What’s in store for 2014?

At the start of a new year many companies will be considering what they want to achieve in 2014, and how they intend to go about it. Whether that is expanding the business with new recruits, continued advancements in your compensation, benefits and rewards department, or using the experience and strength gained in the last year to take the company into unexplored territory.

Whatever your aims are for 2014, now will be the time to start strategising and making sure you are taking into account all legislative and financial changes due to come in over the next year.

How will 2013 affect 2014?

Throughout 2013 one hugely discussed topic was auto-enrolment, and when companies would have to make these changes by. The issue was widely talked about because of the changing of start and end dates for employers to have completed their auto-enrolment process. As it currently stands the dates for employers to complete auto-enrolment according to size are as follows:

• 250 or more members – 1st October 2012 to 1st February 2014
• 50 to 249 members – 1st April 2014 to 1st April 2015
• 30 to 49 members – 1st August 2015 to 1st October 2015
• Less than 30 members – 1st January 2016 to 1st April 2017

Employers need to be aware when organising their benefits and rewards policies that the pension age has been raised, and an enticing benefit when recruiting high calibre candidates will be a substantial pension scheme. While auto-enrolment will put some employees more at ease over their long term plans, many will be looking at a strong pension plan as a big selling point with regards to rewards and benefits policies.

Whenever you are looking to recruit high calibre candidates, your reward and benefits package needs to reflect how much you value that candidate. With many people in their 40s facing another 25 to 30 years of work, attracting the experience you require for your vacancy in order to help your business grow, could depend on the size of the pension plan you are willing to provide.

Equality

Similarly, during 2013 attention was drawn to the still evident pay gap between genders, particularly in high paying sectors. According to research published by the Office of National Statistics in November 2013, on average, women in full-time employment earn almost £5000 less per annum than men.

The biggest pay gap was found to be in the health profession, where females experienced around a £16000 pay gap compared to that of the male counterparts each year. Women in culture, media and sport have the second biggest pay gap of £10000, while those in manufacturing earn nearly 24 per cent less than men.

Overall, women in the private sector earn 20 per cent less than men, whereas those in the public sector are experiencing a much smaller pay gap of 14 per cent.

Who will benefit in 2014?

Despite the seemingly gloomy news, the UK’s GDP is forecast to grow from 1.9 per cent to 2.2 per cent over the next year, and from 2.4 per cent to 2.5 per cent in 2015, with unemployment expected to fall to 7 per cent.

This is positive news for those companies with sights set on expansion over the next year, particularly those looking to utilise the number of high calibre graduates seeking opportunities. Taking on graduates can be beneficial for a business in a number of areas; they are quick to learn, enthusiastic and it allows companies to train and invest in fresh talent.

With on-coming financial stability on the horizon, many businesses may feel more inclined than ever to expand their territory and therefore their workforce. With Portfolio CBR we can help you find the high calibre candidates you require across the compensation, benefits and reward sector.

Whether you initially need employees on an interim basis, graduates or you would like to discuss how a reward professional could benefit your business with one of our team, contact us on 020 7650 3190 for more information.