All Benefits for carers articles – Page 78
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Article
Vauxhall signs four-year pay deal and flexible working arrangement
Vauxhall has signed a four-year labour agreement for the 2,200 employees at its Ellesmere Port manufacturing plant in Chesire.The agreement includes a wage arrangement, which runs from 2013 to 2017. For the first two years of the arrangement, there will see a pay freeze, while the latter two years will ...
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Article
The Queen’s Speech: Parental leave to become more flexible
The government will bring in legislation to enable new parents to share parental leave.Under measures proposed in the Children and Families Bill, parental leave would become more flexible to enable parents to share parenting responsibilities and balance work and family commitments.Prime minister David Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg ...
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Article
Majority of men still not taking parental leave entitlement
The number of men taking statutory paternity leave has increased by 14% over the last year, but this is still a small fraction of those entitled to it, according to research by international law firm Pinsent Masons.The research found that, despite the fact that the number of employees claiming statutory ...
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Article
Mitie Group and Ernst & Young among top employers for women
Ernst and Young and Mitie Group are among the employers to receive a place in The Times’ top 50 employers for women list.The list is compiled in partnership with Opportunity Now, the gender equality campaign by Business in the Community. It celebrates organisations that are committed to promoting diversity and ...
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Article
My Family Care launches dedicated childcare and carer website
My Family Care has launched a dedicated back-up childcare and carer services website to help employers provide their working parents and carers with alternative arrangements during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.The Work and Family Space, which was introduced in April, joins up the provider’s services, such as emergency ...
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Article
HSBC guarantees part-time roles to all new parents
HSBC is to offer all employees a part-time role on a pro-rata salary at the same level as their original position following maternity or paternity leave.The bank will offer the option to returning parents in a bid to help employees balance the demands of family life with their career development.HSBC ...
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Analysis
News analysis: Who pays for childcare?
Proposals for a new government-funded childcare scheme have fuelled a debate about the future of childcare vouchers.The National Childcare Contribution Scheme (NCCS), suggested in February by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) in its report A better beginning: Easing the cost of childcare, would allow working parents to borrow money from ...
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Article
Childcare costs take up a third of annual salaries
Childcare costs now take up a third (35%) of average annual salaries, according to research by Hay Group.The PayNet UK salary tracker, which analyses salary movements across five different employee levels in more than 700 organisations, found that clerical-level workers in England will spend on average £103.19 per week on ...
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Article
EXCLUSIVE: Cisco extends flexible benefits to Spain and targets full European roll-out
Cisco has extended its flexible benefits scheme to its 350 employees in Spain, which included the introduction of a new pension plan and the country’s equivalent childcare voucher scheme.The company now intends to roll out the scheme, provided by Thomsons Online Benefits, to its other European sites in Norway, Italy, ...
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Article
Union to ballot Transport for London staff on strike action around annual leave during Olympics
Transport for London (TFL) employees will be balloted by the union for the rail, maritime and transport (RMT) industries for strike action around annual leave during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.RMT said that TFL’s plan to ban annual leave during the games in at least one department will ...
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Article
World Vision UK introduces discounts scheme and switches childcare voucher providers
Exclusive: World Vision UK has introduced an online employee discounts scheme and switched childcare voucher providers.The discount scheme, provided by Wider Plan, is available to all of the charity’s 200 UK staff.Marlene Smith, payroll and benefits specialist at World Vision, said: “We wanted to give staff more spending power in ...
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Article
Canada Life research: A third of employees want better work-life balance
More than a third (37%) of employees would like a better work-life balance, according to research by Canada Life.The Canada Life research into employee absence, which surveyed 1,226 people in August 2011, asked what incentives could be offered to prevent employees taking time off work.For most respondents, flexible working was ...
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Article
Sainsbury’s supports staff on Carers Rights Day
Sainsbury’s has joined forces with Carers UK to support employees who care for an ill or disabled loved one.Because 2 December is Carers Rights Day, the supermarket chain is distributing Carers UK’s advice guide, which offers information on juggling work and care.Sainsbury’s has also sponsored 50,000 copies of the guide, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Amnesty International targets gold standard policy for maternity leave
One organisation that has a lot of experience with maternity leave planning is human rights group Amnesty International UK. Its average staff age is 37 and two-thirds of its 200 employees are female.The charity pays 26 weeks’ salary at full pay and 13 weeks at the statutory maternity pay rate ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Nomura invests in back-up childcare service
When investment bank Nomura International rolled out a back-up care service in January 2011, it was the result of two years' focus on the firm's diversity and inclusion benefits for its 3,500 London-based staff.At the end of 2010, a proposal was sent to the diversity and inclusion steering group around ...
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Case Studies
Case strudy: Barclays Wealth banks on working parents
Barclays Wealth introduced an emergency childcare and carer service in June 2011, to add to a suite of benefits supporting its working parent population.Since its launch, the scheme has been taken up by 7% (260) of staff across the UK. Sarah Boddey, head of diversity and inclusion at Barclays Wealth, ...
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Article
Mercer research: Meaningful benefits increase employee engagement
Meaningful benefits, such as personal car leasing schemes and student debt loans, improve employee engagement levels, according to research by Mercer.The What’s working survey, which polled 30,000 employees in 17 countries, found that these types of benefits reinforce an organisation’s appeal as an employer, are immediate and cost effective, and ...
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Analysis
Employees' benefits rights when taking maternity leave
If you read nothing else, read this… By law, employers must continue to provide non-cash benefits throughout an employee’s maternity leave. This includes benefits offered via a salary sacrifice arrangement, even if an employee is not currently earning a salary to sacrifice. Employers must pay full pension contributions during any ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Southdown Housing builds flexibility into maternity leave
As one of Working Families’ 2011 top 10 employers, Southdown Housing Association knows the importance ofcomplying with maternity leave legislation.The organisation, which has 700 staff, continues to pay car allowances and childcare vouchers during maternity leave. It also offers a health cash plan that pays between £50 to £200 when ...
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Article
Simmons & Simmons launches emergency carer service
Simmons and Simmons has rolled out a back-up carer service to help its 700 employees balance their work and family commitments.The law firm had received anecdotal feedback from its employee discussion groups about the increasing difficulties in attaining a work-life balance.Dan Flint, HR director at Simmons and Simmons, said: “We ...