All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 91

  • Article

    Warburtons launches discounts scheme

    2012-10-10T10:56:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: Warburtons has introduced a discounts scheme called Extra Dough for its 4,300 employees.The scheme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, has achieved a spend of more than £90,000 in the four weeks following its launch.Because the baker’s employee base is spread out over 26 different bakery and depot locations, and ...

  • Article

    Business Environment pays staff to stop smoking

    2012-10-10T10:53:00Z

    Flexible office operator Business Environment is offering its staff up to £100 a year to spend on stop-smoking aids.The offer is linked to the NHS StopTober scheme, a 28-day challenge to encourage people to quite smoking during October.Yasmine Shah, who works at Business Environment, has taken advantage of the offer. ...

  • Article

    BA brings in flexible retirement

    2012-10-09T11:21:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: British Airways (BA) has introduced flexible retirement, started to communicate auto-enrolment and streamlined its online pensions portal during its annual pensions month.Pensions month, which was introduced in September 2011, also offered members of its closed defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, the opportunity to change their accrual rates. Members of ...

  • Article

    O2 to close DB scheme before auto-enrolment

    2012-10-09T11:10:00Z

    O2 has proposed to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual due to the impending cost of auto-enrolment and the poor economic environment.The scheme, which was closed to new members in 2001, is a legacy scheme that was carried over to Telefonica, O2’s parent company, with BT ...

  • Article

    CloudApps launches sustainability app

    2012-10-09T11:00:00Z

    CloudApps has launched a sustainability application to encourage employers and their staff to set corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets in the workplace.The app can be used to create workplace challenges, leader boards, points and rewards, as well as social media elements that allow employees to collaborate and achieve personal targets.The ...

  • Article

    BGL Group offers fitness classes to staff

    2012-10-08T10:52:00Z

    BGL Group has launched a range of discounted fitness classes and physiotherapy services for its employees.The services are provided by Ultimate Performance Lifestyle, a specialist fitness studio in Peterborough, where the insurance group is based, and includes physiotherapy, pilates, yoga and massages.Gail Cingolani, reward and benefits manager at BGL Group, ...

  • Article

    Pay and bonuses up for AIM directors

    2012-10-08T10:50:00Z

    Total earnings for directors, whose companies are listed on AIM, rose by 5.7% from April 2012, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).The research, which is based on a matched group of directors from AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies, found the total earnings ...

  • Article

    JLT Group acquires Alexander Forbes

    2012-10-05T10:04:00Z

    JLT Group has acquired Alexander Forbes Consultants and Actuaries for a cash consideration of £17 million, subject to regulatory approval.The employee benefits firm, part of the Alexander Forbes Group, will become part of JLT Group’s employee benefits business.Alexander Forbes Consultants and Actuaries employs more than 300 people in the UK ...

  • Article

    CIPP award winners announced

    2012-10-05T10:00:00Z

    HMV and Oxford City Council were among the winners of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) ninth annual Payroll and Pensions Excellence Awards.The awards took place on 4 October at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.The winners included:Team of the year – Oxford City Council.Effective use of a payslip ...

  • Article

    UK in 12-year wage dive

    2012-10-05T09:59:00Z

    UK employees will have to wait another nine years to get back to the level of income they enjoyed in 2009, during which time they will have lost an average of £8,500 in real-term wage losses, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).The research, which tracked wage and ...

  • Article

    Farrer and Co hosts wellness week

    2012-10-04T10:09:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: Law firm Farrer and Co hosted its first wellness week to coincide with National Work-Life week on 24-28 September.It rolled out a full week of activities and events for its 390 staff, including: health and wellbeing assessment by a fitness consultant, lunch-and-learn sessions, onsite Zumba classes, and webinars offered ...

  • Article

    Employees want to know more about auto-enrolment

    2012-10-04T10:00:00Z

    Three-fifths (59%) of respondents who do not currently belong to a pension scheme are still not aware of auto-enrolment, but 55% are keen to find out more about it, according to research by Standard Life.The research, which was conducted with YouGov, surveyed 2,125 UK adults, of which 1,098 confirmed they ...

  • Article

    Hippodrome Casino launches voluntary perks

    2012-10-03T09:50:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: The Hippodrome Casino has launched a voluntary benefits scheme to support its employees’ lifestyles and help them make savings on everyday purchases.The scheme, provided by P&MM Employee Benefits, includes employee discounts, childcare vouchers and a bikes-for-work scheme.The casino, which is in central London, introduced the scheme as it inducted ...

  • Article

    FTSE 350 pension deficits increase

    2012-10-03T09:44:00Z

    Assets held in the FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have increased to £501 billion, while liabilities have increased to £574 billion, according to research by Mercer.The research found that this is up from 2002, when assets stood at £282 billion and liabilities stood at £357 billion.The data, which ...

  • Article

    Employers to receive letters about RTI

    2012-10-02T10:07:00Z

    UK employers are set to receive a letter from the tax authorities in October, outlining the key changes that will come in with real-time information (RTI) reporting.Between April 2013 and October 2013, all employers will start reporting payroll information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in real time (on or ...

  • Article

    SMEs unaware of auto-enrolment and RDR

    2012-10-02T10:04:00Z

    Two-thirds (66%) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not heard of the retail distribution review (RDR) and 41% have not heard of auto-enrolment, according to research by RSM Tenon.The RSM Tenon Business barometer, a quarterly survey carried out by YouGov among senior management in SMEs, also found that only ...

  • Article

    Health and wellbeing report 2012

    2012-10-01T10:43:00Z

    The employee health and wellbeing agenda is facing considerable change as 2012 winds down. Employee Benefits’ annual report rounds up the main issues, trends and topics around health and wellbeing.The report covers:A roundup of the latest news about health and wellbeing programmes.Legal expert Alex Fricke offers top tips for compliance ...

  • Article

    Auto-enrolment comes into effect

    2012-10-01T10:03:00Z

    Auto-enrolment legislation officially comes into effect today.From 1 October, every employer in the UK has a legal duty to automatically enrol eligible employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and make contributions towards it.The duties will be staged in over six years, starting with the largest employers. Organisations such as ...

  • Article

    FirstGroup tests auto-enrolment hub

    2012-10-01T10:00:00Z

    EXCLUSIVE: FirstGroup is finalising user-acceptance testing on its auto-enrolment hub, which will be rolled out for its staging date of April 2013.The hub, which will be provided by reward and pension communications firm Penkom, will sit between the transport organisation’s pension provision, payroll system and communication processes.John Chilman, group reward ...

  • Article

    Employee engagement linked to wellbeing

    2012-10-01T09:59:00Z

    Two-thirds (66%) of respondents make a link between employee engagement and wellbeing in the workplace, but only 33% follow through with a wellbeing strategy, according to research by Edenred and EnergiseYou.The research, Health and wellbeing at work, which surveyed 200 senior HR professionals, found that 47% of respondents said the ...