All Article articles – Page 810

  • Article

    Gender pay gap reversed for part-time employees

    2012-03-26T10:26:00Z

    The median hourly earnings for female part-time employees was 4.8% higher than for part-time men in 2011, according to research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).The 2011 Annual survey of hours and earnings, found that this reversed gender pay gap was entirely due to earnings within the age range ...

  • Article

    Music lessons hit the right note with employees

    2012-03-23T10:45:08Z

    Employers can ensure their employees hit the right note by providing them with music lessons at work.Keynote Team Building aims to provide organisations with teambuilding and communication skills guidance through music.Musicians Stuart Bulsara and Amy Lorne set up the firm after struggling to find a rewarding career after leaving university. ...

  • Article

    BT to pay £2 billion into pension scheme to halve deficit

    2012-03-23T10:08:00Z

    BT is to pay a lump-sum payment of £2 billion into its final salary pension scheme before the end of March to halve the scheme’s £4.1 billion deficit.The payment will be followed by nine payments of £325 million in March of each year from 2013 to 2021.The telecommunications firm has ...

  • Article

    FT journalists agree improved pay offer and call off strike action

    2012-03-23T10:03:00Z

    Financial Times (FT) journalists have agreed an improved pay offer and have called off strike action that was scheduled for 22 March.Around 250 journalists were due to walk out over the pay dispute. The minimum pay increase was to be 2% for all staff, while the total editorial pot was ...

  • Article

    Legal and General awarded PQM for staff pension scheme

    2012-03-23T09:45:33Z

    Pensions provider Legal and General has been awarded a Pension Quality Mark (PQM) for the defined contribution (DC) pension scheme it offers its own staff.The PQM, awarded by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), recognises DC schemes with total contributions of at least 10% of an employee’s salary and ...

  • Article

    Barclays among employers offering volunteering scheme to staff

    2012-03-22T10:43:00Z

    Barclays is just one of the employers offering staff the opportunity to volunteer with Destination Dreams, a scheme that offers staff the opportunity to support children battling life-threatening conditions.The global banking group actively promotes the volunteering initiative, which is organised by charity Caudwell Children, to its employees.A spokesperson from the ...

  • Article

    New Look launches e-code for motivation and incentive schemes

    2012-03-22T10:40:00Z

    New Look has launched e-codes, which can be delivered via email as part of the retailer’s motivation, recognition, incentive and loyalty schemes.The e-codes are available in values from £1 to £1,000, and can be used online in 122 countries.Rob Froome, head of business solutions at New Look, said: “New Look ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Impact on benefits and reward

    2012-03-21T16:15:00Z

    Find out how key announcements in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget will affect benefits:Budget 2012: Clamp down on pensions contributions via flexible benefits plans paid to family membersBudget 2012: Government to introduce single-tier state pensionBudget 2012: State pension age to be linked with longevityBudget 2012: Government to review role of employee ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Clamp down on pensions contributions via flexible benefits paid to spouses or family

    2012-03-21T16:05:02Z

    The government will legislate in the Finance Bill 2013 to ensure that arrangements where an employer pays a pension contribution into a registered pension scheme for an employee’s spouse or family member as part of their employee’s flexible remuneration package cannot be used to obtain tax and NIC advantages for ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Review to be held on differentiated regional public sector pay

    2012-03-21T16:01:45Z

    The government will hold a review on whether to introduce differing regional public sector pay deals.During his delivery of the Budget report, Chancellor George Osborne said he wanted to make public sector pay more responsive to local pay rates.Daniel Hibbert, a principal in Mercer’s human capital business, said: “A change ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Delay to auto-enrolment staging dates to save government £380 million

    2012-03-21T15:10:09Z

    The delay to auto-enrolment staging dates for employers with fewer than 50 employees is forecast to save the government £380 million in reduced tax relief on pension contributions by 2017.According to figures contained in the 2012 Budget report documentation, delaying the staging dates for this group until the next Parliament ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Government to review role of employee share ownership and double grant limit on EMI schemes

    2012-03-21T15:10:00Z

    The government is to conduct an internal review to examine the role of employee share ownership in supporting growth and examine options to remove barriers, including tax barriers, to its wider take-up.As announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report, the review will also consider the findings of ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Government to introduce single-tier state pension

    2012-03-21T15:07:40Z

    Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the government will introduce a single-tier state pension of around £140 per week.The new system, which was originally mooted by pensions minister Steve Webb last year, will be introduced early in the next Parliament. It will be set above the mean-tested pensions credit and, ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Changes to qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (Qrops)

    2012-03-21T15:07:00Z

    The government will introduce changes in primary legislation (in the Finance Bill 2013) to strengthen reporting requirements and powers of exclusion relating to qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (Qrops).They support the changes in secondary legislation published for consultation on 6 December 2011.The government also announced that where the country or ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Armed forces to receive £100m housing boost

    2012-03-21T14:58:16Z

    Chancellor George Osborne has earmarked £100 million to improve accommodations for armed forces employees and their families as part of the 2012 Budget Report.The move is expected to benefit up to 1,275 military personnel. It follows the government's announcement that the armed forces were to be given priority for all ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Government consultation on integrating income tax and NI due in April

    2012-03-21T14:54:09Z

    Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the consultation on the integration of income tax and national insurance (NI), as announced in the 2011 Autumn Statement, will be published in April.The plans to consult on the integration of income tax and NI were announced in a paper in November 2011, which ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: State pension age to be linked with longevity

    2012-03-21T14:51:27Z

    The government will commit to ensuring the state pension age is increased in future to take into account increases in longevity.It will also publish proposals at the same time as the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) 2012 Fiscal sustainability report this summer.According to Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Royal Mail Group’s pension scheme liabilities to be transferred to government

    2012-03-21T14:50:19Z

    The government intends to transfer the historic liabilities of around £37.5 billion from the private sector Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) to a newly established unfunded public pension scheme, confirmed Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report.The liabilities will leave public sector net debt unaffected, but will score alongside ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: Tax reliefs capped at 25% of income for higher earners

    2012-03-21T14:48:50Z

    The government is to introduce a limit of 25% of income on all uncapped income tax reliefs for those earning more than £50,000 annually, announced Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report.This will increase effective tax rates and help ensure that those with the highest incomes pay a fairer ...

  • Article

    Budget 2012: 50p tax rate to be reduced to 45p

    2012-03-21T14:32:07Z

    The top 50p rate of income tax is to be reduced to 45p from April 2013.In the Budget report 2012, Chancellor George Osborne said the 50p rate, which is levied on taxable income above £150,000 a year, has damaged Britain’s competitiveness.Sean Drury, tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), said the move ...