All articles by Clare Bettelley – Page 20
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Article
Buyer's guide to group income protection
Focus on factsWhat is group income protection? It insures employers against the cost of employee absence. Policies pay employees who are unable to work because of injury or long-term illness, covering the income and benefits to which they are entitled under their contract for as long as they are incapacitated, ...
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Case Studies
Alexander Mann challenged advisers for top results
Alexander Mann Solutions took a more commercial approach to its last review of its employee benefits package, which included scenario modelling and much tougher negotiations with its adviser, Thomsons Online Benefits, to achieve a cost-effective result.This was prompted by the revelation of an eye-watering private medical insurance (PMI) premium for ...
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Article
Budget 2012: Armed forces to receive £100m housing boost
Chancellor George Osborne has earmarked £100 million to improve accommodations for armed forces employees and their families as part of the 2012 Budget Report.The move is expected to benefit up to 1,275 military personnel. It follows the government's announcement that the armed forces were to be given priority for all ...
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Article
Budget 2012: Government consultation on integrating income tax and NI due in April
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the consultation on the integration of income tax and national insurance (NI), as announced in the 2011 Autumn Statement, will be published in April.The plans to consult on the integration of income tax and NI were announced in a paper in November 2011, which ...
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Article
Employers remain unaware of sickness absence levels
Employers remain unaware of the causes of sickness absence and their current absence levels, according to research by Aon Hewitt.The Aon Hewitt Benefits and trends survey, which polled 185 employers in the UK representing a combined workforce of 650,000 employees globally, found one-third (32%) of respondents did not know how ...
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Article
Government launches consultation on executive pay
Shareholders will have greater powers to influence executive pay if a government consultation designed to tackle the current gulf between performance and pay gets the green light.The consultation, Executive pay: consultation on enhanced shareholder voting rights, launched by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), put forward a number ...
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Article
Low-earning public sector staff set for £250 pay rise
Prison officers, NHS staff and armed forces employees earning up to £21,000 a year are to receive a £250 pay rise following a government review of public sector pay for 2012-13 by the pay review bodies.Employees earning more than £21,000 a year will have their pay frozen as part of ...
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Article
Bonus demise hits two-thirds of City employees
Nearly two-thirds of City-based employees received a reduced annual bonus or no bonus at all in 2011, according to a survey by recruitment firm Hays.Over half (57%) of the 2,400 employees surveyed are considering quitting their current job, with 60% of these considering leaving because their bonus was below expectations.Just ...
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Article
Asia Pacific-based employees enjoy highest pay rise
Pay rises for employees based in Asia Pacific are twice as high as their European counterparts, according to research by Mercer.The Global financial services incentive plan snapshot survey reviews remuneration practices and base pay increase data from 63 financial services organisations in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa ...
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Article
EB Summit: Auto-enrolment prompts employers to consider benefits cuts
Half of delegates at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Summit 2012 will consider slashing their benefits budgets because of auto-enrolment.Pension provision cuts are a consideration for almost a quarter (24%) of the leading benefits and reward professionals polled at the summit, taking place at the Four Seasons in Hampshire, ...
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Article
Towers Watson joins government's Employee Engagement Task Force
Towers Watson has joined forces with think tank, Tomorrow’s Company, and employment relations specialists, the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA), to help deliver the government’s Employee Engagement Task Force agenda.Prime minister David Cameron announced the task force in March 2011, with the aim of providing a range of practical opportunities ...
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Article
FTSE 350 pension deficits increase 8%
FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits grew by 8% to £92 billion in January, according to Mercer’s latest Pensions Risk Survey.The £92 billion total was also higher than the £84 billion reported at 31 December 2011, according to the international accounting standards (IAS) 19 figures.IAS 19 asset liability ...
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Analysis
Happiness at work
If you read nothing else, read this… David Cameron raised the issue of employee happiness and wellbeing during a speech in 2010. The promotion of control and reward at work and a strengthening of work-life balance are deemed prerequisites for employee wellbeing. Happy staff will go that extra mile for ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Boots targets feel-good factor
A key part of Boots UK's business strategy is to create a good place to work. Stephen Lehane, HR director at Boots UK, says: "Our purpose is to champion everyone's right to feel good, which we take seriously, not just for our customers, but also our colleagues."Boots' annual Great place ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Axa seeks to ensure employee happiness
Insurance firm Axa offers a raft of measures to help cultivate staff wellbeing within its UK division.Sonia Wolsley-Cooper, human resources director at Axa UK, says: "I think there is a huge responsibility on both parties for wellbeing and happiness. Clearly, organisations have to accept that people spend an awful lot ...
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Article
College of North West London holds staff health and wellbeing week
The College of North West London has hosted an inaugural staff health and wellbeing week to help inspire employees to lead more healthy lifestyles.A range of healthcare providers, including Bupa, The Co-operative and National Dental Plan, showcased a range of healthcare offerings during the week, which ran from 20 to ...
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Article
JLT Benefit Solutions launches global benefits management website
JLT Benefit Solutions has launched the first phase of a global website for its benefits management system, BenPal.The site will tailor local content and language, and span Ireland, Brazil and Australia, in addition to the UK.Duncan Howorth, international chairman, employee benefits at JLT, said: “The relative importance of the core ...
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Article
One-third of respondents to increase value of benefits package in 2012
Over one-third (41%) of employers surveyed about their current benefits package expect to increase its value in 2012, according to research by industry body Group Risk Development (Grid).In the past 12 months, only 16% of employers added to the value of their benefits package.The research found that the average annual ...
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Article
Corporate bond yield decline fuels FTSE 350 pension deficit high
A further reduction in AA corporate bond yields prevented any significant improvement in the average deficit of FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) pension funds in January, according to research by Mercer.Its Pensions risk survey found that average liability values of FTSE 350 company DB schemes increased from £478 billion at ...
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Case Studies
Employee benefits at Yorkshire Building Society
Yorkshire Building Society has managed to steer clear of the wreckage surrounding the financial sector. FD Andrew Gosling explains how to Clare BettelleyYorkshire Building Society’s senior management team has agreed to forego its 2008 bonuses. Andrew Gosling, the society’s finance director and one of four executive directors in the team, ...