All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 92
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Article
Flexible working practices are Olympic legacy
Going forward, this will be driven by factors such as the economic climate and changing workforce demographics.Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “Post-financial crisis, there was a lot of consultation between employers and employees which resulted in more flexible ways of ...
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VideoLadbrokes takes reward delivery into cyberspace
Since 1886, Ladbrokes’ doors have been open to anyone who wants to gamble. Today, it has more than 2,000 betting shops across the UK, and employs 15,500 staff. Besides its retail presence, the organisation also offers betting markets through the internet, mobile phones and telephones.As technology progresses, Ladbrokes is focused ...
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Article
EOA calls for employee ownership institute
The review, which closed on 7 September, investigated the barriers to employee ownership.Iain Hasdell, chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, said: “The government should also commit resources to raising awareness of employee ownership and endorse the concept, outlined in the Nuttall Review, of a new Institute for Employee Ownership.”The ...
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Article
Employers must educate staff on buying annuities
In August, the Bank of England published a paper on the distributional effects of QE, which it estimates to have had a broadly neutral impact on the value of the annuity income that can be bought from a typical pension pot.However, Laith Khalaf, pension investment manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, said ...
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Article
Squire Sanders launches pensions white paper
Squire Sanders has published a white paper on the key issues that affect the affordability of pension schemes.The law firm’s paper, Pensions in the age of austerity, draws upon a two-part independently commissioned survey of employers, actuaries, trustees and other pensions industry professionals.The three cultural aspects that respondents identified could ...
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Video
VIDEO: Lesley Fidler on tax issues
It is important for benefits professionals, as well as finance professionals, to be aware of tax issues surrounding salary sacrifice schemes, said Lesley Fidler, tax director at Baker Tilly.Fidler was interviewed by Debi O’Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits magazine, at Employee Benefits Live in September.Fidler added that big tax-related issues ...
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Article
Friends Life enhances GIP policy
Friends Life has enhanced its group income protection (GIP) policy.It will increase the maximum benefit available under the GIP policy from £350,000 per year to £425,000. Pension scheme and national insurance (NI) contributions can be insured in addition to the maximum benefit.Friends Life has also removed the 5% limit on ...
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Video
MacLeod on engagement task force's next move
The Employee Engagement Task Force will launch a website, which will include advice, tools and networks, in the next phase of its work around improving the employee engagement of the UK workforce.David MacLeod, co-chair of the task force and co-author of the MacLeod report on employee engagement, outlined the plans ...
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VIDEO: Sylvia Doyle on executive pay
Reward managers must work with remuneration committees to ensure there are clear rules of engagement, said Sylvia Doyle, director, Reward First People Consulting, and partner at Reward Consulting Partners.Doyle was interviewed by Debi O’Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits magazine, at Employee Benefits Live in September. She also led a session ...
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Article
NAPF to reshape pensions council structure
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has overhauled the structure of its two main policy-making councils to reflect changes in the pensions landscape and create a clearer focus on defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The two new councils – Defined Benefit Council (DBC) and Defined Contribution Council (DCC) – will ...
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Article
Southend Council doubles take-up
EXCLUSIVE: Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has doubled the take-up of its voluntary benefits scheme, since it switched providers and added employee discounts to the scheme in April 2012.The scheme previously offered access to childcare vouchers and a bikes for work via a salary sacrifice arrangement. In March 2012, it had 76 ...
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Article
Regulator consults on DC pension contributions
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a consultation on the revised codes of practice on reporting late payment of contributions to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The consultation relates to its codes of practice for maintaining contributions, which aim to improve transparency and ensure that everyone involved in the flow of ...
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Article
Health Shield launches cash plans for SMEs
Health Shield has launched two health cash plans specifically designed for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with three employees or more.The Elements plan, which will be available from January 2013, provides a range of benefits, including: dental, optical, chiropody, specialist consultations, health and wellbeing, health screening, online health risk assessments, ...
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Article
NHS trust launches salary sacrifice car plan
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has added a salary sacrifice car scheme to its flexible benefits package.The scheme, which is available to all 3,900 permanent employees, provides staff with the opportunity to access to a range of additional features, including motor insurance, maintenance, servicing, replacement tyres and European ...
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Article
Newcastle Hospitals replaces car plan
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched a salary sacrifice car scheme for its 14,000 permanent employees to replace its existing scheme.When the agreement with its previous supplier ended, the trust ran a selection process with three different suppliers, and chose contract hire organisation Tusker.David Malone, green ...
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Article
J Sainsbury CEO calls for simple share plans
Share plans should be made as simple and straightforward as possible, said Justin King, chief executive at J Sainsbury, during the keynote address at the IFS Proshare employee share plans conference on 10 October.“We have to peel away the mystery and make it as simple as possible,” he said. “The ...
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Article
Reading Uni buys EAP with pensions savings
EXCLUSIVE: The University of Reading has used the savings made from introducing a pensions salary sacrifice arrangement to add an employee assistance programme (EAP) to its benefits package.The salary sacrifice arrangement was added to the university’s three pension schemes from 1 August, and has seen a take-up of 85%. The ...
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Article
BNP Paribas to host diversity week
BNP Paribas is hosting a diversity week, which will include a number of educational events for staff aimed at engendering understanding and learning around diversity issues.The event, which will be held across the bank’s UK offices from 15 to 19 October, will bring together discussions on ability, gender, sexual orientation, ...
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Article
BBC and E.On awarded PQM
The BBC, BASF, E.On and Age UK have been awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM) for their defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The PQM recognises DC schemes with total contributions of at least 10%, with a minimum employer contribution of 6%. It also distinguishes pension schemes that are clearly communicated to ...
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Article
BHSF to launch group life assurance plan
Health insurer and employee benefits provider BHSF has launched a group life assurance plan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The plan features a fixed level of death-in-service benefit for a pre-stated market rate premium. It offers either £25,000 or £50,000 of benefit in the event of a covered employee’s death.Brian ...