All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 80
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Case StudiesPeugeot Citroën drives reward unity
French car brands Peugeot and Citroën operated as two separate businesses until 1976, when the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group was formed from a merger. More than 35 years later, its toughest challenge in 2012 was to bring the two brands together into one UK headquarters, and deal with the impact ...
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Analysis
Quirky requests for health cash plan cover
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…Traditional health cash plans have come to include benefits such as aromatherapy massages, hypnotherapy and reflexology.Some cash plan providers have been asked to cover laser tattoo removals, breast augmentations and pet insurance.Quirkier requests are more often made by individual employees than by employers, and ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment concern over employer pension contributions
Research published by Aon Hewitt in January found that nearly one in three employers have considered reducing contribution levels for staff being auto-enrolled into existing defined contribution (DC) schemes.James Patten, principal consultant at Aon Hewitt (pictured), said: “If employers were to auto-enrol non-members into their current scheme on the basis ...
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Article
Payroll-giving consultation launched
The government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform payroll giving, including simplifying the scheme’s administration and making it easier for employees to give through their payroll.Payroll-giving schemes allow UK employees to donate to charity through their pay on a tax-free basis. Donations are deducted from gross pay, so ...
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Article
Job satisfaction up despite pay cuts
Employees remain motivated and satisfied at work despite changes to pay and benefits resulting from the economic downturn, according to research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).Its 2011 Workplace employment relations study (WERS), which interviewed almost 2,700 managers and 21,000 employees between March 2011 and June 2012, ...
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Article
Cookson Group agrees second pensions buy in
Cookson Group, which de-merged its performance materials division in December 2012 to form Vesuvius, has signed a second bulk-annuity policy for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.Employees who retire in each of the next three years will have their pensions agreed on insured terms with provider Pension Insurance Corporation.The first ...
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Article
Online flex popular in legal sector
More than half (54%) of law firms in the Legal 100 provide staff with online flexible benefits, according to research by HR in Law and Portus Consulting.The HR in Law Flexible benefits survey 2013, found that respondents value total reward statements (TRS) more than any other part of a flexible ...
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Article
Pensions Regulator and FSA will not merge
Pensions minister Steve Webb has ruled out merging the roles of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).Addressing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) select committee on 23 January, Webb said: “At a time of massive turmoil, the last thing we want is another regulator shake-up.“There ...
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Article
Financial services staff expect pay to remain the same
More than half (57%) of respondents said they expect base salaries for permanent staff to stay the same in 2013, according to research by professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley Financial Services.Its annual Morgan McKinley London employment monitor, which surveyed 500 financial services employees, also found that 67% of respondents expect ...
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Article
East Midlands police roll out EAP
EXCLUSIVE: Police authorities in the East Midlands have launched an employee assistance programme (EAP) through a framework agreement.The EAP, which went live on 1 January 2013, is available to staff at Derbyshire Constabulary, Leicestershire Police Authority, Lincolnshire Police, Northamptonshire Police and Nottinghamshire Police through the agreement.It is administered by East ...
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Article
Aegon UK launches auto-enrolment product
Aegon UK has launched an auto-enrolment product, SmartEnrol, in time to support its first pension schemes that reach their staging dates this month.The product is available to employers with new and existing Aegon group pension schemes. It will allow employers to manage employee categorisation, communication, new entrants and payment.In February ...
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Article
M&S boosts engagement via ideas scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Marks and Spencer (M&S) has seen participation levels in its latest employee suggestion scheme rise after the scheme was extended to 500 staff in its international sourcing offices.Its Big Idea scheme, which is jointly managed by the retailer and its employee representative network, was introduced in 2010 when an ...
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Article
Ladbrokes to launch healthy living programme
Ladbrokes is to launch a healthy living programme for its 15,000 employees.The programme enables employees to set personal health goals and access information about healthy living, as well as monitoring health risks, including diabetes, heart diseases and stress.Employees register with the site and then complete a health risk assessment (HRA). ...
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Article
Managers' pay rises below inflation
Private sector pay awards for managers and professionals are forecast to be an average of 2.6% in 2013, while managerial and professional staff in the public sector will see average pay increases of just 0.7%, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).Its Managers’ benchmark pay report, which surveyed 179 ...
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Article
The Pensions Trust sets charging structure
The Pensions Trust has announced details of the charging structure for funds offered via its auto-enrolment platform, SmarterPensions, which is set to launch on 4 March 2013.The majority of the fund range will have an annual management charge (AMC) set at 0.45%. SmarterPensions, which will be fiully auto-enrolment compliant, is ...
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Article
Aon to delay bonuses to avoid top-rate tax
Aon has offered qualifying employee the option to defer their 2012 bonus payments so they can benefit from a cut in the top rate of income tax.Bonus payments were scheduled to be handed out in March, but the insurance broker has offered qualifying employees the option to postpone them until ...
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Article
WH Smith selects auto-enrolment system
WH Smith has selected an administration system to comply with its auto-enrolment obligations from 1 March 2013.The system automatically identifies and enrols relevant employees into the chosen pension scheme, provides communication and administration processes, and handles refunds if an employee opts out.The system is provided by Ceridian UK, which already ...
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Article
Single-tier pension to benefit women and low earners
Reforms to the state pension will particularly benefit women who take time out to bring up a family and low earners, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Its Impact assessment on the single tier, published 18 January, also showed that more than half of over-25s ...
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Article
Barnardo’s proposes to close DB pension
Barnardo’s has announced to staff a proposal to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual from 31 March 2013.Employees at the children’s charity will be offered access to a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme from April 2013, which will be more generous than the government requirements for ...
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Article
BITC relaunches staff volunteering day
Business in the Community (BITC) has launched its 2013 Give and Gain Day, the UK’s national day of employee volunteering.Give and Gain Day will be held on 17 May 2013.So far, more than 60,000 employees across 31 countries have participated in Give and Gain Day, which was first introduced in ...