All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 111

  • Article

    Two-thirds of respondents think RTI phase-in for payroll should be delayed

    2012-04-17T10:18:00Z

    Two-thirds (64%) of respondents believe that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) should phase in the real-time information (RTI) programme over a longer period of time, instead of seeking 100% compliance by April 2013, according to research by NorthgateArinso.RTI will require payrolls to run reports for HMRC weekly or monthly instead ...

  • Article

    Less than half of employees are given workstation risk assessments

    2012-04-17T10:18:00Z

    Less than half (45%) of employees are given a workstation risk assessment by their employers, according to research commissioned by office specialists Fellowes.The research, which interviewed 1,000 employees across the UK, found that one in five respondents had no help or support from their employer in relation to creating a ...

  • Article

    Starting salaries for graduates to decline in real terms this year

    2012-04-16T09:38:00Z

    Starting salaries for graduates are projected to decline in real terms this year, falling to the lowest levels since 2003, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).Its report, Pay and progression for graduates 2012, found that the median starting salary for graduates will be £25,000 this year, which is ...

  • Article

    MGM Advantage offers staff the chance to attempt world record for charity

    2012-04-16T09:35:28Z

    MGM Advantage is offering staff the chance to break a Guinness World Record by attempting the most sky dive tandem jumps in one day, in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.The current world record is 130 tandem jumps. The retirement income specialist is looking to beat that by getting 180 people ...

  • Article

    Unum launches Facebook app

    2012-04-16T09:34:06Z

    Unum has launched a Facebook application, which enables employees to calculate how much their benefits package is worth.The Perkulator app, which is hosted on Unum’s Facebook page, asks the user to input their salary and bonuses, and choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’ against a variety of benefits.Using average values for each ...

  • Article

    CSC adds second enrolment window to flexible benefits plan

    2012-04-13T10:33:00Z

    CSC has added a second enrolment window to its flexible benefits scheme to encourage its 7,500 UK employees to take advantage of its financial benefits.The scheme, which has been in place for 10 years, has take-up levels at nearly 80%, but the IT firm wanted to highlight benefits such as ...

  • Article

    One-third of FTSE 100 companies offer only DC schemes to all staff

    2012-04-13T10:02:00Z

    One-third of FTSE 100 companies now offer only defined contribution (DC) pension schemes to all employees, according to research by Towers Watson.The annual Towers Watson FTSE 100 Defined contribution pension scheme 2012 survey, which is based on 97 companies in the FTSE 100 index, found that, since the 2010 survey, ...

  • Article

    Federation of European Employers launches pay benchmarking app

    2012-04-13T10:01:14Z

    The Federation of European Employers has introduced a pay benchmarking app called Jobsworth.The app, which can be downloaded to any iPhone, covers pay markets in 47 different countries across Europe. Its Lite version just covers the UK and Ireland.The application measures gross hourly pay so that it can be converted ...

  • Article

    UK councils' pension deficits reached £54bn in 2010-11

    2012-04-13T10:00:00Z

    Councils across the UK had a combined pension deficit of £54 billion in 2010-11, according to research by The Taxpayers’ Alliance.This figure is down from £91 billion in 2009-10, but still an increase from £51 billion in 2008-09.The research also found:Birmingham City Council had a deficit of £1.3 billion, the ...

  • Article

    HMRC among employers piloting real-time information programme

    2012-04-12T09:41:49Z

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is among 10 volunteer employers that is piloting the real-time information (RTI) programme from 11 April.Most employers will join RTI from April 2013 and all employers will be using the programme by October 2013.RTI is intended to make it easier for employers, pension providers and ...

  • Article

    Finance directors do not always liase with HR on benefits

    2012-04-12T09:39:00Z

    A fifth (20%) of finance directors do not liaise with the HR department on employee benefits, according to research by Unum.The Employee benefits survey, which polled 850 finance directors and chief financial officers, found that a further 27% have limited interaction with the HR team.When asked about income protection, 10% ...

  • Article

    EXCLUSIVE: Konecta UK harmonises benefits and creates grading structure

    2012-04-11T09:46:44Z

    Konecta UK has harmonised benefits for its 380 employees, created a grading structure for its roles, and added in a variety of new benefits.The organisation took over an outsourcing contract from Santander in 2008 (when it was still known as Abbey National but was a subsidiary of Grupo Santander), and ...

  • Article

    The Pension Trust launches auto-enrolment website

    2012-04-11T09:39:32Z

    The Pension Trust has launched an auto-enrolment website, which aims to guide employers through every step of the process and outline what will be required of them over the coming months.The site will host The Pensions Trust’s cost calculator, which can be used to determine the additional pension costs employers ...

  • Article

    Employers see rise in costs since Agency Workers Regulations took effect

    2012-04-11T09:37:00Z

    Employers have faced a rise in costs since the Agency Workers Regulations took effect, with the majority citing increases of more than 10%, according to research by law firm Eversheds.The research found that some respondents have seen a rise of between 25% and 50%. Nearly two-thirds are relying on at ...

  • Article

    Average state pension rises to £124 a week

    2012-04-11T09:35:00Z

    The average state pension payment for 2012/13 is estimated to be £124 a week, an increase of £6 on last year.The basic state pension will increase from £102.15 to £107.45 a week from this week. The basic state pension will be 17% of average earnings, the highest it has ever ...

  • Article

    Aer Lingus appoints HR and payroll outsourcing provider

    2012-04-10T10:01:00Z

    Aer Lingus has appointed NorthgateArinso to provide HR and payroll services.As part of its six-year contract with NorthgateArinso, the Irish airline will consolidate its HR and payroll systems and processes into a single platform. It will also establish an HR shared services centre at Dublin Airport.The airline will also use ...

  • Article

    Unilever staff vote to accept pension changes

    2012-04-10T09:58:36Z

    Unilever staff have voted to accept changes to their final salary pension scheme, which will be closed and replaced with a career average revalued earnings (Care) scheme.Following talks with the union Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in February, Unilever maintained its position that the existing final salary pension scheme ...

  • Article

    Payroll-giving scheme celebrates 25 years

    2012-04-10T09:56:24Z

    The payroll-giving scheme, which allows employees to donate to charities directly from their gross pay, is 25 years old in April.The Association of Payroll Giving Organisations (APGO) marked the anniversary by delivering a giant card to 10 Downing Street, highlighting the £1.2 billion raised and thanking organisations and their staff ...

  • Article

    DC pension scheme members must save 10 times more than DB members

    2012-04-10T09:54:00Z

    A 35-year-old joining a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme today could have to contribute more than 10 times the annual contributions of a colleague in a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to build an equivalent pension at retirement, according to research by Pension Corporation.The research found that this would equate ...

  • Article

    Birmingham Airport appoints pension scheme actuary

    2012-04-05T09:57:19Z

    Birmingham Airport has appointed Barnett Waddingham to provide actuarial and administrative services for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The actuary and consultancy firm already provides investment services for the scheme.Joe Kelly, deputy chief executive officer at Birmingham Airport, said: “We carried out a rigorous tender process, asking prospective service providers ...