All Benefits for carers articles – Page 66
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AnalysisFamily-friendly benefits for the school summer holidays
If you read nothing else, read this…Childcare vouchers are a popular family-friendly benefit that employers offer staff.Flexible working and discount vouchers can be equally valuable.Employers should ensure they do not discriminate against staff without children.But employers can offer considerable support to help them cope, and at relatively little cost.Childcare vouchers ...
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Article
Shared parental leave receives royal assent
The government’s Children and Families Act, which includes legislation for shared parental leave, has received royal assent.The act includes:From April 2015, mothers, fathers and adopters will be able to share parental leave around their child’s birth or placement.From 1 October 2014, prospective fathers or a mother’s partner will be able ...
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OpinionNicola Kerr: Delay to extension of flexible-working arrangements
This legislation will give employees the statutory right to request a contract variation for flexible-working arrangements, and will require employers to consider the request in a reasonable manner.However, the right to request does not create a right to flexible working.As part of its strategy to create a modern workplace for ...
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ArticleEmergency eldercare fastest-growing flexible benefit
Currently, this benefit is offered by just 9% of respondents to the survey. However, a further 10% of the total sample plan to add it to their flex plans.Other predicted fast-growing benefits include salary sacrifice cars, gadget insurance and low-emission cars. These are all expected to be offered by double ...
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Article86% of employers offer childcare vouchers via flexible benefits
This means that childcare vouchers are the perk that most employers offer, although this benefit does tend to see low take up among employees. Generally, tax-efficient benefits are commonly offered because of the income tax and national insurance (NI) savings (both for employers and employees) that these can bring. This ...
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ArticleEmployee Benefits / Towers Watson flexible benefits research 2014
Read the digital edition of the Employee Benefits / Towers Watson flexible benefits research 2014.The supplement includes the following articles:Paul Brown: Fit-for-purpose and well-communicated benefits engage staffClare Bettelley: Employee engagement drives flexible benefits growthEmployee Benefits Flexible benefits research 2014: Key findingsFlexible benefits most successful in optimising tax and NI savingsStaff ...
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Article
North Yorkshire County Council launches voluntary benefits plan
North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) has launched a voluntary benefits scheme.The scheme, Everybody Benefits, is available to the council’s 19,000 employees through a framework agreement.The online portal incorporates lifestyle discounts from provider Xexec, as well as childcare vouchers provided by Computershare Voucher Services, a bikes-for-work scheme provided by Cyclescheme and ...
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Article
Part-time working mums earn 22% less an hour
Mothers who work part-time earn 22% less an hour than women who work full-time, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).Its Childmind the gap: reforming childcare to support mothers into work report found the pay gap, which it has described as the ’motherhood pay penalty’, is ...
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AnalysisWhat makes an organisation a family-friendly employer?
If you read nothing else, read this…Retail or leisure discounts help put money back into families’ pockets.Healthcare benefits, such as private medical insurance and health cash plans, may allow staff to extend cover to family members.Changes to the childcare vouchers scheme and shared parental leave, both coming into force in ...
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Case StudiesAtkins engineers a family-friendly environment for staff
Benefits offered by Atkins that are popular among working families include flexible working, extra holiday entitlement, childcare vouchers and informal employee assistance programmes, such as networks for working families to interact with each another. The organisation won Workingmums.co.uk’s Innovation in Flexible Working Award in December 2013, and was named top ...
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Article
Shared parental leave could create issues
Under the new system, eligible working families will have more flexibility around how they can balance work and caring commitments. Parents will be able to be at home together or to work at different times and share the care of their child.The government also announced that the system will include: ...
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Article
31% of parents are not offered flexible working
Almost a third (31%) of respondents reported their employer does not offer flexible-working arrangements, according to research by charity Working Families.Its Time, health and the family research, which surveyed 1,037 male and female parents in full-time or part-time work and is sponsored by Bright Horizons, found that the education, retail ...
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Article
Imperial College launches emergency child and eldercare
Imperial College London has introduced an emergency child and eldercare service.University staff can now access emergency childcare, school holiday cover and backup adult and eldercare.The scheme, which is provided by My Family Care, is designed to provide staff with greater flexibility to manage their work and family responsibilities.The university will ...
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Article
DOD’s blog: Flexing part-time muscle
Reading the Evening Standard on Wednesday night an article caught my eye and caused me to sigh with relief.It appears that the London mayor, Boris Johnson, has announced that part-time season ticket loans will be available on London Transport from January 2015.I acknowledge that the whole world does not live ...
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Article
SMEs opposed to shared parental leave
More than three-quarters (70%) of respondents are opposed to the government’s new system of shared parental leave, according to research by outsourced HR and employment law provider High Performance Consultancy (HPC).Its survey of almost 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), found that, while 30% of respondents said they welcome the ...
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Article
DOD’s blog: What is going to happen to childcare vouchers in 2015
An interesting survey caught my eye this week.It was the one conducted by Jelf Employee Benefits on how employers intend to react to the change in legislation on employer-provided childcare vouchers (just 2% said they would scrap childcare vouchers as a result).The sample of respondents is rather small (just 132 ...
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Article
Only 2% intend to scrap childcare vouchers
Only 2% of respondents intend to remove their existing childcare voucher offering prior to the introduction of the government’s proposed new scheme in 2015, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits.Its research, which surveyed 132 employers, found that 75% of respondents would consider retaining their existing childcare voucher scheme post-2015.In ...
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Article
Government outlines new shared parental leave system
The government has outlined how its new system of shared parental leave will work for employees and employers when it comes into force in April 2015.A government consultation, which opened in February 2013 and closed in May, looked at how the new system will work and fit together with current ...
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Article
UK ranks last in Europe for well-paid parental leave
The UK ranks last in Europe for providing working parents with well-paid leave following the birth of a child, according to research by Trades Union Congress (TUC).The research, which was published to coincide with the Children and Families Bill beginning its committee stage in the House of Lords on 19 ...
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Article
EHRC to investigate maternity discrimination
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is to undertake a comprehensive research project into the scale of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace.The EHRC has launched the project due to anecdotal evidence that suggests some pregnant women experience discrimination while on maternity leave or on their return to ...