All Benefits for carers articles – Page 63
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ArticleMandy Garner: Should employers be doing more to support working parents?
There are several arguments for employers to do more to support working parents or to at least be understanding of the kind of pressures they face. Back in the day, when flexible-working legislation was first introduced, the idea was that parents needed special treatment and that employers that catered to ...
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ArticleSarah Jackson: Should employers be doing more to support working parents?
We see a variety of practice from employers, and there is no doubt that support from employers is crucial to finding and maintaining a work-life balance. Working Families’ Modern families index, published in January 2016 in partnership with Bright Horizons, found that the UK’s working parents are struggling to balance ...
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ArticleMary Peterson: Should employers be doing more to support working parents?
Last November’s news that Credit Suisse in the US is enabling working mothers to take babies on business trips by paying for their nannies is a significant raising of the bar in terms of support for parents in the workplace. Whether or not this catches on in the UK, it ...
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AnalysisHow to engage employees with childcare support
Need to know:Line managers have a pivotal role in engaging working parents with childcare benefits by demonstrating their support and understanding.Creation of in-house parent networking groups or family support groups will help increase engagement by encouraging employees to join or participate.Childcare provision that is aimed at fathers, as well as ...
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Supplier article
Childcare Vouchers EAT decision
As we have stated many times on this blog, the cost of childcare is a major barrier to work for many parents. And this in turn has implications for employers also. For more on these assertions please see this post.Given the above, it is really important that employers do all ...
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ArticleHow the Budget 2016 will impact employee benefits
On 16 March, Chancellor George Osborne delivered his Budget 2016 speech. Below is a round-up of the key announcements with a bearing on employee benefits:The government plans to limit the range of benefits that can be offered under a salary sacrifice arrangement. This will not apply to pensions, childcare and ...
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Article
Tax-free childcare to be phased in and childcare vouchers extended
Budget 2016: The government has announced that the new tax-free childcare scheme, to take effect from early 2017, will be rolled out throughout the year.The new scheme, which was first announced in 2013’s Budget as a replacement to childcare vouchers, will take a phased approach and allow parents of the ...
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ArticleGovernment to consult on extending shared parental leave to grandparents
Budget 2016: The government is to launch a consultation in May 2016 on how to extend shared parental leave (SPL) and pay to working grandparents.The consultation will look into options for streamlining the system, which will include simplifying the eligibility requirements and notification system, as well as exploring how to ...
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ArticleEmployers could adapt flexible benefits to address rising eldercare demands
Employee Benefits Connect 2016: Employers could address rising eldercare demands by considering how flexible benefits could be adapted to extend to employees’ parents.Speaking in a session titled ‘Eldercare: changing how we develop the benefits offering’ at Employee Benefits Connect on 9 March, Adam Brooke, international benefits manager at Standard Chartered ...
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ArticleEAT reverses ET decision on childcare vouchers
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has overturned an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision that it was discriminatory to require employees to agree to the suspension of childcare vouchers during maternity leave when signing up to the scheme.In the case of Peninsula Business Services vs Donaldson, a pregnant employee refused to enter ...
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AnalysisBuyer’s guide to flexible benefits technology
What is flexible benefits technology?This is a technology system, operating in-house or from cloud-based servers, that provides a platform to deliver a flexible benefits scheme. Increasingly, systems are designed to interface with other elements of benefits and reward, including pensions, and often have interactive and data-modelling tools that can be ...
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ArticleScottish Power introduces retirement savings portal
Scottish Power has introduced an online portal to help its employees meet their retirement saving goals.The portal, provided by Hymans Robertson, enables the 2,500 members of Scottish Power's defined contribution (DC) pension scheme to set a retirement income target and helps them to make informed decisions to meet that target.Around ...
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Article6: EAT reserves judgement in childcare voucher discrimination case (lead story)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has reserved judgment on whether suspending an employee’s membership of a childcare voucher scheme during their maternity leave is discriminatory.In the case of Peninsula Business Services vs Donaldson, Peninsular’s childcare voucher scheme requires employees to suspend their membership during various types of leave, including maternity ...
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ArticleSouthwark Council achieves 12% take-up rate for retail discount scheme in first three months
More than one in 10 (12%) of Southwark Council's 4,500 employees have signed up for its retail discount scheme in the three months since the benefit was introduced.Southwark Council launched a tailored platform, provided by Sodexo, that incorporates its existing employee benefits and two newly introduced benefits: childcare vouchers and ...
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ArticleEAT reserves judgement in childcare vouchers and maternity leave case
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has reserved judgment on whether suspending an employee’s membership of a childcare voucher scheme during their maternity leave is discriminatory.In the case of Peninsula Business Services vs Donaldson, Peninsular’s childcare voucher scheme requires employees to suspend their membership during various types of leave, including maternity ...
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ArticleHeight for Hire to launch employee engagement and communication portal
Access platform rental firm Height for Hire is to launch an employee engagement and internal communications hub for its 200 employees.The portal, provided by Reward Gateway, will enable Height for Hire’s staff to access existing benefits, as well as instant rewards and recognition schemes, through a centralised online hub using ...
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ArticleCarter Law introduces enhanced bonus scheme and childcare vouchers
Carter Law Solicitors has introduced new benefits for its staff, including an enhanced bonus scheme and childcare vouchers, following feedback from an employee engagement survey conducted in 2015.Three quarters (75%) of the organisation's 80 staff took part in the engagement survey, which found that 38% of respondents wanted an updated ...
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Article42% of millennial parents feel burnt out most or all of the time
More than two-fifths (42%) of millennial working parent respondents feel burnt out most or all of the time, according to research by Bright Horizons and Working Families.The 2016 modern families index, which surveyed 1,000 working parents, also found that 38% of millennial parent respondents would take a pay cut to ...
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ArticleMaersk Group enhances maternity benefits for global employees
Danish transportation and energy organisation Maersk Group is to introduce improved maternity benefits for its employees globally.In an effort to increase the retention of female staff following childbirth or adoption, from 4 April 2016, Maersk Group is to launch a new policy to enhance benefits during and after maternity leave.The ...
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ArticleCredit Suisse pays for nannies to accompany staff on business trips
Credit Suisse is to roll out a programme allowing nannies to accompany employees travelling on business trips with infants. From January 2016, the bank will pay for nannies’ travel and subsistence costs.The organisation will also extend its paid parental leave policy from 12 weeks to 20 weeks for its 8,500 ...