All articles by Debi O'Donovan – Page 26
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FSA urges bonuses to be deferred
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has called for further restraint in the banking sector.In its code of practice on remuneration policies, published last month, the FSA said that those setting bonuses in the sector should ensure remuneration policies are based not only on staffs' contribution to the financial performance of ...
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Employers feel flex tax and NI pressure
Employers feel under greater pressure to maximise tax and National Insurance (NI) breaks within flexible benefits.The Employee Benefits/Towers Perrin Flexible Benefits Research 2009, published this month, found that 36% of employers that offer flexible benefits are under pressure to introduce tax-efficient benefits via salary sacrifice.In the current economic climate they ...
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EU launches campaign to tackle gender pay gap
The European Commission has launched an EU-wide campaign to help tackle the gender pay gap. Across the EU economy, women earn on average 17.4% less than men.The simple concept of 'equal pay for work of equal value' is at the heart of the campaign being launched in the context of ...
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Expacare offers expat health insurance in Sri Lanka via partnership
Expacare, an international medical insurance provider, is working with Janashakthi Insurance Company, to provide comprehensive healthcare protection for the expatriates working and living in Sri Lanka.Beverly Cook, Managing Director, Expacare, says, "We are really pleased to be operating in Sri Lanka. Expacare strategically partners with well established local insurers who ...
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Buyout service launched for smaller pension schemes
Barnett Waddingham and MetLife Assurance have formed a strategic alliance to offer a buyout arrangement specifically designed for smaller pension schemes.Aimed at streamlining what can be a protracted buy-out process (depending on the size and complexity of the scheme) the new ‘Smaller scheme buyout service’ is available to pension schemes ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Recession calls for joined-up thinking on benefits and pay
After just over three years of focusing on other aspects of the Employee Benefits brand, I find myself back in the editor's chair. I trust that it will be a blessing rather than a curse that I return to the front line during a recession.The benefits market appears to be ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Will recession lead to staff misunderstanding pension investment performance
For years advisers, pension providers and employers have wondered how to get the majority of staff interested in their pensions.Now many don’t want staff to get too interested - in case it drives up costs or causes staff to make poor choices in the current recession.We are seeing several different ...
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30% pay drop expected for housing association staff
The economic downturn has had a significant impact on pay budgets in the housing sector, with associations cutting the estimated average pay awards by almost 30% since the autumn.A survey from Smith & Williamson, the accountancy firm, shows that the reward expectations in housing associations have dropped by almost 30% ...
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Sea Containers gains approval for its financial arrangement to support two pension schemes
The Pensions Regulator has approved the financial support arrangements of Sea Containers Limited (SCL) for two of its UK group pension schemes.The two schemes are the Sea Containers 1983 Pension Scheme and the Sea Containers 1990 Pension Scheme.The arrangements formed part of an innovative plan to exit SCL's Chapter 11 ...
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ING Car Lease sees rise in rentals
Fleet leasing company ING Car Lease has seen a significant rise in the number of companies using rental vehicles as a key part of their fleet management strategy. In the last year alone the fleet specialist has seen the volume of rentals it handles for both public and private sector ...
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Medicash reviews car and travel policies as part of new carbon neutral status
Liverpool based health cash plan provider Medicash has announced that it has achieved carbon neutral status.In addition to carbon offsetting Medicash is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by a further 10% over the coming year.†To help achieve this goal the company is limiting its company car policy to vehicles ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editorial director of Employee Benefits: Why salary sacrifice is becoming so widespread
Salary sacrifice schemes are becoming ever more popular among employers striving to cut benefits costs in the current recession [Sub - Note: by January the UK should officially be in recession, but you can change this to economic downturn if you prefer]. And this popularity received a further boost with ...
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Debi O’Donovan, editorial director, Employee Benefits: Why healthcare cash plans boom during a recession
Over the past couple of months healthcare cash plan providers have been telling me that they are going through a bit of a boom. Amid talk of recession and redundancies, these medical savings plan providers have been increasing sales forces to cope with demand from employers.It is not hard to ...
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Report for FDs: Executive pay in retail is still rising
Executive pay awards in retail have risen 38% over the past five years as CEOs seek to insulate themselves against the risk of failure in tough market conditions.According to research by Durler Consulting, despite the average length of tenure decreasing, retail CEOs now earn an average £1.5 million.In the banking ...
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Report for FDs: Firms offer discount plans in downturn
†Voluntary benefits plans are being used to help employees deal with the economic downturn.Employers such as Punch Taverns, Volkswagen Financial Services, Heinz and Royal Borough of Kingston are some of the organisations that have launched or expanded plans to help increase employee spending power.Heinz launches its voluntary benefits plan to ...
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Report for FDs: Pay cuts preferred to redundancies
Last month staff at JCB voted to take a £50-a-week pay cut in order to prevent 350 colleagues losing jobs. Around 2,500 production staff based at seven different factories have agreed to work a four day week. The 34-hour week will commence on November 3 and will run for a ...
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Report for FDs: Legal eagles clip their wings
Top legal firms have been trimming luxuries for staff. Eversheds has asked staff to cut down on travel, while earlier this year Clifford Chance curbed the use of taxis. Nabarro has cancelled its firmwide Christmas party and axed free sandwiches for trainees. Meanwhile, Slaughter and May has switched from offering ...
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Report for FDs: Expatriate figures double in 3 years
The number of expatriates has doubled over the past three years as employers see an increased value in overseas assignments according to a new survey. The survey, by Mercer, found that 86% of employers consider benefits to be a medium or high business priority. However, 26% admit to having no ...
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Report for FDs: Falling shares hit DB schemes
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes continue to struggle in the face of falling share prices. BT is planning to overhaul its DB pension scheme after its deficits rose by an estimated £5bn this year to approximately £16bn. While Express Newspapers has reportedly warned staff of proposals to freeze its defined ...
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CIPD Reward Forum: HMRC scrutinises salary sacrifice on staff canteens
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is continuing to look very closely at the way employers use salary sacrifice in relation to onsite meals for staff. Speaking at the CIPD Reward Forum, David Reilly, client services director, Grant Thornton said that HMRC is looking particularly closely at Giro-style cards where employers ...