All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 115

  • Article

    Cardea launches benefits scheme for contract and temporary staff

    2012-03-19T11:05:31Z

    Health and social care recruitment agency Cardea has introduced a benefits scheme for temporary and contract employees.The Mercury benefits scheme, which is provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, includes: discounts at high street retailers, such as Asda, Comet, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s; training courses to improve skills; and special awards ...

  • Article

    Chiswick Park hosts health and wellbeing week for staff

    2012-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Chiswick Park hosted its latest health, wellbeing and fitness week for employees at the end of February.The business park works with wellbeing organisation Feel Good to offer the health and wellbeing week throughout the year as part of efforts to create a work-life balance for employees.The event offers employees a ...

  • Article

    JLT Benefit Solutions launches BenPal for trust-based pension schemes

    2012-03-16T00:00:00Z

    JLT Benefit Solutions has extended its BenPal product to employers operating trust-based pension schemes.The product reduces manual administration and provides trustees with comprehensive data. It also enables trustees to communicate important events to targeted groups of employee members.Roger Mattingly, executive director at JLT Benefit Solutions, said: “What is key now ...

  • Article

    Global Share Alliance grows with addition of North American share registrars

    2012-03-16T00:00:00Z

    The Global Share Alliance has expanded with the addition of North American share registrars American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, Canadian Stock Transfer Company, as well as Wells Fargo Shareowner Services.The alliance, which was founded by Equiniti, Link Market Services and Tricor in 2011, represents over 40 million shareholders worldwide. ...

  • Article

    Work and Pensions Select Committee recommends lifting restrictions on Nest

    2012-03-15T10:36:44Z

    The House of Commons’ work and pensions committee has recommended lifting the contribution cap and the pension transfer ban on the operation of the national employment savings trust (Nest).The report, Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and the national employment savings trust, recommended removing the two restrictions as a matter of ...

  • Article

    Pension reform is key challenge of 2012

    2012-03-15T10:34:00Z

    The majority (76%) of respondents rate pensions reform as the key benefits challenge over the next 12 months, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits.The annual Employee Rewards Watch research, which surveyed 430 employers, found that just 19% are already using auto-enrolment to enroll eligible employees into their pension schemes.The ...

  • Article

    Tesco switches to CPI to calculate DB rises and increases pension age to 67

    2012-03-14T10:37:08Z

    Tesco is to switch to the consumer prices index (CPI) to calculate its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme contribution rises, and increase the age at which a full pension is paid out by two years.Until now, Tesco has used the retail prices index (RPI) to calculate contribution rises. It expects ...

  • Article

    Pensions Insurance Corporation appoints pensions administrator

    2012-03-14T10:34:27Z

    Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has appointed Mercer to provide pensions administration to the employers it works with.The provider of risk management solutions for defined benefit (DB) pension funds covers 50,000 pension policiesMercer will provide record keeping, payroll, administration and communication services for these policies.Matt Gore, chief administration officer at PIC, ...

  • Article

    Macfarlanes introduces flexible benefits scheme

    2012-03-14T10:34:00Z

    International law firm Macfarlanes has introduced an online flexible benefits scheme to boost its 450 employees’ awareness of the value of the benefits package and to provide options that suit individual lifestyles.The Macsflex scheme, which was rolled out on 1 January, has replaced the law firm’s existing voluntary benefits package.Rob ...

  • Article

    Enrich partners Health Management to launch occupational health service

    2012-03-14T10:31:00Z

    Enrich has partnered with occupational health provider Health Management to launch HealthSmart, a service that provides occupational health services and advice.This can be integrated with an organisation’s employee benefits package, and provides data transfer between providers and management information analysis, which can be used to develop an organisation’s health and ...

  • Article

    GlaxoSmithKline to raise average UK salaries by 4%

    2012-03-13T11:16:00Z

    GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will raise its UK employees’ average salaries by around 4% in 2012.In the GSK annual report 2011, published on 12 March, the pharmaceutical firm also said it will raise average US employees’ salaries by 3% in 2012.The 4% pay rise will be reflected in the base salary of ...

  • Article

    Employers to review flexible working policies ahead of Olympics

    2012-03-13T10:34:00Z

    More than a third of organisations intend to review their flexible and home working policies ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to research by Deloitte.This is compared with just†14% that said the same this time last year, according to the Games readiness research, which surveyed 200 ...

  • Article

    Vielife partners South American firm Carevolution

    2012-03-13T10:32:10Z

    Global health and wellbeing provider Vielife is expanding its presence in South America through a partnership with Carevolution, a corporate wellness consultancy based in Brazil.Carevolution will provide Vielife’s online health and wellbeing platform to large Brazilian employers.The platform, Vielife Online, will provide employers and their employees with data to achieve ...

  • Article

    UK salaries predicted to rise by 3%

    2012-03-12T10:57:00Z

    Salaries for UK employees were predicted to increase by 3%, according to research by Towers Watson Data Services.The Salary budget planning report for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which collated pay data from 4,200 organisations across 60 countries, found that salary increases are set to be consistent across Europe’s ...

  • Article

    iGlobalWellness launches workplace wellness programme

    2012-03-12T10:55:13Z

    Wellness service provider iGlobalWellness has launched a programme, called Wellness 4 Life, to help employers and employees change their long-term behaviour and adopt healthier lifestyles.It is offered as a year-long programme aimed at senior management and a four-month programme aimed at the rest of employees.Both programmes begin with an assessment ...

  • Article

    Grass Roots Group earns a place on the Sunday Times' list of 100 best companies

    2012-03-12T10:52:21Z

    Grass Roots Group has been included in the Sunday Times best companies to work for list for the fifth time in six years.The global performance improvement organisation has 700 employees in the UK, as well as offices in Australia, China, France, India, and the US.An internal survey found that 83% ...

  • Article

    EB Summit: Informa is well ahead on auto-enrolment plans

    2012-03-09T12:41:00Z

    Informa has developed a methodical step-by-step approach to auto-enrolment, as it moves up its staging date from July 2013 to January 2013.Thomas Humphris, head office HR and UK reward director at Informa, shared the publishing and events organisation’s journey towards auto-enrolment in a session called ‘Preparing for the cost of ...

  • Article

    EB Summit: Quarter of delegates believe auto-enrolment will not close retirement savings gap

    2012-03-08T15:37:06Z

    Nearly a quarter (24%) of delegates at the Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Summit 2012 believe that auto-enrolment will not close the retirement savings gap in the UK, according to a poll taken on 8 March at the event.A fifth (18%) of the high-level reward and benefits professionals attending ...

  • Article

    Asda staff receive £515m from sharesave scheme over 30 years

    2012-03-07T00:00:00Z

    Asda employees have received £515 million since 1982 through the retailer’s sharesave scheme.The scheme, which is currently open to staff for its 30th consecutive year, has seen, on average, more than 25,000 employees take part each year.Through the scheme, staff can save between £5 and £250 per month for a ...

  • Article

    Office of Tax Simplification publishes recommendations for employee share schemes

    2012-03-06T12:31:00Z

    The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published a report on employee share schemes, recommending the removal of the approval process for sharesave schemes, share incentive plans (Sips) and company share option plans (Csops).The Review of tax-advantaged employee share schemes also recommends merging the current enterprise management incentive (EMI) and ...