All articles by David Woods – Page 12
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Analysis
Unions threaten pay action
Unions threaten strike action as Chancellor looks at moves towards long-term pay deals.Government plans to keep a tight lid on public sector pay by putting in place three year-pay deals have met with criticism from unions and threats of possible strike action.The government announced last month that it wanted to ...
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Article
Robin Mills heading to Compass as HRD
Compass Group UK & Ireland has appointed Robin Mills as HR director. Mills will join the firm in early March from his current position as group HR director at Woolworths Group. In his new role, he will head up a 95-strong team that will oversee all HR policy, recruitment, training ...
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Article
Employees want pensions advice from employers
Many working in the pensions industry believe employees look to their employer for help understanding how much to save into a pension and which funds to invest in. The results of an online poll carried out by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) also highlighted the new pressures that ...
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Article
Green corporate image often more important than carbon and cost reductions
Almost two thirds of employers (60%) admit that their organisation's image is the main reason behind them taking a green approach to their fleet, with less than half (47%) stating that cost reduction is a motivating factor.According a survey of more than 150 businesses by fleet management company Masterlease, 70% ...
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Article
Childcare Choice and HR4UK form strategic alliance
Childcare voucher company, Childcare Choice, has formed an alliance with online HR systems provider, HR4UK, that will enable employers to its personnel administration solutions.HR4UK, which can provide a virtual HR department for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs), will now be available to Childcare Choice customers. Employers using HR4UK, meanwhile, will be directed ...
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Article
HM Armed Forces launches healthcare cash plan
HM Armed Forces has launched a healthcare cash plan for serving military personnel and their families.The plan, which is provided by BHSF, and offer the choice of three levels of cover offering a broad range of treatments and benefits including optical and dental treatments, physiotherapy, maternity benefit, consultations, day-case surgery ...
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Article
Personal accounts delivery authority consults on charging structure
The personal accounts delivery authority (PADA) has launched a consultation, Building personal accounts: choosing a charging structure.In the first of several consultations, the authority is seeking the views of stakeholders and the general public to inform its recommendation on the changing structure of personal accounts.The consultation covers the charging structure ...
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Article
Employers can award recognised qualifications to staff
Network Rail, McDonald's and Flybe have been given the ability to award nationally-accredited qualifications to employees.The companies were given Awarding Body Status by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, enabling them to assess, track and recognise workplace learning. This means it will be much easier for employers and employees to identify ...
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Article
James Purnell becomes Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
James Purnell has been appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions following the resignation of Peter Hain.Hain stood down from his post as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions following an investigation by police over his failure to declare £103,000 in campaign donations.Purnell, 37, moves from the Department ...
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Article
Treasury confirms capital gains tax changes
The government has confirmed changes to capital gains tax so that all employees who own shares in their employer will have to pay 18% tax on any gain above £9,200 from April 2008.This will affect staff who are participate in sharesave (also known as save-as-you-earn) schemes.Fiona Downes, head of employee ...
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Article
Brent Council launches voluntary benefits
Brent Council has launched a range of voluntary benefits aimed at boosting employee wellbeing and aiding recruitment and retention.The perks, which came into effect on 14 January, will provide the councils employees with discounts on holidays, at cinemas and high street shop,s as well as a variety of local discounts ...
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Article
Employers could be given cash incentives for healthy staff
Employers could be offered cash incentives to ensure their staff are healthy as part of the government's £372 million strategy for tackling the country's obesity epidemic.As part of its proposals, the Department of Health plans to create stronger incentives for individuals, employers and the NHS to prioritise the long-term work ...
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Article
Police intend to take higher pay demands to court
The Police Federation has applied for a judicial review on the government's decision not to back date the 2.5% pay rise of its 140,000 members.According to Scotland Yard, 22,500 police officers took to the streets of London to protest against the governments decisions over their pay.In his speech to the ...
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Article
Employers fail to explain retirement options to staff
A number of UK employers are failing to provide adequate information about pensions and retirement options to staff.According to a survey of the top FTSE-350 companies by JPMorgan Invest, a third of employers fail to explain the full selection of retirement options to staff.The research also revealed that one-in-five employers ...
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Article
BP takes pension contribution holiday
BP is to take a contribution holiday from its BP Pension Fund and its Burmah Castrol Pension Fund during 2008, due to a high funding level in October 2007.Under the firm's Statement of Funding and Investment Principles (SFIP), the company is not required to contribute to the fund if the ...
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Article
Time Technology Park introduces employer-funded cash plan
Time Technology Park has introduced an employer-funded healthcare cash plan.The scheme, provided by LHF Healthplan, has been rolled out across all five companies at the park, Supanet, Total Care and Support, Digital World Group, GET Property Management and Tpad. Around 90 staff in sales positions as well as engineers and ...
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Article
Teachers unions to consider strike over three-year pay deal
The national union of teachers (NUT) has promised a “robust response” to the government’s three-year pay offer of 2.45% as it claims members will be “worse off” as it is below the rate of inflation. There is speculation that the teaching unions will consider strike action.Under the offer, most teachers ...
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Article
Royal London revamps voluntary benefits site
Financial services provider, Royal London, has revamped its voluntary benefits website for its 2,600 staff.The online scheme allows staff to access discounts on retail, food, and travel products, and professional services. It is managed by P&MM.Group reward manager at Royal London, Peter Riley, said: "We wanted to provide our staff ...
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Article
Employers could be fined for asking job applicants about pensions
Employers could be fined for asking job applicants about pensions due to amendments that are expected to be made to the Pensions Bill.The government has signalled its intention to outlaw 'pension discrimination' and plans to table an amendment at committee stage to the Pensions Bill, which passed its second reading ...
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Article
Surrey County Council introduces staff helpline
Surrey County Council has launched a telephone service which staff can call anonymously to report bullying or harassment at work.The council hopes that the help line, will enable staff to report bullying, harassment and criminal activity in the workplace if they are not confident to take their complaints to their ...