All articles by Ben Jones – Page 8
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Canada Life launches early intervention service
Canada Life Group Insurance (CGLI) has launched a new product aimed at helping employees return to work as early as possible following sickness absence.The early intervention service addresses the need to reduce long-term absenteeism and help employees back to work by intervening at the earliest stage of absence, normally assisting ...
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Charities not assessing impact of 2012 pension changes, says survey
Nearly three-quarters of charities have not assessed the impact of pension changes coming into force from 2012, according to a survey.A total of 73% of charities have not yet assessed the impact of changes to legislation on their pension strategies, according to research by the Association of Chief Executives of ...
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FSA to freeze pay and bonuses
The Financial Services Authority (FSA)†has revealed that staff will not receive pay rises this year.The regulator, which has 3,000 staff at offices in London and Edinburgh, said it has not put aside funds for increases this year.The bonus pot is also staying the same as last year, at 15% of ...
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Interview with Colin Miller, reward manager, Kent County Council
Former scientist Colin Miller, reward manager at Kent County Council, seeks to create a ‘golden thread’ of engagement between the authority and its wide variety of employeesIt might seem a long way from an honours degree in cell biology and a masters degree in analytical biochemistry to the role of ...
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Guaranteed minimum pension slip to be corrected
Staff who want to take a pension under a guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) scheme as a lump sum will have to wait until April.Last month’s changes to the trivial commutation regulations allow staff aged 60 to 75 to take pensions of less than £2,000 as a lump sum. But the ...
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Marriott Hotels signs fleet management contract with ING Car Lease
Leisure business Marriott Hotels has signed an exclusive fleet management contract with ING Car Lease.Marriott has appointed the leasing firm to handle its contract hire, risk management, accident management and rental needs.Marriott, which operates nearly 60 hotels in the UK and Ireland, runs a fleet of about 220 cars, with ...
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Sports Direct staff in line for bumper bonuses
Sports Direct, the sportswear retailer 71%-owned by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, is set to give its staff bonuses worth 25% of pay as a recognition of rising profits in its half-year results.Sports Direct, which operates more than 350 outlets, announced that group revenue was up 10.1% to £756.9 million ...
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Goldman Sachs offers shares instead of cash as bonus
Goldman Sachs has announced that executives at the bank will receive share options instead of cash bonuses for 2009.The investment bank’s 30-strong management committee, made up of all global divisional and regional leadership, will be forbidden from selling the shares for five years.Chairman and chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, said: “The ...
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Pre-Budget report: 40% income tax level frozen from 2012
The point at which people start paying 40% income tax will be frozen for one year from April 2012, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced today.But, in this year's pre-Budget report, Darling also said no one earning below £43,000 a year would be affected by the change.In addition, Darling revealed he would ...
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RBS faces government cap on bonus payments
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is facing a cap on bonuses by the Treasury in a move which could lead to the bank’s directors resigning.The government, mindful of the size of payouts some bankers could receive only months before a general election, may decide to cap bonuses, with ...
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New analysis: Gender pay gap still hard to bridge
The pay gap between men and women is narrowing, but there is still a long way to go, despite new equality legislation in the pipeline, says Ben JonesFigures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last month revealed the pay gap between male and female workers in full-time employment ...
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Santander extends sharesave scheme to Alliance and Leicester staff
Banco Santander has extended its sharesave scheme to 6,500 Alliance and Leicester employees after taking over the bank last year.The scheme was previously offered only to staff of Abbey, which became part of the Santander group in 2004.Ian Cunning, reward consultant at Abbey, said welcoming new staff into the group ...
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Changes to pension law welcomed
Changes to the trivial commutation regulations from 1 December mean members of occupational pension schemes aged between 60 and 75 will be able to take pension pots of less than £2,000 as a lump sum.This applies even if they have other pension savings that exceed the current limit of 1% ...
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Pre-Budget report: Government backs greener fleets
Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced plans to increase the number of electric cars on the streets by exempting them from company car tax for five years.In his pre-Budget report, he also announced a 100% first year capital allowance for electric vans.Darling said the plans were a key component of the ...
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Acco seeks European unity for company car scheme
Office supplies firm Acco is to standardise its company car policy across Europe to streamline the benefit and improve its green credentials.Each of the 15 European countries in which it operates, including France, Germany, Italy and several in eastern Europe, previously ran its own scheme, often with several providers and ...
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Half of employers now offer wellness strategy, says Buck
Almost half of employers now provide wellness programmes to motivate and retain staff, according to new research by Buck Consultants.Half of the 64 major UK institutions surveyed in Bucks' Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies research had a wellness strategy for their employees in ...
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Quintiles launches online total reward statements
Pharmaceutical services company Quintiles has launched online total reward statements for employees in the UK, Ireland, Spain and Slovakia.This follows a similar launch in the US and Germany last year. Debra Corey, senior director, compensation and benefits for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the UK and Ireland were ...
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Towry Law switches pensions provider
Towry Law has switched its pensions provider from Axa to Zurich and launched a new group personal pension (GPP) plan.Richard Higginson, head of reward, said: "Our previous provider was struggling with our demands. Also, we provide investment solutions that we wanted to extend to staff, and we can only do ...
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ING Car Lease launches environmental analysis tool
Leasing firm ING Car Lease has launched a new online analysis tool that allows companies to access data on the environmental performance of their fleet at the click of a mouse.GreenCare is being rolled out to all ING Car Lease customers as part of its ongoing fleet consultancy service. It ...
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West Lothian Council appoints FirstCare for absence management
West Lothian Council has appointed FirstCare to provide a nurse-led call centre absence management facility for 500 of its 8,500 permanent employees.The council had previously piloted a nurse-led call centre approach to absence management and following the success of the pilot, which has shown a downward trend in sickness absence, ...