HR News Beat 3/5/18: Hong Kong gets positive salary guide

In today’s HR News Beat, Kelly Services says things are looking up salary-wise in Hong Kong this year, and Singapore will widen its Employment Act to cover more PMEs.

Kelly Services releases 2018 salary guide for Hong Kong

The Kelly Services’ 2018 salary guide for Hong Kong has been released and it paints a positive outlook for workers there. The report says employers are more open-minded and flexible now, in addition to using more part-time, contract, or temporary staff to find workforce solutions. The report forecasts a 2.8% GDP in growth this year, puts inflation at 2.5%, and projects average salary increments at 4.1%. To read the entire report, click here.

Singapore Parliament to widen Employment Act to cover workers making more than $4,500

Lawmakers in Singapore’s Parliament say they’re going to open the Employment Act to more people. They want to add higher-paid workers called professionals, managers, and executives, or PMEs. This means PMEs will be entitled to thingssuch as paid sick leave and compensation for wrongful dismissal. These are only available to PMEs who earn up to a set salary cap of $4,500 a month and non PMEs currently. Removing the salary cap will benefit 430,000 more PMEs. For more on this story, click here.

United Airlines:  Quarterly bonuses out, lottery in

United Airlines is replacing its quarterly bonus program with a lottery.  Under the old system, employees were given pay incentives to hit performance targets.  Those incentives ranged from $60 to $7,500.  Under the new system, workers who hit performance targets will be entered to win prizes.  Those include cars, vacations, and a chance to win $100,000.  The airline says just under 2% of its 86,000 employees will be winners.  For more, click here.

ATD Announces News Board Chair

The Association for Talent Development has chosen Tara Deakin as its 2018 board chair. Deakin is the Senior Vice President, Talent & Organization Effectiveness for TD Bank Group. She has more than 16 years of progressive experience in the field of organizational development and learning. As the lead for TD’s enterprise talent and organization development strategy, Ms. Deakin’s mandate is to grow the power of TD’s 85,000 employees and attract new colleagues to ensure the bank's future growth and ongoing delivery of legendary customer experiences. Talent acquisition, talent management, organizational effectiveness, learning and development, diversity, and inclusion are the core components of Ms. Deakin's portfolio.  Click here for more.