All articles by Debbie Lovewell-Tuck – Page 33
-
AnalysisTop five tips for implementing car salary sacrifice
For employers that are thinking of implementing a car salary sacrifice scheme in their organisation, here are five top tips for getting it right.1 Be clear on your objectives This may sound simple, but many organisations move straight into the provider selection process without first being clear about their own ...
-
OpinionLovewell's Logic: Will shared parental leave take off?
From Monday (1 December), new rules will mean that, for the first time, working mothers and fathers will be able to share a period of parental leave for 12 months after the birth or adoption of a child.As well as offering eligible families much greater flexibility around childcare following the ...
-
ArticleGPPs remain employers' most popular pension scheme
Group personal pension (GPPs) plans remain the most commonly offered type of scheme by employers.More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents now offer a GPP as their primary pension scheme, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014, which surveyed 216 respondents in September 2014.Although the numbers have fluctuated over ...
-
ArticlePension reforms drive staff need for guidance
More employees will want and need guidance around their pension decisions both at retirement and throughout their career as a result of the government’s pension reforms.Just under half (48%) of respondents felt that this would be the case at retirement, while 43% said staff would require guidance throughout their career, ...
-
ArticleAt-retirement support is key part of employee value proposition
Just under half (49%) of respondents say that supporting staff at retirement is a key part of their employee value proposition (EVP), according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014.The research, which surveyed 216 respondents in September 2014, also found that 43% see its role in engaging staff as ...
-
AnalysisWhy should employers be concerned about mental health?
Mental illness is a serious problem for businesses and for the economy, with one in six employees dealing with a condition such as stress, anxiety or depression in any one year. All too often, the first the employer knows about it is when the employee has to take time off ...
-
ArticleJane Vivier: Should employers use social media to communicate benefits?
Think back to the days when we ‘discovered’ podcasts and webinars. We embraced them, not because we found them easy to make or even fun to do, but because they expanded our reach into parts of our workforce that remained untouched by leaflets, roadshows and posters.Using social media is no ...
-
OpinionDenise Keating: Flexibility increases wellbeing
Employers typically offer formal flexible-working policies, such as leave for parents, and flexibility around sabbatical or other opportunities.The reality is that flexible working is driven only when an employee has a need, such as childcare and eldercare.On the other hand, agile working is where an employer provides employees with flexibility ...
-
ArticleTop 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read stories on employeebenefits.co.uk from 9 to 15 October:Members to be able to take tax-free lump sums from pensionsWhy new retirement options should lead to a revamp of HR and benefits strategiesMasks to tackle workplace stressEnding of colleague’s contract not maternity discriminationTravis Perkins Group strengthens EVPGovernment ...
-
ArticleEmployee Benefits Awards 2015 open for entries
The Employee Benefits Awards 2015 are now open for entries.The awards offer benefits professionals the ideal opportunity to showcase, and gain recognition for, the outstanding work they have done over the past 12 months.With 22 categories to enter, there is sure to be at least one to showcase any organisation’s ...
-
AnalysisWhat are the data protection issues around healthcare benefits?
Box: If you read nothing else, read this..Employers do not automatically have the right to access or use information held by benefits providers about their employees.Where given, information must be used only for the purpose for which it was obtained. Particular care should be given to the transmission and destruction ...
-
ArticleFTSE 350 CEOs receive 12% rise in remuneration
FTSE 350 chief executive officers (CEOs) received a 12% increase in their remuneration last year due to the improving financial performance of FTSE 350 companies, according to research by EY.Its Future horizons report also found that chief financial officers received a 9% rise in their remuneration.The increases for both groups ...
-
ArticleNAPF and PMI to discuss merger
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) have announced their formal intention to discuss the possibility of merging the two organisations.The possibility of a merger will be discussed over the next six to nine months, after which both organisations will update their members and ...
-
ArticlePFK Cooper Parry introduces open holiday policy
Accountancy firm PFK Cooper Parry has introduced an open holiday policy, enabling employees to decide how much paid time off work they take and when they take it.The scheme, which forms part of the organisation’s flexible-working strategy and launched last month, is based on managers’ trust that their teams will ...
-
ArticleMasks to tackle workplace stress
We all have our own ways of dealing with work-related stress.Here at Employee Benefits, we are known to favour sweet treats as deadlines approach. But employees in Japan could soon experience a novel way of relieving stress at work thanks to Japanese designer Tomomi Sayuda, who has designed a role-playing ...
-
Article
Top 10 most read stories this week
1. Employee Benefits Live 2014 speaker slides2. Rolls Royce switches healthcare trust provider3. Court rules employers are liable for lost pension rights4. Southern Water launches employer-paid health cash plan5. Virgin Money to award staff £1,000 share bonus6. Employee fails to win claim for outstanding sick pay7. Hyde Group to add ...
-
AnalysisThe impact of an ageing population on employee benefits
Improving longevity is unquestionably a global trend driven by major improvements in health and medical advances.The greying workforce is particularly pronounced in the developed economies of Europe, the US, Australia and Japan. For the emerging economies of India, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia, it is much less of a concern.But is ...
-
ArticleDebbie Lovewell-Tuck: Balancing pay expectations with pension costs
All employees naturally want to achieve the best standard of living possible, and human nature dictates that many will base this on what they can afford to buy and do with their take-home pay.However, by focusing on their short- or even medium-term future, some employees could be overlooking the bigger ...
-
ArticleNeil Morrison: Should employers use social media to communicate benefits?
If an employer wants to communicate effectively, it is best to use the channels that people are on, not try to create new ones.There is an interesting additional dynamic that comes up when we start to look at organisations’ internal use of external social media channels, such as Twitter and ...
-
OpinionWill flexible benefits technology be free in the future?
Lawrence Sutton, senior manager, EMX solutions at KPMG, says yes:Flexible benefits technology has evolved significantly in just 20 years. When it first arrived on the scene, it was a luxury for even large, wealthy organisations. Today, flex technology is ubiquitous, even in small and medium-sized businesses. In the future, I ...