All Article articles – Page 752
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Employers given extension before RTI penalities begin
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not charge employers a penalty for late or inaccurate in-year full payment submissions until April 2014 as part of real-time information (RTI) reporting.The current penalty policy process will continue to apply at the tax year’s end, with a penalty being charged if the relevant ...
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Origen launches pensions product for SMEs
Origen Financial Services has launched a restricted advice pensions and benefits product for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Origen Workplace Solutions offers a package of modules on pension, risk, benefits, governance, advice and education. It also provides a core auto-enrolment pension product, provided by Aegon, a range of risk benefits at ...
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Staff engagement important in investor choice
Investors should look at an organisation’s employee engagement activity when considering its investment value, according to the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF).Its People and investment value guide encourages pension fund trustees and asset managers to consider the employee value proposition a business uses to engage staff beyond monetary rewards ...
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The cost of Christmas
Something for the weekend…The annual Christmas party is always a high point for employees, and there are few who have not had the pleasure of working the day after with a festive hangover.But could this jolly holiday fun be leading to an extra cost for employers and the economy?According to ...
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M&S lowers amount needed to fund DB deficit
Marks and Spencer (M&S) has agreed a 10-year funding plan to tackle its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficit.The funding plan includes cash contributions of £28 million per year from 2013/14 to 2016/17, a reduction on the previously agreed £60 million per year until 2017/18.The retailer said it expects the ...
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Vodafone and Asda awarded for share plans
Vodafone, Asda and Stagecoach Group were among the winners at the 20th annual IFS Proshare Awards.The awards, which were held on 28 November at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London, were attended by nearly 500 representatives of the employee share ownership industry.The full list of winners:Best new share ...
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Concerns over consultancy charges and auto-enrolment
Pensions minister Steve Webb has expressed concerns about the way consultancy charges might interact with auto-enrolment.In a letter to Otto Thoresen, chair of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), he said: “They should only be deducted from an individual’s pot where there is a tangible benefit to that individual. I ...
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Mills and Reeve relaunches flex communications
EXCLUSIVE: Mills and Reeve has re-launched its flexible benefits communications strategy to incorporate a range of new methods.The communications began in September with a general teaser campaign, which provided details of the scheme’s enrolment dates and the benefits available.The law firm followed this with specific emails about each benefit on ...
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Guidance to promote workplace fitness
Employees should be encouraged to keep fit by incorporating walking and cycling into their everyday lives, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).The report, Walking and cycling: local measures to promote walking and cycling as forms of travel or recreation, puts forward guidance to help the ...
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Employers not communicating auto-enrolment
Only 4% of respondents who do not currently have a pension have had their employer discuss auto-enrolment with them, according to research by Canada Life.Its research, which surveyed 1,635 UK workers, found that 96% of respondents who do not already have a pension have not had the change discussed with ...
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New industry code on pension charges
A new industry code of conduct for disclosing information to employers on the charges made on workplace pensions has been published.The code enables the consistent disclosure of charges and investments costs. It specifies that all charges are clearly and accurately stated in writing, and that employers receive a standard template ...
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Report on pensions auto-enrolment 2012
Employee Benefits’ pension auto-enrolment report highlights the mains topics and issues employers should be aware of around the legislative changes.The report (download PDF) covers:Step-by-step guide to auto-enrolment complianceLegal issues around auto-enrolmentCharles Counsell: Do not leave auto-enrolment plans too lateChoosing a provider for auto-enrolmentMorrisons helps employees to save moneyPaul Gilbody: Rise ...
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Nomura outsources health function
EXCLUSIVE: Nomura has outsourced its corporate health function to consolidate its healthcare benefits under one provider.The investment bank offers its UK employees access to an on-site GP, nurse, physiotherapist, osteopath and occupational health programme, as well as off-site health screening.Previously, the services were handled in-house and through a number of ...
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Islington Council to invest pension in real estate
Islington Council is to invest £20 million of its £800 million defined benefit (DB) pension fund in residential real estate to reduce liabilities and boost the supply of housing.The fund will hold a diversified mix of new and recently built properties, half of which are based in London and the ...
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ABI calls for simplified executive remuneration
Organisations should simplify executive remuneration structures to incorporate one annual bonus and one long-term incentive plan, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).The ABI has published its updated Principles of remuneration 2012,which call for remuneration committees to strip away complexity and make executive remuneration more transparent.The guidelines also recommend ...
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Most employees will not opt-out when auto-enrolled
Nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents are likely to stay in a pension scheme once they have been auto-enrolled, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Its Attitudes to pensions: the 2013 survey, which polled 1,949 UK adults, also found that almost two-thirds (59%) do not feel they ...
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Tax relief overhaul could encourage saving
The pensions tax relief provided by the Treasury has largely failed to encourage people to save for retirement, according to a report by Michael Johnson, pensions analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies.The report, Costly and ineffective: why pensions tax relief should be reformed, found relief on income tax and ...
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News International has 1,000 bike scheme members
News International has signed up its 1,000th employee to its bikes-for-work scheme.Lars Gilry, a technical support engineer in the publisher’s printing division in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, was awarded with a £100 gift voucher from Evans Cycles, the scheme’s provider.The Evans Cycles’ Ride2Work team visited Gilry’s workplace to present him with the ...
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Edenred launches employee engagement guide
EXCLUSIVE: Edenred has launched a guide to help employers improve employee engagement.It aims to help organisations work with managers to ensure reward and benefits better support employee engagement, improve organisational performance and deliver return on investment.The guide builds on the ideas of Engage for Success, the new movement led by ...
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MPs push for action on expenses schemes
Five members of Parliament (MPs) have introduced an Early Day Motion calling on the government to take action on tax avoidance through travel and subsistence expenses schemes.According to the motion, the schemes are often used by temporary labour providers and involve the employer ‘artificially’ classifying part of a worker’s pay ...