In September 2026, The Guardian reported that Starbucks workers responding to a Starbucks Workers United survey faced sharp increases in their health-insurance contributions for cover beginning on 1 October. More than 130 workers from union and non-union stores took part. The newspaper described individual employees who expected to drop coverage or considered taking another job because of the cost. The evidence is serious as testimony, but the survey is

In September 2026, the European Commission published an account of its 10 September workshop on supplementary pensions and auto-enrolment, organised with the Irish Presidency of the Council. The Commission says automatic enrolment has helped increase participation and reduce pension gaps, particularly where occupational coverage is low. Its 25 September note encourages national initiatives while explicitly rejecting a simple copy-and-paste model across Member States. That distinction matters to employers. The

In November 2023, France enacted a law extending value sharing through a five year experiment. Article 5 applies to qualifying employers with at least eleven employees outside mandatory participation requirements, using a net taxable profit test of at least 1% of turnover over three consecutive financial years. The obligation concerns financial years opened after December 2024. It offers several specified mechanisms, so it should not be presented as a

Most organizations significantly lag behind their employees’ expectations for total rewards offerings, according to Bersin’s High-Impact Rewards (HIR) research, a new study area that focuses on employee total rewards. The study released in April 2018 suggests that, with the right strategies in place, organizations that fall short of employee expectations can build a rewards brand that attracts, retains and motivates the most talented workers. As employees and candidates become

Bug Insights’ human resources analytics and rewards optimization offering in November 2017 was acquired by Deloitte Consulting. Viewed as a critical step on the journey to creating a total relationship with employees, the offering allows employers the ability to determine what their employees value most from their rewards programs. It leverages trade-off analysis and employee preference measurements to give companies specific information about their employees’ attitudes, helping to design

Recognition of dedicated, long-term service is the most prevalent type of rewards and recognition program in place among Canadian employers. However, a Conference Board of Canada study published in June 2017 suggests that these programs may not appeal to younger generations who typically have shorter tenures. The Power of Appreciation: Rewards and Recognition Practices in Canadian Organizations summarizes the findings of a survey conducted between June and August 2016