All Benefits for carers articles – Page 82

  • Article

    Employers under pressure to offer breastfeeding breaks at work

    2007-05-01T00:00:01Z

    Employers are to be petitioned to offer to breastfeeding breaks for new mothers during the working day.The official launch of the Breastfeeding Manifesto will take place on Wednesday, when campaigners will request that the government introduces legislation to protect mothers who breastfeed babies in public and at work.Number four of ...

  • Article

    McAlpine offers staff access to childcare services

    2007-05-01T00:00:01Z

    Alfred McAlpine has launched a service to give its 10,000 employees access to emergency care for both child and elderly dependants with the aim of enabling them to balance work-life commitments.Employees must register to use the eldercare service and undergo an assessment of their elderly dependant's needs, at a cost ...

  • Analysis

    New proposals for parental leave

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    Employers need to consider arrangements for fathers, says Alison ColemanCase study: Mouchel ParkmanArticle in fullAmong the raft of new measures outlined in the Work and Families Act 2006 are proposals to extend paid maternity leave and allow working fathers to take up a share of it.This has provoked the usual ...

  • Article

    Gwynedd County Council launches childcare vouchers

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    Gwynedd County Council has launched a childcare voucher scheme.The plan, which went live at the start of this month, is open to the organisation's 7,000 employees.Stephen Barnard, human resources policy manager, said take up had initially been slow, but thought this may be due to launching the scheme while many ...

  • Analysis

    Gaining a return on inventment on childcare perks

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    Costing the return on childcare provisions is complex, but employers have an added impetus if staff take bogus absences to look after kids, says Nick GoldingCase study: Getty ImagesArticle in fullChildcare benefits frequently top the lists of employers' most commonly-offered perks. According to the Employee Benefits/Towers Perrin Flexible benefits research ...

  • Analysis

    A guide to childcare benefits

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    With a number of childcare options in the market, employers should choose wisely, says Jenny KeefeCase studies: The Gambling Commission, Goldman SachsArticle in full'Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?', is the clarion call often made by many employees, but parents may have particular ...

  • Article

    Mothers embrace flexible working arrangements

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    Flexible working is considered the benefit most likely to aid working mothers, according to a survey of HR and finance managers. More than two-thirds of respondents to the Workplace survey by Robert Half International favoured this method, with part-time hours offered by 64% of respondents as a means of encouraging ...

  • Article

    HR-related legislation coming into effect in April 2007

    2007-04-01T00:00:01Z

    Several legislative changes that employers must comply with come into effect this month, including:From 1 April: Enhanced parental rights under the Work and Families Act 2006 which apply where the expected week of childbirth or date of adoption is on or after 1 April 2007.From 2 April: Workplaces in Northern ...

  • Analysis

    How to manage working parents

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    Why should employers consider the needs of working parents? What should be covered in a strategy for working parents? What benefits are available to assist working parents? How do childcare vouchers work? What are the implications of providing nursery care? Preparing for an emergency How to help working parents achieve ...

  • Analysis

    What could extended flexible hours mean for employers?

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    Extensions to the overall mechanics of flexible working are a daunting possibility for employersJust as employers are preparing for next month's extension of the right to request flexible working to carers of adults, under the terms of the Work and Families Act 2006, children's minister Beverley Hughes has come out ...

  • Article

    Employers must consider staff on maternity leave for promotion

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    Female employees could sue their employer for sex discrimination if they fall behind a queue for promotion while on maternity leave.The High Court decision in a case brought by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) ruled that the government had failed to comply with its obligation to implement the 2002 Equal ...

  • Article

    Nottinghamshire County Council launches childcare vouchers

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    Nottinghamshire County Council is launching a childcare voucher scheme to its 27,000 employees.From May, staff will be able to request up to £243 per month (or £55 per week) in childcare vouchers which, subject to individual circumstances, could save employees up to £1,196 per year on childcare. The vouchers will ...

  • Article

    Childcare and flexible working fail to retain female managers

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    The number of female senior managers in UK businesses has sharply fallen in the last five years despite the use of flexible working arrangements and childcare benefits.According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Monks gender data for FTSE350 posts, the number of senior female managers gas fallen by 40% over the last ...

  • Article

    British Legion plans to offer childcare vouchers

    2007-03-01T00:00:01Z

    The Royal British Legion plans to offer childcare vouchers to its 1,000 employees by April. Alison Solomon, assistant HR officer, said: "We've had a few enquiries and requests, and thought it was a good thing to do."

  • Article

    Lack of flexible working disadvantages mothers

    2007-02-01T00:00:01Z

    The limited numbers of employers offering flexible working hours is contributing to significant employment disadvantages for women, particularly mothers.The Equalities Review's final report, Fairness and Freedom, published today, has said that despite more women than ever being in employment and achieving higher educational qualifications, there are still obstacles in their ...

  • Case Studies

    Herts county council supports staff with caring responsibilities

    2007-02-01T00:00:01Z

    Hertfordshire County Council has offered a range of support services and benefits for employees with caring responsibilities since 2002.It is already ahead of the requirements due to be brought in by the Work and Families Act in April as it allows all staff to request to work flexibly.Other support tools ...

  • Analysis

    Supporting staff with caring responsibilities is good for business

    2007-02-01T00:00:01Z

    Building on new legislation to offer support to staff with caring responsibilities can have numerous business benefits for employers, says Vicki TaylorNever before has there been such a great focus on employees’ caring responsibilities outside of the workplace. While the right to request flexible working has existed for working parents ...

  • Analysis

    Supporting carers can be good for business

    2007-02-01T00:00:01Z

    Employers are coming under increasing pressure from all quarters to offer flexible working to staff, says Amanda Wilkinson, editor of Employee Benefits. The green lobby believes it will help ease congestion, while new legislation in the form of the Work and Families Act 2006 is imposing extra duties on companies ...

  • Article

    Government minister backs flexible working for all staff

    2007-02-01T00:00:01Z

    All British employees should be entitled to work flexibly, according to the Children's Minister Beverley Hughes.In an essay titled Children, parenting and families: Renewing the progressive story, which is included in Politics for the new generation: the progressive moment published by the Institute for Public Policy Research, she argued that ...

  • Analysis

    New flexible working laws

    2007-01-01T00:00:01Z

    Benefits SurgeryEmployer's query: I've heard that there are new rights coming in to request flexible working, what will our obligations be?Since April 2003, the parents of children under the age of six years (or 18 years if disabled) have had the right to request to work flexibly to enable them ...