on to customers

Private medical insurers (PMIs) are promising to pass on any savings made from the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA) final remedies for the private healthcare market to customers.

  • PMI
  • 02 April 2014
CMA eases demands on hospital groups in private healthcare review

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is reducing some of its demands on private healthcare providers and practitioners to address lack of competition and consumer detriment issues in the market.

  • Regulation
  • 02 April 2014
Employers lack confidence in absence data

A significant majority of employers lack confidence in the accuracy of their absence data and even more do not calculate the total cost of employee health.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 27 March 2014
Employee benefits platforms - the route to success?

As technology becomes increasingly important, Owain Thomas examines how platforms can support the employee benefits.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 24 March 2014
Govt to act on majority of OTS benefits recommendations

The government has confirmed it will be "taking forward" almost all of the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) addressing the taxation of employee benefits and expenses.

  • Regulation
  • 20 March 2014
ECJ: Excluding women on maternity leave from training is discrimination

Automatically excluding female employees on maternity leave from training programmes is discriminatory, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

  • Marketing
  • 07 March 2014
Health and Work Service providers will not be paid on return to work success

Providers running the national Health and Work Service (HWS) will not be incentivised to return people to work.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 06 March 2014
Unison hits out at government 'obsession with absence'

Unison has criticised the government's "obsession with absence rates" after national statistics were published showing the number of absences per year had dropped by 40% since 1993.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 04 March 2014
High earning staff cost £30,000 to replace - Unum

Replacing staff with above average salaries in some sectors can cost as much as £30,000 per employee, according to a new study.

  • Income Protection
  • 24 February 2014
DWP expected to tender for HWS this week

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is expected to put out its tenders for private companies to run elements of the Health and Work Service (HWS) this week.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 12 February 2014
DWP: Employers could be forced to participate in HWS

Employer participation in the new Health and Work Service (HWS) could become mandatory if its initial voluntary structure is not a success, the government has admitted.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 11 February 2014
One million long-term absences occur every year

UK employers suffer almost one million long-term sickness absences each year, according to official government statistics released today.

  • Income Protection
  • 07 February 2014
Govt backs investment in staff wellbeing

Employment minister Jo Swinson MP has urged employers to invest in the wellbeing of their workforce - noting that there was growing evidence for benefits to businesses and the wider economy when doing so.

  • Employee Benefits
  • 06 February 2014
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