All Analysis articles – Page 106
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Analysis
Tax anomalies around healthcare benefits
There are a number of anomalies in the taxation of healthcare benefits, so it is essential for employers to check the rules, says Sam Barrett.Tax was never designed to be simple, but the rules surrounding some healthcare benefits are littered with anomalies, with the tax treatment depending on the benefit, ...
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Analysis
The impact of the equality debate on benefits
Gender bias is still apparent in many organisations, but it is in employers' interests to work towards creating a level playing field, says Jenny Keefe.One of the latest exports to cross the pond from the US to the UK is Glassdoor.com, a website on which employees can publish their salary ...
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Analysis
Controlling the cost of international private medical insurance
International private medical insurance can be pricey, but as cover is essential for some employees working abroad, there are ways for employers to minimise their bill, explains Edmund Tirbutt.†Private medical insurance (PMI) is well known for its cost. Employers who send staff to work overseas for any length of time, ...
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Analysis
The Pension Protection Fund levy
When the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) raised the levy some final-salary pension schemes must pay in May, many employers were dismayed. The PPF set the scaling factor for the levy's crucial risk-based element at 3.77 for 2008-09, more than 50% above the 2.47 applied the previous year. The scaling factor ...
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Analysis
Building a sickness absence strategy
Employers need to have a formal sickness absence strategy in place, both to identify shirkers, and to highlight and resolve genuine problems within their workforce, says Sally Hamilton.Absence from work costs the UK economy £13.2bn a year, with the average employee taking almost seven days off sick, according to the ...
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Analysis
The future of traditional company car schemes
Tax changes may have made most company cars less attractive as a perk, but corporate manslaughter legislation has left employers in a quandary over alternative arrangements, says Nicola Sullivan.†Traditionally, employers have regarded company cars as one of the most valued perks they can offer, but changes in tax rules mean ...
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Analysis
Special report: total reward
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTotal reward plays an important part in employee engagement, which in turn can make a big difference to productivity. It is about all the ways in which people are rewarded when they come to work: pay, benefits and the other non-financial rewards put together to make a coherent ...
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Analysis
What UK remuneration committees will consider when setting executive reward in Autumn 2008.
Executive Summary This autumn’s remuneration committee (remcos) meetings will be weighing up the internal and external factors influencing a company’s performance, then balancing this against the need to reward executives without upsetting shareholders who have also been hit by falling share prices. Executives get greater comfort from their annual bonus ...
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Analysis
Executive health and wellbeing
The wellbeing of senior executives is crucial to a company’s health says Sally Hamilton.An organisation’s top team can be its greatest asset, but also its greatest liability if they struggle to keep pace.Keeping those executives in tip-top condition, both physically and mentally, is one way to reduce the financial risks ...
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Analysis
Rebroker health insurance benefits for a keener price
Executive Summary Life assurance is price driven, so to reduce the premium look for a more competitive deal every couple of years. Private medical insurance premiums can be reduced by removing psychiatric cover, alternative therapies, maternity cover, exclusive hospitals and by adding an excess. Switching providers can also ...
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Analysis
Planning for personal accounts in the run up to 2012
The introduction of personal accounts (PA) in 2012 may seem like yet another periodic reorganisation of the British pension system, but finance directors should not underestimate its potential impact.PA were first recommended by the Pensions Commission, led by Lord Turner, as a way to boost pension provision among the low-paid ...
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Analysis
Transferring staff out of defined benefit pensions to reduce liabilities
Employers’ concerns over defined benefit liabilities should ensure that enhanced value transfers are here to stay, Matthew Craig reports.As Jane Austen moght have said, had she been a pensions consultant, it is truth universally acknowledged that a finance director in possession of defined benefit (DB)†scheme must be in want of ...
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Analysis
The role of reward during a recession
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Benefits are an obvious target for a cost review, with many employers still not maximising the savings on benefits. It is better to be innovative about adjusting existing policies than removing benefits that are contractual. Most employee contracts are structured with enough flexibility to enable companies to tweak ...
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Analysis
Tailor flex to aid recruitment
Flexible benefits packages are a tool that helps recruit as well as retain staff, but it's the way that they are structured that can give employers the edge, argues Alison ColemanWhen it comes to staff retention, flexible benefits schemes that allow employees to choose their own perks up to a ...
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Analysis
Pay at heart of employees' choice of employer
Pay always eclipses all other concerns when it comes to employee priorities, but well thought-out bonus schemes can really aid performance and retention, says Peta HodgeIf you are looking to recruit, you can't avoid the issue of pay. The Employee Benefits Research 2008 found that when employees were asked which ...
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Analysis
Staff look for total reward package
In the scramble to secure the brightest talents, conveying the total reward package can help give employers a vital competitive edge in recruitment, explains Victoria FurnessTwenty years go, conversations between candidates and employers about remuneration would have focused exclusively on pay and benefits. Fast-forward to today and the picture is ...
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Analysis
Make pensions competitive to lure new staff
Pensions provision must be competitive, clearly communicated and flexible if schemes are to be used to lure new staff, says Ceri JonesLook at any research about remuneration packages and a pension will always be in the top two most-cherished benefits.For example, research on Trends in Employee Benefits published in 2008 ...
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Analysis
The role of healthcare perks in recruitment
The most attractive and effective health and wellbeing packages are those that have been carefully tailored by employers to suit the profile of their workforce, argues Sam BarrettEmployers are tapping into the UK's obsession with health and fitness, putting together benefits packages with healthcare perks, such as private medical insurance, ...
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Analysis
Recruitment challenges
Despite the grim picture in the broad economy, employers must expect to compete hard if they wish to lure the best candidates to their most demanding roles, argues Jenny KeefeWith Britain’s economic slowdown showing no sign of waning, employees could be forgiven for feeling gloomy about the jobs market. Unemployment ...
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Analysis
Constructing an internet policy for staff to avoid abuse
Employees who have been able to watch online video streaming of the Olympics at work over the last few weeks should not take the perk for granted, especially if they are planning to catch up on the football now that the season has started. Employers are actively blocking employee access ...