All Article articles – Page 824

  • Article

    Employers to focus on aligning pay awards and performance

    2012-01-26T11:00:00Z

    The alignment of pay awards and individual or business unit-performance is the top priority for UK employers in 2012, according to research by Curo Compensation.The first annual UK compensation trends survey, run jointly with HR recruitment firm Digby Morgan, found that 40% of respondents intend to increase the differential in ...

  • Article

    Evans Cycles launches online hire agreements for bikes for work

    2012-01-26T10:55:20Z

    Evans Cycles has introduced a facility to enable participants in its bikes-for-work scheme, Ride2Work, to complete hire agreements online .The facility is aimed at reducing the administrative workload for employers, while speeding up the application process for staff joining a workplace salary sacrifice bikes-for-work scheme.Mark Brown, head of Ride2Work at ...

  • Article

    Employer pension contributions chief reason for remaining auto-enrolled

    2012-01-26T10:31:00Z

    Benefiting from employer-funded contributions is the biggest reason for employees staying auto-enrolled in occupational pensions, according to research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).The ABI consumer survey, conducted by YouGov, showed that not missing out on employer-funded pension contributions (47%) and tax relief (14%) on contributions were the most ...

  • Article

    Auto-enrolment pension contribution increases delayed

    2012-01-25T11:33:45Z

    The increase in the minimum pension contribution rates for employers and employees required under the forthcoming pension reforms will be delayed from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2017.This delay is to account for the fact that auto-enrolment staging dates for small and medium-sized employers have been pushed back to ...

  • Article

    Government confirms new staging dates for auto-enrolment

    2012-01-25T10:46:43Z

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has released a revised timetable of staging dates by when employers must comply with the forthcoming pension reforms, including auto-enrolment.During a work and pensions select committee, pensions minister Steve Webb, confirmed that employers with staging dates on or before 1 February 2014 will ...

  • Article

    EDF Energy appoints new pensions administrator

    2012-01-25T10:40:00Z

    Gas and electricity supplier EDF Energy has appointed a new pensions administrator for its three UK defined benefit pension schemes.Mercer will provide administration services to the schemes, which have a total of over 27,000 members.Ian Baines, head of pensions at EDF Energy, said: “EDF Energy was seeking a single partner ...

  • Article

    Reed Group loses tribunal appeal on salary sacrifice arrangements

    2012-01-25T10:36:00Z

    Twelve Reed Group organisations have lost an appeal in a case that concerned the tax treatment of travel and subsistence payments to staff.The scheme was set up by way of a salary sacrifice arrangement.The case, in the First Tier Tribunal, concerned payments made between January 2001 and April 2006 to ...

  • Article

    A third of respondents would rely on employers' sick pay if unable to work

    2012-01-25T10:17:00Z

    A third (31%) of respondents to research by Friends Life would rely on sick pay from their employer if they found themselves unable to work.Who can you rely on when times are tough?, which surveyed 2,000 employees, also found a similar number of respondents did not know how long their ...

  • Article

    Aegon outlines plans for online auto-enrolment portal

    2012-01-24T11:18:00Z

    Aegon has outlined plans for its online auto-enrolment proposition that it expects to launch in the fourth quarter of 2012.The life insurance and pension provider is also in discussion with the national employment savings trust (Nest) to determine how it will integrate the government scheme into its workplace savings proposition ...

  • Article

    Vince Cable outlines measures to crack down on executive pay

    2012-01-24T10:42:59Z

    Business secretary Vince Cable has outlined a raft of measures around executive pay, including proposals to increase the power of shareholders and demystify complex pay deals.Cable said that shareholders should get a legally binding vote on boardroom pay policies (including how performance in measured), exit payments worth more than one ...

  • Article

    Glenmorangie and Avery Dennison introduce workplace savings platform

    2012-01-24T10:31:00Z

    Scotch whisky distiller The Glenmorangie Company and office materials manufacturer Avery Dennison are among 25 employers that have introduced a workplace savings platform provided by consultancy Mercer.In doing so, Glenmorangie was looking to save cost and strengthen the existing governance structures for its defined contribution (DC) pension arrangements.Ian Drysdale, HR ...

  • Article

    Pension consultancies partner to launch public sector pensions offering

    2012-01-24T10:30:44Z

    Atkin and Co, Pinsent Masons and Jackal Advisory have joined forces to launch a pensions offering for the public sector, focused on meeting the needs of not-for-profit bodies and charities that are part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).The three pensions and consultancy firms will offer liability management services ...

  • Article

    Mazars launches employee benefits business

    2012-01-24T10:27:18Z

    Accountancy firm Mazars has launched an employee benefits business to help employers implement and manage employee benefits packages.The announcement comes after the acquisition of Redbourne Employee Benefits in April 2011. The new business is formed from people from the Redbourne business and Mazars Financial PlanningRichard Stewart, head of employee benefits ...

  • Article

    Devon County Council increases eyecare voucher take-up

    2012-01-23T11:30:00Z

    Devon County Council has increased take-up of eyecare vouchers to 550 since it switched providers in August 2011.The council, which has 4,000 employees classified as visual display unit (VDU) users, switched to Specsavers after conducting a tender exercise.Jason Wilson, business support manager and part of the Wellbeing@Work services team at ...

  • Article

    Santander selects Marie Curie Cancer Care as charity of the year

    2012-01-23T10:58:51Z

    Santander has chosen Marie Curie Cancer Care as its charity of the year partner for 2012 following an all-staff vote.The year-long Santander partnership has a fundraising target of £500,000, which will help fund 25,000 hours of free Marie Curie nursing care for people in their own homes.Fundraising activity will kick ...

  • Article

    Government rolls out auto-enrolment advertising campaign

    2012-01-23T10:41:09Z

    The government has rolled out an advertising campaign aimed at getting millions of people saving for retirement.The campaign, launched on 23 January, comes ahead of the start of auto-enrolment into workplace pensions, beginning in October 2012 for the largest employers.It will explain the fundamentals of auto-enrolment and signpost people to ...

  • Article

    Wages fell 4.2% in last year

    2012-01-23T10:39:00Z

    Real wages have fallen 4.2% (equivalent to around £650) over the last year, according to research by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation.Its annual research, Squeezed Britain, found that even if income growth returns to the strong levels seen in the late 19902 and early 2000s, it will take until ...

  • Article

    Goddard Perry Consulting launches master trust as auto-enrolment option

    2012-01-23T10:13:00Z

    Goddard Perry Consulting (GPC) has introduced a master trust to help employers comply with auto-enrolment.The Pensions Master Trust (TPMT) will be priced at an annual management charge of 0.5% with no other regular administrative fees or set-up costs. It offers a wide range of investment funds and allows members to ...

  • Article

    Morgan Sindall Group to introduce new pension scheme for auto-enrolment

    2012-01-23T10:11:00Z

    The Morgan Sindall Group is to introduce a new pension scheme in order to comply with the forthcoming pension reforms.The scheme, which is provided by B&CE, is designed to cater for the UK construction and regeneration group’s 2,200 operatives, who are paid on a weekly basis, once auto-enrolment commences for ...

  • Article

    Pensions and life cover some of modern Britain's greatest conundrums

    2012-01-20T11:51:14Z

    Pensions and life cover are among the 50 greatest conundrums of modern Britain, alongside Stephen Hawking’s theories and Jedward.The 2,000 respondents to research conducted by Puzzler World 2012 were baffled by the difference between life insurance and life assurance, which was the eighth conundrum on the list above the theory ...