All Article articles – Page 845

  • Article

    Helm Godfrey launches auto-enrolment app

    2011-10-10T09:30:14Z

    Corporate adviser Helm Godfrey has added an auto-enrolment application to its iChoose platform. The service, which is available online, will help employers comply with the 2012 pension reforms, auto-enrol staff into a qualifying pension scheme and help employees to make informed pension choices. Ed Smithson, deputy head of Helm Godfrey’s ...

  • Article

    Fears rise that quantitative easing will have negative impact on pensions and annuities

    2011-10-07T11:44:00Z

    The Bank of England’s announcement that it will inject £75 billion into the economy through quantitative easing (QE) has raised concerns over pension scheme liabilities and annuity prices. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said that the move would make it more expensive for employers to provide pensions and ...

  • Article

    New book sheds light on bizarre office jargon

    2011-10-07T10:20:51Z

    Office jargon is not just an affliction suffered by David Brent in The Office television series. It often slips into the average employees' vocabulary.The truth is no-one really knows why phrases like ‘core competencies’, ‘drilling down’ or ‘blue sky thinking’ crop up in the workplace.However, a new book Pushing the ...

  • Article

    Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust asks staff to sacrifice holiday to cut costs

    2011-10-07T09:56:48Z

    Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust has asked employees to sacrifice annual leave as part of cost-reduction plans.†The hospital has formally asked all employees to consider giving up annual leave, or taking unpaid leave, on a voluntary basis.The holiday-sacrifice measure is part of a range of cost-cutting exercises, which also ...

  • Article

    The Co-operative Group to offer free flu jab to 100,000 employees

    2011-10-07T09:39:21Z

    The Co-operative Group is offering more than 100,0000 employees a free flu jab to minimise absence from colds and flu.The staff, who work in more than 4,500 locations across the UK, will be offered the vaccination either at 42 workplace clinics or via 400 of The Co-operative Pharmacy’s branches.The Co-operative ...

  • Article

    Officebroker.com research: Office workers would take pay cut over losing colleagues

    2011-10-07T09:38:10Z

    Nearly two-thirds (62%) of office workers would rather take a pay cut than see a colleague lose their job, according to research by Officebroker.com.The additional 38% said they would rather see their colleagues sacked in order to maintain or increase their current salary.To increase their earnings, respondents also said:48% would ...

  • Article

    Santander hosts employee run as part of global engagement programme

    2011-10-07T09:35:33Z

    Santander employees have participated in a 110-mile charity run as part of a global initiative to raise awareness of the bank’s values.Sixty employees from 16 different countries ran from London to the bank’s main office in the East Midlands. The race is part of the ‘Santander is you’ global engagement ...

  • Article

    Vielife partners health management firm Protegia

    2011-10-07T08:50:32Z

    Vielife has announced a new partnership with Munich-based health management firm Protegia.The new alliance will see both organisations provide online health services on a joint platform to employers and staff to measure personal health status and improvements.The new alliance will see both organisations provide online health services on a joint ...

  • Article

    VocaLink research: Pay levels fall in private sector but grow in public sector

    2011-10-06T09:46:45Z

    Pay levels in the private sector have fallen for the third consecutive month, while public sector pay levels have seen their highest growth this year, according to the VocaLink take-home pay index.Take-home pay in the private sector fell from 2.7% in August to 2.2% in September, while take-home pay in ...

  • Article

    UBS appoints Barnett Waddingham for administration and actuarial services for longevity swaps

    2011-10-06T09:46:23Z

    UBS has appointed Barnett Waddingham to provide administration and actuarial oversight services for its longevity swaps.The appointment has been made as the investment bank looks to extend its offering to the growing market for longevity swaps, helping large pension schemes hedge the risks of paying out for longer to ageing ...

  • Article

    University of Lincoln named employer of the year at CIPP awards

    2011-10-06T09:42:01Z

    The University of Lincoln has been awarded employer of the year at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals’ (CIPP) eighth annual Payroll and Pensions Excellence Awards.Other winners included:Payroll/pensions individual of the year – Rebecca Gargini Hill, payroll administrator at Fourth HospitalityManager of the year – Paul Hughes, Howden JoineryInnovation award ...

  • Article

    Aon Hewitt research: Staff believe employers view engagement surveys as tick-box exercises

    2011-10-06T09:33:37Z

    The majority of employees across the UK and Europe believe their employers view employee engagement as a tick-box exercise, according to research by Aon Hewitt.Managers: your strongest or weakest link in driving employee engagement? found that only 18% of employees surveyed strongly believe that engagement survey results will be acted ...

  • Article

    MetLife Assurance research: Staff in DB schemes are fearful of switching jobs

    2011-10-05T00:00:00Z

    Nearly 40% of employees in defined benefit (DB) pension schemes would be reluctant to move to a new job for fear of damaging their retirement savings, according to research by pensions risk transfer provider MetLife Assurance.More than six out of 10 workers would be deterred from moving jobs to an ...

  • Article

    EXCLUSIVE: Shropshire Housing Trust launches online total reward statements

    2011-10-04T23:00:00Z

    Shropshire Housing Group has introduced online total reward statements for the first time as part of efforts to get staff to understand the full value of its benefits package.The statements, launched last month in conjunction with Towergate Financial, provide details of an employee’s total reward package, including the benefits they ...

  • Article

    West Midlands Police Authority launches eyecare scheme

    2011-10-04T23:00:00Z

    West Midlands Police Authority will introduce an eyecare scheme, providing its police forces with prescription safety glasses and visual display unit (VDU) glasses.The scheme will be provided by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare.Safety spectacles will be provided for police officers, police community safety officers (PCSOs) and special constables.Prescription spectacle inserts will be ...

  • Article

    EXCLUSIVE: Lorica Employee Benefits partners Annuity Direct to support employees at retirement

    2011-10-04T23:00:00Z

    Lorica Employee Benefits has teamed up with Annuity Direct to provide a new service to help employees make the best annuity choice when they retire.The launch of the service is also reflective of changes in retirement planning rules, the latest being the government’s intention to raise the official retirement age ...

  • Article

    London Underground drivers set to receive 5% pay rise

    2011-10-04T10:42:36Z

    Tube drivers in London could receive salaries of more than £50,000 a year under a four-year wage deal negotiated between London Underground, and the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.The RMT union is currently consulting on a four-year pay deal, which London Underground said offered the prospect of no industrial ...

  • Article

    Mercer research: Final salary scheme deficits broadly unchanged

    2011-10-04T09:48:23Z

    Accounting deficits for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has only risen by £11 billion despite volatile markets, according to research by Mercer.The consultancy's Pensions risk survey showed that accounting deficits of £64bn at 30 September show relatively small increase from £53bn at 31 August.Falling corporate bond yields, which are used ...

  • Article

    Legal and General appoints Pitmans Trustees for DC mastertrust

    2011-10-04T09:32:55Z

    Legal and General has appointed Pitmans Trustees as the independent trustee of its new defined contribution (DC) mastertrust product.Retailer Marks and Spencer will join the mastertrust arrangement in November 2012 and two further schemes worth £30 million will join when it goes live next month.Tony Filbin, managing director, workplace savings ...

  • Article

    Interim Partners research: Pay for top interims rises

    2011-10-04T09:05:53Z

    Salary rates for interim executives have risen, driven by businesses hiring at senior management level, according to research by Interim Partners.The research found that 79% of interim executives are now paid over £500 per day, up from 74% last year.According to Interim Partners, the increase could signal a thaw in ...