All Article articles – Page 763
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Employee Benefits Academy launched
A new Employee Benefits Academy has been created, a new joint venture between Employee Benefits magazine and Total Reward Academy.The Employee Benefits Academy will provide expert, practical training in benefits and compensation management.It will offer a series of one-day courses, designed to develop specific skills and capabilities.Courses can be selected ...
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Employers need to consider EBT settlement
Organisations running employee benefit trusts (EBTs) should consider whether the HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) settlement opportunity is appropriate for their situation, advises KPMG.The settlement opportunity allows for employers to pay the tax authority’s assessment of outstanding tax liabilities without the need for litigation.Jayne Vaughan, tax partner at KPMG UK, ...
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Owner-employee contract a bad idea
The majority (63%) of respondents think the government’s proposal for owner-employee schemes is a bad idea, according to a poll by YouGov.The employee-owner schemes, which were announced by Chancellor George Osborne on 8 October, would require employees to give up employment rights, such as wrongful dismissal, the right to redundancy ...
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Fancy a job as a human scarecrow?
It would take a great employment package to tempt most workers to sit in a cold field chasing away birds, but Jamie Fox seems happy with a modest salary and a good book.Fox, a 22-year-old music and English graduate from Bangor University, has taken on the role of human scarecrow ...
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Healthy plans for Laing & Buisson staff
EXCLUSIVE: Laing and Buisson, which provides data on private hospitals, care homes, nurseries and health insurances, has launched two plans to keep its employees healthy.The first is a healthy snack programme which gives the organisation’s 20 staff with access to a daily bowl of free fruit in a new chill-out ...
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Employers go for global benefits policies
Multinational organisations are looking to increase corporate control and oversight of their employee benefits programmes worldwide, with 90% expecting to have corporate benefits policies in place over the next three years, according to research by Aon Hewit.The 2012 Corporate governance of global employee benefits study, conducted with the American Benefits ...
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TPR publishes evidence on DB pension funding regime
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published evidence of how some of the flexibilities in the defined benefit (DB) pension-funding regime have been used by pension schemes and employers.In producing its DB scheme funding statement Pension scheme funding in the current economic environment earlier in 2012, TPR considered how best to ...
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Smith & Williamson launches auto-enrolment tool
Smith and Williamson has launched an online auto-enrolment tool, which uses basic information about an employer’s pension scheme.It enables the accountancy and investment management firm to assess what an employer needs to do, and by when, in order to comply with the new legislation.Paul Maher, head of financial services at ...
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HEG to develop auto-enrolment and RTI support
EXCLUSIVE: The Hotel Employers Group (HEG) is to develop a support pack for its employer members to help them deal with pensions auto-enrolment and the real-time information (RTI) programme for payroll.The group, which represents hotel industry brands such as Holiday Inn Express and Best Western, are working with professional services ...
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Warburtons launches discounts scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Warburtons has introduced a discounts scheme called Extra Dough for its 4,300 employees.The scheme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, has achieved a spend of more than £90,000 in the four weeks following its launch.Because the baker’s employee base is spread out over 26 different bakery and depot locations, and ...
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Business Environment pays staff to stop smoking
Flexible office operator Business Environment is offering its staff up to £100 a year to spend on stop-smoking aids.The offer is linked to the NHS StopTober scheme, a 28-day challenge to encourage people to quite smoking during October.Yasmine Shah, who works at Business Environment, has taken advantage of the offer. ...
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Mental health stigma is decreasing
More than a quarter (28%) of respondents believe there is less stigma around mental health issues in the workplace compared to a year ago, according to research by Aviva.Aviva’s Health of the workplace 2012 report, which has been launched to coincide with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, found ...
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BA brings in flexible retirement
EXCLUSIVE: British Airways (BA) has introduced flexible retirement, started to communicate auto-enrolment and streamlined its online pensions portal during its annual pensions month.Pensions month, which was introduced in September 2011, also offered members of its closed defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, the opportunity to change their accrual rates. Members of ...
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O2 to close DB scheme before auto-enrolment
O2 has proposed to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual due to the impending cost of auto-enrolment and the poor economic environment.The scheme, which was closed to new members in 2001, is a legacy scheme that was carried over to Telefonica, O2’s parent company, with BT ...
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Owner-employee contract could breach EU laws
A proposed new employment contract that would require employees to give up employment rights for shares in their organisation could still leave employers open to claims for unfair dismissal under European regulations.The owner-employee contract, announced at the Conservative Party conference on 8 October by Chancellor George Osborne, could see employers ...
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CloudApps launches sustainability app
CloudApps has launched a sustainability application to encourage employers and their staff to set corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets in the workplace.The app can be used to create workplace challenges, leader boards, points and rewards, as well as social media elements that allow employees to collaborate and achieve personal targets.The ...
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BGL Group offers fitness classes to staff
BGL Group has launched a range of discounted fitness classes and physiotherapy services for its employees.The services are provided by Ultimate Performance Lifestyle, a specialist fitness studio in Peterborough, where the insurance group is based, and includes physiotherapy, pilates, yoga and massages.Gail Cingolani, reward and benefits manager at BGL Group, ...
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Newsquest journalists strike over pay
Newsquest journalists in York took strike action on 5 October in a dispute over pay.The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members were balloted between 28 August and 11 September after the newspaper publisher notified staff they would not receive a pay increase in 2012 due to difficult trading conditions.NUJ members ...
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Pay and bonuses up for AIM directors
Total earnings for directors, whose companies are listed on AIM, rose by 5.7% from April 2012, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).The research, which is based on a matched group of directors from AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies, found the total earnings ...
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FirstGroup staff pick new charity partner
FirstGroup staff have chosen Macmillan Cancer Support as its new national charity partner.Employees of the public transport operator were asked to vote for one of three charities. Macmillan Cancer Support received 60% of the staff vote.Katie Smart, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community manager at FirstGroup, said: “This is a ...