All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 114
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Government aligns auto-enrolment with tax and NI thresholds
The government has aligned auto-enrolment rates for the next tax year with tax and national insurance (NI) thresholds.The Automatic enrolment earnings thresholds review and revision has been published six months before the largest employers begin enrolling eligible staff into a pension scheme in October 2012.The Pensions Act 2011 requires the ...
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West Country, Midlands and north England will be hit hardest if public sector pay is regionalised
The West Country, the Midlands and the north of England will be hit hardest by government plans to regionalise public sector pay, according to research by job search website Adzuna.The research ranked UK regions by average salary and analysed specific job titles by location to see regional differences in pay ...
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Capita Hartshead staff to volunteer at a primary school
Capita Hartshead is among the employers introducing a volunteering initiative to its staff, which allows them to volunteer at a primary school in Sheffield.The initiative, which will take place on 18 April, will ask children to record their ambitions, their hobbies, places they would like to visit and people they ...
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Gender pay gap reversed for part-time employees
The median hourly earnings for female part-time employees was 4.8% higher than for part-time men in 2011, according to research by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).The 2011 Annual survey of hours and earnings, found that this reversed gender pay gap was entirely due to earnings within the age range ...
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BT to pay £2 billion into pension scheme to halve deficit
BT is to pay a lump-sum payment of £2 billion into its final salary pension scheme before the end of March to halve the scheme’s £4.1 billion deficit.The payment will be followed by nine payments of £325 million in March of each year from 2013 to 2021.The telecommunications firm has ...
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FT journalists agree improved pay offer and call off strike action
Financial Times (FT) journalists have agreed an improved pay offer and have called off strike action that was scheduled for 22 March.Around 250 journalists were due to walk out over the pay dispute. The minimum pay increase was to be 2% for all staff, while the total editorial pot was ...
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Barclays among employers offering volunteering scheme to staff
Barclays is just one of the employers offering staff the opportunity to volunteer with Destination Dreams, a scheme that offers staff the opportunity to support children battling life-threatening conditions.The global banking group actively promotes the volunteering initiative, which is organised by charity Caudwell Children, to its employees.A spokesperson from the ...
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New Look launches e-code for motivation and incentive schemes
New Look has launched e-codes, which can be delivered via email as part of the retailer’s motivation, recognition, incentive and loyalty schemes.The e-codes are available in values from £1 to £1,000, and can be used online in 122 countries.Rob Froome, head of business solutions at New Look, said: “New Look ...
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Budget 2012: Government to review role of employee share ownership and double grant limit on EMI schemes
The government is to conduct an internal review to examine the role of employee share ownership in supporting growth and examine options to remove barriers, including tax barriers, to its wider take-up.As announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report, the review will also consider the findings of ...
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Budget 2012: State pension age to be linked with longevity
The government will commit to ensuring the state pension age is increased in future to take into account increases in longevity.It will also publish proposals at the same time as the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) 2012 Fiscal sustainability report this summer.According to Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget ...
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Budget 2012: Royal Mail Group’s pension scheme liabilities to be transferred to government
The government intends to transfer the historic liabilities of around £37.5 billion from the private sector Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) to a newly established unfunded public pension scheme, confirmed Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report.The liabilities will leave public sector net debt unaffected, but will score alongside ...
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Budget 2012: Tax reliefs capped at 25% of income for higher earners
The government is to introduce a limit of 25% of income on all uncapped income tax reliefs for those earning more than £50,000 annually, announced Chancellor George Osborne in the 2012 Budget report.This will increase effective tax rates and help ensure that those with the highest incomes pay a fairer ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Bibby Financial Services launches flexible benefits scheme
Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has introduced a flexible benefits scheme in direct response to feedback from its 720 employees who said that they wanted the ability to tailor their benefits package.The scheme, which is provided by Thomsons Online Benefits, is built on the foundation of a total reward strategy that ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Killik Employee Services and Yorkshire Building Society launch share plan portal
Killik Employee Services (KES) and Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) have partnered to launch a share plan product called All2gether Better.The product provides a single online portal where members of all-employee and executive share plans can view their scheme information online.Martin Osborne-Shaw, managing director of KES, said: “We are tailoring our ...
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Equiniti Group launches workplace stocks and shares Isa
Equiniti Group has introduced a workplace stocks and shares individual savings account (Isa).The product enables organisations to offer employees a regular savings vehicle via payroll deduction. Employees will also be able to make one-off or additional regular debit payments to the Isa, and employers will have the option to contribute ...
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The Pensions Regulator launches next phase in contacting employers about auto-enrolment
More than 200,000 employers, advisers and industry bodies have been contacted by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), advising them of their role in workplace pensions reform.In a series of interviews with TPR, employers made it clear that HR will be central to both the implementation and the ongoing monitoring of pension ...
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Public sector unions lose appeal on index switch for pensions
Unions representing millions of public sector workers have lost their Court of Appeal battle against a government decision to change the way pension increases are calculated.Three appeal judges refused to overturn a High Court majority ruling from December 2011, which backed the government’s approach.The case relates to the government’s decision ...
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Standard Life to launch auto-enrolment product for employers
Standard Life is to launch an auto-enrolment product, which removes the demands of data administration in three key areas: eligibility assessment, waiting periods and opt-outs.The product has been developed on Standard Life’s pension platform. The technology will link with the provider's group flexible retirement plan and trust-based pension scheme.Stephen Ingledew, ...
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University of Sheffield appoints pension administrator in preparation for auto-enrolment
The University of Sheffield has appointed Capita Hartshead to administer its pension scheme in preparation for auto-enrolment.The scheme has 3,000 members, made up from the university’s non-academic staff.Andrew Wood, head of financial services at the university, said: “We had two key criteria when choosing our new administrator.“It was essential it ...
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MetLife relaunches and enhances group life protection product
MetLife has relaunched and enhanced its group life protection product.The enhancements include: increasing maximum ages for cover from 70 to 75 and providing early retirement cover to all retirees, as well as increasing the maximum temporary cover above the free cover limit from £1.25 million to £3 million, and expanding ...