All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 124
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EXCLUSIVE: Informa standardises choice of car manufacturers for drivers
To ensure its fleet has low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, Informa has standardised the choice ofcar manufacturers for its company drivers.The media organisation’s set manufacturers are now Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Skoda and VW, and the scheme is managed by fleet provider Leasedrive.Thomas Humphris, head office HR and UK reward director ...
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British American Tobacco extends fleet contract
British American Tobacco (BAT) has extended its 350-car fleet contract for a further three years.Following a review process, the tobacco group decided to extend its contract with Leasedrive Group. The contract has been in place since 2004.Viv Windrum, fleet manager at BAT in the UK, said: “Following an extensive review ...
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Housing groups take part in wellbeing challenge
Cosmopolitan Housing Group and the Chester and District Housing Trust (CDHT) have awarded staff for their participation in the Stay Active Challenge.The housing groups, which joined together in a £1.3 billion merger, entered the challenge as part of their commitment to employee wellbeing.Former 5,000-metre world record holder David Moorcroft presented ...
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Simplyhealth publishes guide on tax implications of healthcare benefits
Simplyhealth has published a guide for employers about the tax implications of providing healthcare benefits to staff.The guide, Taxation implications for company-paid healthcare, explains tax implications for both employers and employees. It covers insurance premium tax, national insurance contributions, income tax, corporation tax, and value-added tax.Howard Hughes, head of business ...
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Government Procurement Service introduces framework agreement for benefits technology
The Government Procurement Service, an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, has appointed Logica to a framework agreement for its payroll, HR and finance services.The framework will enable government, police, education, local authority and any partially funded or fully funded public sector entity to benefit from shared services without going ...
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Bluefin introduces retirement planning product
Bluefin Corporate Consulting has introduced a product called Retirement Gateway, which aims to help employees understand and prepare for retirement.The product, which is now part of the provider’s benefits platform, Orbit, includes: Video guides on retirement planning. Information and support. Interactive notebook.In addition, existing tools within the Orbit platform, such ...
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ONS research: Total pay growth down 0.3% at end of 2011
The annual growth rate for total pay, including bonuses, fell by 0.3% at the end of 2011, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The Labour market statistics: December 2011 found that the annual growth rate for the private sector fell from 2.4% to 2.1%, and the public ...
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Centaur Media raises £21,400 for charity
Employee Benefits’ owner, Centaur Media, raised £21,400 for Cancer Research UK in 2011.The organisation committed to pay £5,000 a year to the charity for two years, and to match any funds raised by staff up to a further £5,000.Employees raised £11,400 in the first year for the charity, and Centaur ...
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BGL Group extends employee discount scheme
Insurance underwriter BGL Group has added to its online employee discount scheme, Perkz.The scheme, which has been running for a number of years, also offers a tranche of discounts on shopping categories such as food, fashion, technology and wellbeing.In December, BGL Group has also arranged for 13 local and national ...
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Mercer research: Workers in Western European countries have best statutory paid holiday
Employees in Western European countries have access to the greatest amount of statutory paid holiday in the world, according to research by Mercer.In contrast, employees in Asia Pacific have the lowest levels of statutory paid holiday.Mercer’s Worldwide benefit and employment guidelines, which provide an overview of employee regulation and employment ...
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Government will not abolish tax relief for late-night taxis
The government has changed its mind on withdrawing the tax relief for late-night taxis.In October 2011, the government tasked the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) with identifying all the tax reliefs, allowances and exemptions, for employers and employees, and review what should be done with them.The OTS recommended that the ...
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Dorset County Council reappoints Barnett Waddingham to pension scheme
Dorset County Council has reappointed Barnett Waddingham to provide actuarial services for its pension scheme following a tender process.The firm of actuaries, administrators and consultants has worked with the council since 2002. The new contract will start for a period of four years with an option to extend a further ...
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Trinity Mirror to freeze pay in 2012
Trinity Mirror is to impose a pay freeze for all staff in 2012.The newspaper publisher’s latest financial figures, published in November, showed advertising revenue on its national titles was down 10% year-on-year, and down 7% for regional titles.Commenting on the pay freeze, a Trinity Mirror spokesperson said: “2011 has been ...
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Government publishes draft legislation on changes affecting transfers into Qrops
The government has published draft secondary legislation for consultation on changes to the system for transfers of pension savings into qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (Qrops) together with a draft explanatory memorandum.The draft legislation, which is among the clauses and tax updates in the government’s draft Finance Bill 2012 published ...
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Mercer research: Employer pension scheme contributions frozen at 7.2%
Employer pension scheme contributions have been frozen at an average of 7.2% since 2009, according to research by Mercer.The research analysed the defined contribution (DC) pension scheme offerings of more than 300 UK organisations, representing some 1.3 million employees and £14.3 billion in assets.It also found that pension scheme member ...
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Fashion houses warned about unpaid interns
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has written to a number of fashion houses and designer labels warning them about non-payment of the national minimum wage to interns.The letters were sent to fashion houses that exhibited at London Fashion Week in September 2011 and are expected to do so again at ...
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The Retail Data Partnership to launch pension scheme in preparation for auto-enrolment
The Retail Data Partnership will introduce a pension scheme from 1 January in preparation for auto-enrolment.The scheme will be provided by Now Pensions.Stephen Burnett, chief executive officer at The Retail Data Partnership, said: “While we are a small organisation with just 19 employees, I firmly believe that it is important ...
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Defined benefit pension scheme de-risking company to launch
Former chairman of The Pensions Regulator David Norgrove is to launch an insurance company called Long Acre Life, which will deliver de-risking solutions to UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The firm is targeting schemes with liabilities in excess of £500 million, with the aim of delivering cost savings of up ...
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Supreme Court dismisses dispute over holiday entitlement
The Supreme Court has dismissed an employment case from a group of Transocean employees who argued that their entitlement for annual leave should be taken from their time spent offshore rather than onshore.The oil and gas rig workers are contracted to work a pattern of two weeks offshore and two ...
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ONS research: Managers and senior staff not paid for overtime
Full-time managers and senior staff work 7.6 hours per week more than they are paid, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).By comparing data from the Annual survey of hours and earnings, which looks at paid hours, and the Labour force survey, which collects data on total ...