All Article articles – Page 632
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Article
American Express reviews global benefits
American Express has implemented a global benefits database and used the resulting data to complete a review of its multinational pooling networks.In a session titled How to obtain value with a global workforce when budgets are strained at Employee Benefits Connect on 27 February, Jamie Green, global benefits analyst at ...
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ArticleGoodman Masson trademarks staff engagement
EXCLUSIVE: Recruitment firm Goodman Masson has trademarked its employee engagement philosophy.The Experience® and the phrase ‘There is more to life than work®’ become registered trademarks on 28 February.Goodman Masson credits its low levels of employee attrition and high levels of employee engagement to a range of factors, including:Wellbeing initiatives, such ...
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ArticleGovernment names five employers which failed to pay minimum wage
The government has named and shamed five employers for failing to pay the correct national minimum wage.It is is introducing a series of measures to crack down on employers that fail to pay the national minimum wage. The first of these, a tougher naming and shaming scheme, came into effect ...
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ArticleDuncan Brown: Rebuilding and rehumanising performance management
They are not alone. E-reward will soon release its latest research on the subject. Its previous study found that most organisations, like this large one, had changed their process in the past three years. But most had further reforms planned, a hamster-wheel pattern of change that seems to leave most ...
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ArticleSuppliers do not give value for money for pension plans
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of delegates at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Investment Conference do not believe pension funds are getting value for money from consultants, providers and active asset managers.During a panel debate, which followed the poll, Robert Brown, chairman of the Global Investment Committee at Towers Watson, ...
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ArticleMothers who use surrogates not entitled to maternity rights
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that working mothers who have children by way of a surrogate are not entitled to maternity rights.The judgement resolves two earlier conflicting opinions from the Advocate General on the matter in the cases of Z v A Government Department ...
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ArticleEmployers support government's Health and Work Service
More than half (58%) of respondents intend to build referrals to the government’s incoming Health and Work Service (HWS) into their absence management policies, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits.Its research, which surveyed 124 employers, found that just 7% of respondents do not intend to make referrals, while a ...
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ArticleStaff retirement income not a priority for employers
Only 15% of respondents said their main reason for providing a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme is to ensure their employees save for an adequate retirement, according to research by Towers Watson.Its DC pension strategy survey, which surveyed 126 employers, found that 65% of respondents cited market competition as their ...
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ArticleEmployers to increase share plan savings limits
EXCLUSIVE: More than half (54%) of employer respondents that provide sharesave schemes intend to increase the monthly savings limits when new legislation comes into force from 6 April, according to research by Equiniti.Its research, which surveyed 40 employers that provide a sharesave plan and 26 that provide a share incentive ...
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ArticleGovernment publishes draft regulations on shared parental leave pay
The government has published draft regulations on shared parental leave pay.The draft regulations, which are part of the Children and Families Bill, will be laid before Parliament as part of a set of secondary legislation that will bring the new shared parental leave and pay system into effect.The regulations introduce ...
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ArticleTribunal rules post-natal depression dismissal not discriminatory
The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that a dismissal for absence caused by post-natal depression after maternity leave is not discriminatory.The judgement relates to the case, Lyons v Jobcentre Plus, in which the former employee was dismissed after her maternity leave had ended because of long-term absence. She claimed ...
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ArticleTPR and FCA launch DC pension regulatory guide
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published a joint guide that sets out how they will regulate workplace defined contribution (DC) pensions.The Guide to the regulation of workplace defined contribution pensions, which is aimed at pension providers, advisers and trustees, outlines each regulator’s approach, and ...
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ArticleGovernment to guarantee free financial guidance for DC pension members
The governmentis to guarantee free face-to-face advice for all employees that retire in defined contribution (DC) pension schemes from April 2015.Chancellor George Osborne announced in the 2014 Budget that everyone who retires in a DC pension will be offered free, impartial, face-to-face advice on their choices at the point of ...
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ArticleEuropean court rules DC pensions could be exempt from VAT
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that defined contribution (DC) pension schemes could be exempt from value-added tax (VAT).In case of ATP Pension Services, the CJEU has concluded that a DC pension arrangement may qualify as a special investment fund, meaning that fees for managing ...
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Article
Express Newspapers cuts PMI costs
Express Newspapers has reduced its private medical insurance (PMI) premiums by 10%.The publishing firm, which has titles including the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Star on Sunday, appointed PMI Health Group to broker its PMI scheme for its 600 employees. One of its sister ...
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ArticleTrivial commutation limits to increase
The government has increased the trivial commutation limits, from £18,000 to £30,000.Trivial commutation is the opportunity, offered by pension providers, to convert 100% of a small pension into a one-off cash payment.The cash received is known as a trivial commutation lump sum.In the 2014 Budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced that ...
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ArticleEmployer-supported childcare vouchers to be phased out
The employer-supported childcare voucher scheme will be closed to new entrants from autumn 2015, when the government’s new tax-free childcare scheme, previosuly announced in the 2013 Budget, takes effect.On 18 March, the government announced it will raise the costs cap to £2,000, up from the £1,200 that was previously proposed.It ...
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ArticleEmployer-supported childcare vouchers to go
In the Budget today, Chancellor George Osbourne has confirmed it will raise the costs cap on its tax-free childcare scheme to £2,000 as announced on 18 March.The childcare voucher scheme will continue to stay open, as long as an employee does not change employers, but it will be closed to ...
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ArticlePension drawdown changes take effect
A number of changes to the UK pension system, which were announced in the Budget 2014 on 19 March, take effect on 27 March, with the publication of the Finance Bill 2014.In the Budget 2014, Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) announced greater flexibility in the way employees retiring with defined contribution ...
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ArticleLimit changes put share schemes in the spotlight
In 2008, international markets, including the London Stock Exchange, suffered their biggest falls since 11 September 2001.When BSkyB launched its five-year sharesave scheme in 2008, the option price was £3.72. When the scheme matured in January 2014, the share price stood at 888.75p. About 1,500 employees are set to receive ...