All articles by Ian Silvera – Page 13

  • Article

    Milton Keynes managers are most rewarding in UK

    2013-05-07T10:48:00Z

    Managers in Milton Keynes are themost rewarding in the UK, according to research by Jurys Inn Hotels and CrossCountry trains.The hotel group’s survey of 2,500 office workers found that managers in Milton Keynes are most likely to reward their team’s successes, with 97% of bosses choosing to reward their teams ...

  • Article

    One million PAYE schemes move to RTI reporting

    2013-05-03T10:47:00Z

    More than one million pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes have started to use real-time information (RTI) reporting, according to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).The legislation, which came in to effect from 6 April 2013, means that employers report PAYE in real time from their first pay day on, or after, that ...

  • Article

    Ink up for a pay rise

    2013-05-03T04:00:00Z

    Something for the weekend…A US-based real estate agency is bucking trends when it comes to pay and reward, with an intriguing loyalty-based reward scheme.Rapid Reality, which employs 1,100 staff across 62 locations in the United States, is offering employees a 15% pay rise in return for them getting a tattoo ...

  • Article

    Increased workload top auto-enrolment concern

    2013-05-02T10:52:00Z

    Two-thirds of respondents are concerned that pensions auto-enrolment will increase workloads for their HR and payroll departments, according to research by recruitment firm Hays.The research surveyed more than 400 employers which attended a series of seminars held by Hays in partnership with Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions, and the National ...

  • Article

    McDonald’s sees low pension opt-outs

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: McDonald’s Restaurants has seen 2.4% of its hourly-paid employees and 2.7% of its salaried employees that were auto-enrolled on 1 January 2013 opt out of pensions.The fast food retailer has 37,000 UK employees who work directly for the organisation (rather than its franchises). Of this group, 35,000 are hourly-paid ...

  • Article

    Government updates share scheme simplification

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    The government has released further details on its plans to simplify employee share schemes.In December 2012, following recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS), the government announced that it would introduce self-certification of share incentive plans (Sips), save as you earn (also known as sharesave) schemes and company ...

  • Article

    SThree cuts private medical insurance premiums

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Recruitment firm SThree has cut its private medical insurance premiums by more than £23,000.This equates to a 10% saving, which is attributed to its £11,000 saving on medical claims in 12 months after the organisation nurse-led claims management service, Managed Care, provided by PMI Health Group.The claims savings were made ...

  • Article

    Legal & General to launch trustee-style governance for contract-based pensions

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Legal and General is to extend its independent trustee-style governance approach to contract-based workplace pensions for employers.The new governance structure, Independent Governance Oversight, is designed to work both with pension schemes’ own governance committees, and to take sole responsibility where no other governance exists.Independent Governance Oversight will mirror the governance ...

  • Article

    Sodexo launches childcare voucher health check

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Employee benefits provider Sodexo Motivation Solutions has launched a free childcare voucher checker.Its Health Check service, which is available to any organisation with a childcare voucher scheme in place, aims to help employers assess the health of their current scheme.The service includes an analysis of an employer’s current scheme, and ...

  • Article

    Queen's Speech legislates for childcare changes

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    The Queen’s Speech has confirmed legislation will be introduced to reform childcare for working parents, as confirmed in the 2013 Budget.From autumn 2015, the current childcare voucher scheme will be replaced by a tax-free childcare scheme.The scheme, which will initally be available for children up to the age of five, ...

  • Article

    Scottish Life to change underlying investment of matrix fund

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Scottish Life is to change the underlying investment held within its Global Blend Core Plus Pension Fund. The matrix fund, a group of externally managed equity funds categorised by sector and by risk relative to a benchmark, will see its underlying investment switched to the Rathbone Global Alpha Fund from ...

  • Article

    Finning UK renews health cash plan

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Finning UK and Ireland has renewed its employer-funded employee health cash plan contract for two more years.The equipment dealer’s health cash plan is provided to non-management employees at all of the organisation’s depots, from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands. Nearly 60% of the workforce has opted to join the plan, ...

  • Article

    Cafcass introduces new employer-paid health plan

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Family court advisory and support service Cafcass has introduced a new employer-paid health plan.The scheme, which is provided by Medicash, offers employees access to a range of benefits including physiotherapy, dental and optical treatments, flu jabs and specialist services such as health screening, specialist consultations and diagnostic testing.So far, 98% ...

  • Article

    Career breaks could reduce womens' pension pots

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Women who take a career break could see their pension reduced by as much as £3,800 a year, according to research by private bank Duncan Lawrie.The report, which surveyed 2,059 people online and was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Duncan Lawrie, revealed that a quarter (25%) of respondents are ...

  • Article

    AWD Chase de Vere rebrands as Chase de Vere

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Independent financial advice firm AWD Chase de Vere has been re-named as Chase de Vere as part of a large re-branding exercise.Stephen Kavanagh (pictured), chief executive of Chase de Vere, said: “We have made huge progress in the past four or five years, transforming our organisation into a high-quality, client-focused ...

  • Article

    Ban on consultancy charges for auto-enrolment

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    The government has banned consultancy charges for auto-enrolment pension schemes.The move aims to protect employees from high and inappropriate pension charges.It follows a six-month-long review of consultancy charges conducted by the government, which concluded that existing measures to prevent advisers deducting high charges from members’ pension pots are inadequate.The review ...

  • Article

    Zurich launches auto-enrolment default fund

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Zurich’s corporate savings business has launched an auto-enrolment default investment fund in partnership with asset management organisation Schroders.The Zurich Dynamic Lifestyle Portfolio will be available to new and existing members of Zurich’s workplace pension schemes.The fund consists of three underlying funds. Schroders will manage the mixed investments and the defined ...

  • Article

    Aviva adds musculoskeletal service to private medical insurance

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Aviva is to add a musculoskeletal rehabilitation service to its corporate private medical insurance scheme for large employers.Its BacktoBetter service, which is aimed at helping employees with any musculoskeletal conditions return to work more quickly, will combine the insurer’s BackUp and BackUp Plus programmes into one employee-focused service from 1 ...

  • Article

    FTSE 100 prepared to pay 10% in DC pension contributions

    2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

    FTSE 100 employers with defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are prepared to pay an average of 10% of salary into employees’ pensions, according to consultancy Towers Watson.Its annual FTSE 100 Defined contribution pension scheme survey, which questioned 90 of the FTSE 100 employers, found that, where employers provide the same ...

  • Article

    Basic pay most difficult reward element for cost control

    2013-04-30T11:13:00Z

    A third (34%) of respondents find basic pay the most difficult element of their reward package around which to control costs, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits.Its 2013 Employee rewards watch survey, which polled more than 500 HR, reward and finance professionals in the UK, outlines the financial demands ...