All articles by Debbie Lovewell-Tuck – Page 53
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Employee Benefits Summit 2010: Panel debate: High earners tax on reward and pensions
Tax changes for high earners are the highest priority for delegates at the Employee Benefits Summit in Monte Carlo.A fifth of delegates said this issue (which comprises a new 50% tax rate for employees earning above £150,000 a year and a reduction in tax relief on pensions for higher earners) ...
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Employee Benefits Summit 2010: 2012 pension reforms must be simplified
The new Conservative/Liberal Democrat government must simplify the rules around 2012’s incoming pensions reforms if the new legislation is to work.Speaking on pension commitments for employers in the run up to 2012 on the first day of the Employee Benefits Summit in Monte Carlo, Jim Bligh, senior policy adviser-employment and ...
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Twinings outsources fleet management
R Twining and Company has outsourced the management of its 120-vehicle UK fleet.The tea company previously managed its fleet in-house. It has appointed Zenith Provecta to manage its fleet and provide full servicing and maintenance, breakdown and accident management.Kirsty East, category manager for Twinings, said: "The reason we made the ...
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Budget 2010: VAT rise impacts on company cars
The rise in value-added tax (VAT) announced in yesterday's Budget could prompt employers to pull forward orders for new company cars to 2010 in order to avoid higher VAT bills.From 4 January 2011, VAT will rise from 17.5% to 20%.Julie Jenner, chairman of fleet body ACFO, said: “The increase in ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Responsibility for and communication of benefits
The past few years have seen the increasing development of reward, compensation and benefits into recognised HR specialisms. As the profession has risen in importance and status, there has been a corresponding rise in the responsibility compensation and benefits or reward directors and managers have for benefits decisions in their ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Employers' attitudes to and evaluation of benefits
With finance directors increasingly putting every area of an organisation's expenditure under the microscope, it is perhaps not surprising that this year has seen a substantial rise in the percentage of employers that evaluate the effectiveness of their benefits strategy. More than half (52%) say they now do so, compared ...
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The Employee Benefits/Alexander Forbes Benefits Research 2010
Research: Who are the respondents; key findingsResearch: Benefits strategiesResearch: Employers’ attitudes to and evaluation of benefits strategiesResearch: Responsibility for and communication of benefitsResearch: How employers offer benefitsResearch: Core benefits provisionResearch: Voluntary benefits provisionResearch: Benefits offered through salary sacrificeResearch: Flexible benefits provisionResearch: Changes employers have made to their benefits packagesSponsor’s comment: ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Changes employers have made to their benefits provision
Employers that invest the time, effort and money required to offer benefits to their workforce will want to ensure they gain the best possible return. In the long run, keeping a benefits package fresh and relevant to employees is an excellent way to ensure staff remain engaged and interested in ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Flexible benefits provision
Flexible benefits schemes have been something of a slow burner in the benefits world. Despite being the subject of much discussion and debate in the industry, their popularity has been relatively slow to take off. Although the number of employers offering flex schemes is increasing, this growth has occurred at ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Benefits offered through salary sacrifice
Given the tax and national insurance (NI) savings that are available when offering tax-efficient benefits through a salary sacrifice scheme, it is perhaps no surprise that 87% of respondents offer benefits through this type of arrangement to some, if not all, of their workforce.Employers that do not offer perks on ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Voluntary benefits provision
During the economic downturn, voluntary benefits schemes have been a way for employers to help their employees' salaries stretch a little bit further. Giving employees access to discounted products and services through a voluntary benefits scheme is also a cost-effective way of offering perks to staff, or boosting a benefits ...
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Benefits Research 2010: Core benefits provision
Over the past six years, there has been little change in the top benefits included in employers' traditional core packages. Just as in 2004, this year, life assurance (also known as death-in-service) is the most commonly offered core benefit.The growing prominence of total reward strategies has led to more incidences ...
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Benefits Research 2010: How employers offer benefits
Most employers still offer traditional core benefits, but over the past six years, the percentage that offer benefits through another mechanism – via a flexible benefits scheme, on a voluntary basis or through a salary sacrifice arrangement – has risen steadily. In 2004, for example, 37% of respondents offered a ...
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Budget 2010: Banking staff incentives to be investigated
Staff incentives in the banking sector are to come under the spotlight under proposals outlined in today’s Budget.The government is to ask industry body the Retail Financial Services Forum (RFSF) to investigate to what extent financial services firms' staff targets and incentives led to poor outcomes for consumers and employees, ...
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Budget 2010: Changes to employee share schemes
From 24 March 2010, employers will no longer be able to operate company share option plans (Csops) if they are a subsidiary of a listed company.Measures contained in this year's Budget report will also introduce legislation to counter arrangements set up by employers in recent years to circumvent the £30,000 ...
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Employee Benefits/Towers Watson Flexible Benefits Research 2010
Research: who are the respondents; key findingsResearch: attitudes to flexible benefitsResearch: structure of flexible benefits schemesResearch: flexible benefits on offerResearch: tax-efficient flexible benefitsResearch: how flexible benefits schemes are administeredResearch: alternatives to flexible benefitsSponsor’s comment: Using flexible benefits can pay off in a period of change Editor’s commentAs employers have continued ...
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Research 2010: alternatives to flexible benefits
There has been a significant rise in the proportion of employers that do not think their organisation offers enough benefits to flex, says Debbie LovewellImplementing a flexible benefits scheme requires time and commitment from employers if they are to fully engage employees with the concept and optimise the plan's value.So ...
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Research 2010: structure of flexible benefits schemes
There is a growing trend for employers to enable staff to trade their existing benefits up or down rather than provide a flex pot to spend, says Debbie LovewellSince flexible benefits schemes arrived in the UK from the US in the 1980s, the industry's view of what exactly constitutes such ...
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Research 2010: flexible benefits on offer
Employers are moving towards offering a wider selection of benefits within flex, and childcare vouchers remain the most popular option, says Debbie LovewellIt can be a challenge to get the balance right when it comes to deciding on the number of options to include within a flexible benefits plan. Employers ...
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Research 2010: attitudes to flexible benefits
The recession and looming pension reforms have affected attitudes to flex, but meeting staff needs is still the top reason for offering a plan, says Debbie LovewellThe top reason to offer flex has remained largely unchanged over the 12 years Employee Benefits has conducted research in this area: that it ...