All Benefits for carers articles – Page 63
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OpinionLovewell's Logic: Will shared parental leave take off?
From Monday (1 December), new rules will mean that, for the first time, working mothers and fathers will be able to share a period of parental leave for 12 months after the birth or adoption of a child.As well as offering eligible families much greater flexibility around childcare following the ...
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ArticleA fifth of HR directors not ready for shared parental leave
Around a fifth (21%) of HR directors are not ready to meet the requirements of shared parental leave legislation, according to research by business outsourcing provider ADP.Its report, The workforce view 2014/15, which surveyed more than 2,500 working adults in the UK, also found that almost three-quarters (70%) of HR ...
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ArticleDeloitte, PWC and Shell to offer enhanced paternity packages
Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Shell are to offer enhanced paternity packages to all employees ahead of new shared parental leave legislation coming into effect from April 2015. Under its package for shared parental leave, Deloitte will match its current level of enhanced maternity or adoption pay, which is set at ...
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ArticlePWC loses flexible working discrimination case
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has lost a sex discrimination case against an employee who wished to pursue work flexibly but had his request rejected.Erik Pietzka, who was a manager at accountancy firm PWC’s office in Cardiff, was told by his employer that pursuing the idea of flexible working would damage his career, ...
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Article39% struggle to find maternity benefits information
Nearly two in five (39%) female employees struggle to find details about their employer’s maternity benefits, according to research by jobs and careers website Glassdoor.Its survey of 1,000 working women, 500 who have already taken maternity leave and 500 who plan to do so in the future, found that 13% ...
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Article63% of FTSE 100 staff interested in shared parental leave
Just under two-thirds (63%) of respondents are interested or very interested in taking up shared parental leave when it comes into effect from 1 December, according to research by law firm Linklaters. The legislation will enable eligible parents to share a period of their maternity or adoption leave with their ...
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ArticleThree-quarters of parents rate flexible working as very important
Nearly three-quarters of parents rate flexible working as very important when they are looking for a new job, according to research by Workingmums.co.uk, sponsored by BBC Future Media.The survey of more than 2,000 parents also found that homeworking is the most popular form of flexible working among employers, but few ...
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ArticleEmployers must prepare for shared parental leave requests
Under the new rules, which take effect from December 2014, parents will be able to share 12 months’ leave after the birth of their child.Employees who discover they are pregnant and are due to give birth after 5 April 2015 can start sending their employers a notice of eligibility and ...
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ArticleEnding of colleague's contract not maternity discrimination
An employment tribunal has ruled that failure to inform an employee about the ending of a colleague’s contract does not result in maternity discrimination.The decision comes from the case Smith-Twigger v Abbey Protection Group, where the claimant had worked full-time but from April 2011 arranged, because of her childcare responsibilities, ...
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ArticleCivil Service staff to receive equal parental leave pay
All Civil Service employees will be entitled to full parental leave pay from April 2015, the government has announced today.Currently, only mothers are entitled to full pay when a couple chooses to share parental leave but under new reforms, fathers will also be given the same entitlements.Under the current system, ...
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ArticleCentrica to launch network for working fathers
EXCLUSIVE: Centrica is setting up a social dads network for its working fathers following a review into updating the organisation’s family-friendly policies.The energy organisation, which owns British Gas, decided to implement such a programme on the back of the shared parental leave legislation which comes into force in December.As a ...
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AnalysisHow flexible working can boost staff wellbeing
If you read nothing else, read this…The right to request flexible working was extended to all UK employees on 30 June 2014.Flexible working options allow staff to be more flexible about managing their health, whether it be controlling the times they take medication, frequent the gym or cycle to work.Flexible ...
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Case StudiesNorthern Trust supports employees' work-life balance
Northern Trust, which has 1,400 employees in the UK and a workforce that is 35% female, introduced a range of work-life balance initiatives in 2012 with a view to increase flexible working, raise its return-to-work ratio among working mothers, and improve employee engagement and productivity.The firm’s WorkSmart programme, which enables ...
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Analysis
Implications of the October 2015 childcare voucher changes
If you read nothing else, read this…Tax-free childcare will be introduced in October 2015.Working parents who are not in receipt of childcare vouchers at that date will go into the new scheme.The change will have significant tax and cost implications for both employers and working parents if neither prepares for ...
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ArticleTax-free childcare could make wealthy parents wealthier
The government’s new tax-free childcare scheme could boost wealthy parents’ finances because of the way in which it tops up families’ spend, according to Anand Shulka, chief executive of the Family and Childcare Trust.Speaking at EB Live 2014, Shulka explained that the scheme, which will introduce a “20% top-up on ...
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OpinionKatherine Wilson: What would the ultimate care voucher look like?
It would be accessible, affordable and appropriate for working parents and carers.It would apply to childcare and care for a dependent adult, such as a partner, elderly parent, relative or close friend.It would be simple and flexible to use for emergency or back-up care, care search, information and advice services, ...
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OpinionSuzanne Tyrrell: What would the ultimate care voucher look like?
However, the new scheme only deals with childcare. What about carers of disabled adult or elderly family members?At present, there is no similar scheme to provide employees with other caring responsibilities with financial support. These are employees who may have had to reduce working hours or even leave employment in ...
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AnalysisWhat employers should consider around flexible-working requests
A 2011 Journal of Child and Family Studies report by Sanders MR, Haslam DM, Calam R, Southwell C and Stallman H, ’Designing effective interventions for working parents: a web-based survey of parents in the UK workforce’ (Journal of Children’s Services, 6, 3, 186-200), found that 85% of parents in employment ...
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ArticlePartners given rights to attend antenatal appointments
Employees who are expectant fathers, or the partner of a pregnant woman, will have the right to take unpaid time off work to attend antenatal appointments from 1 October 2014.Employees accompanying the expectant mother to antenatal appointments will be entitled to unpaid leave for one or two appointments.The time off ...
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OpinionAndy Major: What would the ultimate care voucher look like?
Clearly, childcare is a key consideration, and such a voucher should include every working parent as standard. But it should also list every employee who has an elderly dependant to worry about. As flexible working becomes more commonplace, what about people who need to work flexibly in order to perform ...