All articles by Debi O'Donovan – Page 6
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DOD’s blog: Will you still need me when I'm 68?
It is rare I feel quite as excited about Autumn Statements and Budget Speeches as I did yesterday.After years of writing about the fact that sharesave limits have not been raised since 1991 (that is I, Employee Benefits and many others more influential than ourselves), I was thrilled to hear ...
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DOD’s blog: What is going to happen to childcare vouchers in 2015
An interesting survey caught my eye this week.It was the one conducted by Jelf Employee Benefits on how employers intend to react to the change in legislation on employer-provided childcare vouchers (just 2% said they would scrap childcare vouchers as a result).The sample of respondents is rather small (just 132 ...
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DOD's blog: painting a picture of pension charges
The government consultation on pensions charges closed yesterday. The big pensions beasts were out in force to put their views across, and sometimes cross swords – through both new and old media, as well as at industry events and meetings.Most weighed in to say the cap is either a bad ...
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Employee Benefits magazine – December 2013
Read Employee Benefits digital Some of the key articles include:Review of the 2013 benefits landscape in Highlights (page 22).Ranked 15 in the Sunday Times 100 Best companies to work for, NCFE shows how being a great employer is much more than just paying a good salary. Find out how they ...
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Debi O'Donovan: What happened in 2013 to influence 2014?
But it has been interesting to note how workplace wellbeing has been growing steadily over the years and is predicted to become more of a focus in the years ahead.The reasons are well known to us and include the ageing workforce and increases in obesity, diabetes and cancer among workers.We ...
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DOD’s blog: Cycle to work safety is vital
When employers know that staff cycle to work do they do enough to promote safety on the roads, I wonder.I only ask because, although I am a strong advocate of treating staff like grown ups and not being an employer nanny, I see too many drivers and cyclists behaving in ...
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DOD’s blog: Workplace kitchen wars
Last week a friend of mine sounded off on her Facebook wall about the proposed notices to be put up in the kitchen at her workplace. A meeting had even been held to decide how exactly to phrase the “Please clean up after yourselves” message so that it had maximum ...
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Top speakers at Employee Benefits Connect in New York
Alan Momeyer, vice-president of human resources at Loews Corporation, will speak about ‘The role of HR in shaping company strategy’, and Christopher Condeluci, former tax counsel of the US Senate Finance Committee, will talk about the Affordable Care Act. Sally Luck, HR director - corporate services and wellness at Hallmark ...
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DOD's blog: Which was the biggest story this week?
It’s been a particularly busy week for the EB newsdesk this week.Firstly, it is National Living Wage Week. This has been a crucial time to promote the important concept of paying people enough to live on (after all, why should the taxpayer subsidise low-paying employers’ payrolls via tax credits?). I ...
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European Global Mobility Summit and Emmas to take place on 8 November in London
The European Global Mobility Summit is where practitioners in this area come together to discuss and discover new opportunities in the ever-evolving expatriate management industry.At the conference at the Lancaster London Hotel, leading speakers will share practical information and insights into the most important issues in global mobility. Alongside this, ...
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Debi O’Donovan: Keeping up with a changing benefits market
The reason I find this notable, over and above the rising number of product launches from bigger, established companies, is because it shows the dynamism that has been entering our market over the past six to 10 months.I get the feeling we are seeing a tangible change in the way ...
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Auto-enrolment delaying HR initiatives
Human resource initiatives are being delayed because of pensions auto-enrolment, according to Vicky Wright, immediate past president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference this week, Wright (pictured) said: “The technicalities of auto-enrolment have used up an awful lot ...
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DOD’s blog: Time to stop screaming about an auto-enrolment crunch
This week I have been talking pensions, largely of the auto-enrolment variety, up at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference in Manchester.What has been great is the positive attitude to how well auto-enrolment has gone to date.But with typical British cynacism, pensions experts are wary as to how ...
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Employers switching pensions drive down costs
Large employers switching pension schemes have been key drivers in the reduction of annual management charges (AMCs) on pensions schemes.However just 3.6% of employers have switched schemes according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Annual Conference in Manchester, Ed Smith, a ...
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DOD’s blog: The summer I broke down
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day. A day, I hope, many people took note of.I have particular empathy with people who are struck down with stress or depression because I have been there myself.In a nutshell, it was an accumulation of various events, mostly work-related, that led to my annus ...
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The top 10 most read stories this week
1. Bank of America extends smoking cessation plan2. Demonstrating ROI is top priority for HR3. New guidance on public sector pension transfers4. Tax on benefits-in-kind should be equal5. Ineos Refining consults on DB pension closure6. 22% of staff feel supported when stressed at work7. PruHealth to launch integrated health product8. ...
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DOD’s blog: What do we do with ‘big data’?
At last week’s Employee Benefits Live, a debate started among HR people frustrated by the volume of management information they were being swamped by.As an aside, have you noticed how people seem to have stopped saying ‘management information’ and now call it ‘big data’? Oh, big deal.Over the years I ...
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Employee Benefits Connect back in London for third time
This highly popular one-day event, which focuses on getting benefits professionals to ‘connect’, offers a range of workshops, conference sessions and networking facilities to enable delegates to meet and share their ideas and knowledge.Feedback from both exhibitors and visitors to the 2013 Employee Benefits Connect was hugely complimentary.Ricky D’Ash, head ...
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The top 10 most read stories this week
Employee Benefits Live 2013 speaker slidesGrant Thornton overcomes AE postponement challengesEmployers want eligibility criteria altered for auto-enrolmentHMRC reports on real-time information issuesKey points about private medical insurance open referralEmployers fail to reward staff at ChristmasBITC launches 2014 Workwell benchmarkThe Positive Ageing Company launches eldercare schemeLe Creuset launches gym benefitPeopleValue adds ...
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Employee recognition more important than ever
The first, a survey conducted among 3,000 employees by Research Now on behalf of Capita Employee Benefits, found that being thanked or recognised for work is the second most popular employee benefit, after a pay rise.Michael Rose, director at Rewards Consulting, said: “Because the economy is tight and pay increase ...