All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 107

  • Article

    Royal Mail Group appoints EFP to manage 39 onsite gyms

    2012-05-18T09:40:36Z

    Royal Mail Group has appointed Energy Fitness Professionals (EFP) to manage all 39 of its onsite gyms.The corporate health provider has managed 18 of Royal Mail Group’s gyms since 2003. The enhanced contract includes 12 gyms that were previously managed by other suppliers.Rob Radford, director at EFP, said: “We are ...

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    CIPD conference: University of Cambridge to add benefits to encourage staff to work longer

    2012-05-16T16:19:00Z

    The University of Cambridge is to look into adding new benefits to help its employees prepare to work longer.The additional benefits could include a voluntary benefits scheme, with products geared towards welfare, such as disability benefits, dental insurance and life insurance.The university will also consider introducing contributions towards long-term care, ...

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    EXCLUSIVE: AYMTM introduces summer boot camp and relaunches bikes-for-work scheme

    2012-05-16T09:30:59Z

    Motivation firm AYMTM has introduced a summer boot camp, a monthly social gathering, and re-launched its bikes-for-work scheme to reinforce its health and wellbeing commitment to staff.The bikes-for-work scheme, provided by P&MM Employee Benefits, has been in place for four years. The re-launch incorporates the option for staff to participate ...

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    Babcock International to pay £93m into DB schemes

    2012-05-16T09:15:11Z

    Babcock International will pay total cash contributions of £93 million into its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in 2012/13.In its full year results for the year ended 31 March 2012, published on 15 May, the engineering firm said that £56 million of the total is in respect of the cost ...

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    Code of conduct on pension charges to be created

    2012-05-16T09:12:20Z

    Moves have been made to launch an industry-wide code of conduct on pension charges to help employers to choose the best pension for their staff.A group of employer representatives, pension industry members, union and consumer groups and pension providers has launched a public consultation seeking views on the parameters of ...

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    Lloyds Banking Group renews share scheme contract

    2012-05-15T10:04:52Z

    Lloyds Banking Group has renewed its contract with Equiniti Group for the provision of employee share schemes, flexible benefits and investment services.Equiniti Group’s Xafinity Paymaster business will also continue to provide the banking group with pension scheme administration services.Mark Swyny, practice management director, group sourcing at Lloyds Banking Group, said: ...

  • Article

    DB deficit payments could reach £100bn by 2015

    2012-05-15T09:44:00Z

    The trustees of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could receive more than £100 billion in deficit reduction payments from employers over the next three years, according to research by Pension Corporation.The future of pension schemes 2012 survey, which polled more than 170 trustees and pension professionals representing aggregate liabilities of ...

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    Levels of sickness absence down in 2011

    2012-05-14T10:15:00Z

    The number of UK employees without sickness absence increased to 51% in 2011, up from 46% in 2010, according to research by manufacturers’ body the EEF and health cash plan provider Westfield Health.The EEF/Westfield Health 2012 annual sickness absence report attributed the decrease to the steps that employers have taken ...

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    Auto-enrolment will offer business opportunities to advisers

    2012-05-14T10:06:00Z

    Almost three-quarters (72%) of group risk advisers believe that auto-enrolment will present them with new business opportunities, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance.The research of 100 group risk intermediaries found that 68% of respondents believe that organisations will review their benefits on offer to staff as they prepare ...

  • Article

    Eversheds relaunches second-opinion medical service

    2012-05-08T23:00:00Z

    Law firm Eversheds has relaunched its second-opinion medical service and aligned it with its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme.The Best Doctors service, which allows employees to seek a second opinion on any medical diagnosis, was first launched in May 2010.The relaunch took place in March, with communications via posters and ...

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    Gartmore Group pension scheme enters into buy-in agreement

    2012-05-08T08:50:00Z

    Gartmore Group’s defined benefits pension scheme has entered into a buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).The transaction covers around £160 million of liabilities and all 600 members of the Gartmore Pension Scheme.The trustee of Gartmore Group’s pension scheme was advised by Lane Clark and Peacock (LCP) and Sacker and ...

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    KPMG appoints David Ellis lead of UK reward practice

    2012-05-08T08:45:53Z

    KPMG has appointed David Ellis partner to lead its UK reward practice.With more than 15 years’ experience in reward, employment tax and expatriate tax, Ellis was formerly head of human capital at BDO. He also spent eight years at Ernst and Young, and qualified as a solicitor at law firm ...

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    Mercer partners Equus Software to manage expatriate employees

    2012-05-08T08:40:00Z

    Mercer has partnered with Equus Software to provide an international assignment management software system to its employers.The system, AssignmentPro, manages all aspects of expatriate administration, from payroll reporting to pay tracking.It includes:Integration with many HR platforms allowing for complete automation of payroll and email systems, as well as employee communications.The ...

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    Shareholders voting against executive pay plans increases as consultation closes

    2012-05-04T10:00:26Z

    Pressure to reject executive pay plans at organisations such as Aviva and AstraZeneca increased just a week after the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) closed its consultation on executive pay and enhanced shareholder voting rights.Aviva lost a shareholder vote over its executive pay plans on 3 May, while ...

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    CIPP to take part in real-time information pilot

    2012-05-04T10:00:00Z

    The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) is to take part in a pilot of the real-time information (RTI) programme from July 2012.†Ten volunteer employers, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started the pilot programme in April.RTI is intended to make it easier for employers, providers and HMRC to administer ...

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    Teachers support link between their pay and performance

    2012-05-04T09:56:00Z

    Three-quarters of teachers surveyed believe that their annual salary increases should be linked to performance, according to research by the Sutton Trust.The research, which surveyed nearly 1,700 teachers from 1,200 primary and secondary schools across England, was commissioned by the Sutton Trust and carried out by the National Foundation for ...

  • Article

    QBE Insurance Group receives Pension Quality Mark for staff pension

    2012-05-03T10:17:24Z

    QBE Insurance Group has received the Pension Quality Mark (PQM) for its staff pension scheme.Awarded by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), the PQM recognises defined contribution (DC) pension schemes with total contributions of 10% of an employee's salary, which includes a minimum employer contributions of 6%.Almost 150 UK ...

  • Article

    Patrick Watt joins Bupa Health and Wellbeing

    2012-05-03T10:14:43Z

    Bupa Health and Wellbeing has appointed Patrick Watt as director of corporate within its sales and marketing team.Watt joins Bupa from Goldman Sachs, where he was executive director responsible for health and wellness in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.The role at the global investment banking and securities firm ...

  • Article

    Scottish Life launches tool to improve employers' knowledge of auto-enrolment

    2012-05-03T10:13:14Z

    Scottish Life, the pensions specialist arm of the Royal London Group, has launched a knowledge builder, designed to help employers improve their knowledge of auto-enrolment and their employer duties under the pension reforms.The knowledge builder, which is available as an online site or a hard-copy leaflet, is broken down into ...

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    Consultation opens on MPs’ pay and pensions

    2012-05-03T10:12:00Z

    The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has launched an informal consultation on MPs’ pay.The informal consultation was launched on 2 May on the IPSA’s website. It includes background information on MPs’ pay and pensions, a public poll and a blog by IPSA chair Ian Kennedy.The consultation stated: “As we get ...