All Article articles – Page 737
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Two work-life consultations launched
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) have launched consultations on extending the right to request flexible working, and the administration process for shared parental leave and pay, respectively.The Bis consultation, Modern workplaces: shared parental leave and pay – administration consultation, ...
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Consultants under pressure to prove their worth
Pensions consultants face increasing pressure to justify their worth in the new-look pensions world in which providers are offering integrated schemes with in-built governance and employee communication services alongside asset management.Speaking at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Summit on 31 January, Debbie Harrison, senior visiting fellow at The ...
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Collective-based pensions identified as future for UK
The future success of the UK pensions market requires a move to collective-based pensions, according to David Pitt-Watson, lead for the Tomorrow’s Investor programme at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and author of Building the consensus for a people’s pension in Britain.Speaking at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace ...
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Fund price impacts pension provider choice
EXCLUSIVE: The price of funds is the most important considerations for employers when selecting a pension provider for a contract-based pension scheme, according to exclusive research conducted for Employee Benefits by Booz & Co.The Employee Benefits/Booz & Co Default funds survey, which polled 225 employers, found that 84% of respondents ...
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L&G partners mental health charity
Legal and General has partnered national charity Rethink Mental Illness to help employers reduce the number of working days lost due to employees’ mental health problems.The partnership allows employers that take up Legal and General group protection insurance to access training from the charity using management tools that can be ...
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PQM to set tougher standard on pension charges
The National Association of Pension Fund’s Pension Quality Mark (PQM) is lowering its cap on charges from 1% to 0.75% of pot size per year, which employers must meet before they can qualify for the nemchmark.The change, which will come into effect from 1 April 2013, means that pension schemes ...
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Engage Mutual removes cash plan excesses
Engage Mutual has upgraded its employer-paid health cash plan product.The provider has removed the excess payable on four of the six treatment areas: health screening, counselling, complementary therapies, and consultations.It has also introduced the option of a higher premium level with an increased annual fund limit of £1,850.David Castling, commercial ...
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Simplyhealth updates cash plan product
Simplyhealth has updated its voluntary health cash plan product by adding new benefits and increasing the annual limits on a number of existing benefits.The plan, which is available to new clients from 1 February and will be extended to existing employer clients from 1 April 2013, now includes dental accident ...
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Wolverhampton NHS Trust launches salary sacrifice cars
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has launched a salary sacrifice car scheme for its 6,165 eligible employees.All permanently-contracted employees at the trust will be eligible to use the scheme, called SalarySacrifice4Cars.The scheme is run by Tusker and is the fleet provider’s 100th scheme.Tony Stanyard, head of procurement at Royal Wolverhampton NHS ...
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Zipcar launches fleet calculator
Zipcar has launched a business calculator, which enables employers to better understand their current fleet usage patterns, assess the costs involved and identify time spent on administration.The tool can collate a report that demonstrates the potential time and cost savings associated with a pay-as-you-drive system, taking into account the organisation’s ...
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Public sector pensions could cost billions
Pensions for public sector workers could cost taxpayers up to £41 billion a year, according to research by the Centre for Policy Studies.Its report, A toxic tangle, found that this figure would be comprised of at least £17 billion in employer contributions and at least £15 billion to cover cashflow ...
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Government unveils Children and Families Bill
The government has published the Children and Families Bill that will introduce shared parental leave and extend flexible working to all employees.The bill will implement the parental leave and flexible working commitments the government made in November 2012 in its response to the Modern workplaces consultation.Under the new measures, working ...
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HSBC consults on benefits changes
HSBC is consultating with its UK employees on changes to their employment terms and benefits, including the proposed closure of its final salary pension scheme to future accrual, and improvements to the income protection scheme, maternity and paternity pay.The consultation, which will close at the end of March 2013, is ...
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Co-operative Flexible Benefits and Zenith partner on car product
Co-operative Flexible Benefits and Zenith have partnered to launch a low-emission salary sacrifice car scheme.The Green Car Scheme will enable employers to offer employees access to Zenith’s quoting platform, which allows them to see personalised quotes on a range of cars and accessories, and place and track their order on-line.Debbie ...
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Barclays C&ES launches pensions platform
Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions (C&ES) division has launched a pensions platform in partnership with Aegon and Zurich.This will provide employers with access to Barclays Wealth and Investment Management’s investment funds, which are suitable for use by employees as default investment options.The offering is being overseen by Katharine Photiou, who ...
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M&C Saatchi awards shares to executives
M&C Saatchi has granted share awards to four of its executive directors under its long-term incentive plan (L-tip), which vested on 31 December 2012.The awards reflect the achievement of targets for both share price performance and total shareholder return conditions.When the L-tip was adopted, each of the participants paid £97,250 ...
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Barclays awarded for family-friendly policies
Barclays and Plantronics have won accolades for their family-friendly policies at the Family Friendly Awards, hosted by the Family and Parenting Institute and Daycare Trust.Barclays won the award for private sector employee engagement for its maternity, paternity, flexible working and carer policies.Plantronics was presented with the award for family-friendly innovation ...
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Guide Dogs closes DB plan and prepares for auto-enrolment
EXCLUSIVE: Guide Dogs has closed its final salary pension scheme to future accrual.The charity held a 90-day consultation with its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme members about the closure of the scheme between September and November 2012. The scheme was closed to future accrual on 31 December 2012.Justin Keppler, pension ...
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Unum launches benefits app
Unum has launched an application (app) that enables employers to model their benefits package to see what it is able to offer without increasing its spend.Using the app, an employer enters details about its business and can then see how changing the levels and types of benefits it offers can ...
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Over a third of delegates review default fund annually
Reviews of default fund are being carried out annually by 39% of delegates at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings 2013.The poll on default funds taken on the second day of the summit, 1 February, found that 11% of delegates review their pension scheme default fund several times a ...