All articles by Kate Donovan – Page 11
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Article
Upper quartile pay deals increase
More heavily unionised, private sector companies are surpassing the public sector in terms of pay deals.While government policy on pay has kept increases below 3% across most of the public sector, the Income Data Services' latest Pay Databank showed that the upper quartile of pay deals rose to 4.2% for ...
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Article
Redundant Kwik Save staff will have to claim back-pay via DTI
Kwik Save employees who are made redundant as a result of the retailer going into administration will have to apply to the government for statutory redundancy pay, holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice.An administration order was granted yesterday, with KPMG as the administrator. 90 stores will close, while ...
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Article
Moneysupermarket.com staff could benefit from potential float
Moneysupermarket.com intends to make its employees a share offer if it goes ahead with a potential float on the London Stock Exchange.The UK finance and travel price comparison website company has announced its intention to seek admission to trade on the London Stock Exchange, proceeding with an initial public offering ...
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Article
Interview with Russell Martin: HR director at Norwich Union
If Russell Martin, HR director at Norwich Union, could go back and do it all again, he’d reconsider his double honours degree in economics and accountancy and instead study French and music. But that’s not to say that he would change his career in any way, because Martin is a ...
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Article
Lord Leitch's skills pledge faces some challenges
Scepticism remains around Lord Leitch's skills pledges, which pose a number of challengesAirbus, BT, EDF Energy and Sainsbury's are among the first 150 employers to sign up to the government's skills pledge, first outlined in Lord Leitch's report Prosperity for the Global Economy: World Class Skills last December.The pledge, however, ...
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Analysis
Investing in health screening is good for business
Health screening is no longer regarded as a benefit reserved for executives, as more affordable options enable employers to invest in wellness for their wider workforce, says Kate DonovanJust as cosmetic surgery has gone from being a prerogative of the rich and famous to a viable option for the body-conscious ...
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Article
Ministry of Justice brings new flexibility with launch
The former Department of Constitutional Affairs, now part of the newly-formed Ministry of Justice, has launched a number of new benefits in order to offer staff greater flexibility.Holiday trading, childcare vouchers and an online voluntary benefits scheme will be launched alongside changes to the organisation's pay and grading structure on ...
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Article
Product in focus: Voluntary benefits
Voluntary benefits systems can give employers an idea of employee spend on perks, which is telling of their perceived value, says Kate DonovanVoluntary benefits schemes enable employers to give their employees the opportunity to buy an optional range of products and services, usually at a discounted price. The organisation pays ...
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Article
Findus launches a new group personal pension scheme
Findus has launched a new group personal pension (GPP) scheme.A round-the-clock communication and workplace education programme was provided for all employees in order to coincide with the international frozen food business’ 24-hour shift patterns.Employees were given advice by GPP provider Alexander Forbes Financial Services, on the benefits of salary exchange ...
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Article
Corporate Manslaughter Act receives royal assent
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act has received royal assent.From 6 April 2008, organisations whose gross corporate failures in health and safety lead to the death of individuals will face prosecution for manslaughter and an unlimited fine.Proving corporate fault rather than identifying an individual for blame, as was previously ...
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Article
Emergency Child and Home Care acquires Bupa Childcare
Emergency Child and Home Care has acquired Bupa's corporate childcare arm.The new company will be given the name The Family Care Company and will offer its clients emergency child and elder care; out of school care; on-site creche and nursery management; childcare search and selection services, and advice lines for ...
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Article
G4S moves to group personal pension
G4S has converted its contracted-in money purchase pension scheme (CIMP) into a group personal pension (GPP).The 2,251 active members of the CIMP at the security solutions firm were offered membership of the new GPP. Over 98% of the active CIMP members have taken up the option to transfer, with 95% ...
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Article
Whitbread appoints Bupa to provide health insurance to senior staff
Whitbread has appointed Bupa to provide 1,500 of its senior employees with private healthcare for the next three years.Employees from Premier Travel Inn; Brewers Fayre; Beefeater and Costa Coffee will be receive a healthcare plan that includes bespoke medical cover and gives them access to Bupa's specialist treatment centres for ...
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Article
Union accuses private equity firm of reducing pension of Lil-lets staff
Trades union Unite has alleged that private equity firm Electra Partners has “reduced” the pension benefits of 46 Lil-lets employees following a change in policy.Unite claims that 46 Lil-lets employees believed that they would receive their consent pensions from the company as a result of the plant closure.†But after buying ...
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Article
Norwich Union to launch training academies
Norwich Union is to launch five training academies later this year to help its 32,000 employees develop their capabilities.These will cover areas such as leadership, customer service, sales, financial literacy and operations, teaching skills such as relationship roles, commercial acumen, product knowledge and IT.Some courses will be compulsory, while others ...
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Article
Golden hellos double as employers struggle to recruit
The number of employers offering 'golden hello' bonuses has doubled since 2006.The increase from 16.3% of employers offering 'golden hellos' in 2006 to the 32.6% of employers offering them now reflects the finding that 81% of employers are reporting recruitment problems, a fourfold increase since 2002.The 34th National management salary ...
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Article
Saga staff to share windfall from merger with AA
Saga staff will receive an average of £10,500 each when the organisation merges with the AA to form a new holding company valued at £6.15bn.The transaction, which has now been agreed, values the combined group at £6.15bn, comprising the AA's value of £3.35bn and Saga's value of £2.8bn.As a result ...
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Article
Number of older workers set to treble by 2017
UK employers need to prepare for an ageing workforce, as 78% of employees anticipating working beyond the age of 65 years,†Currently, an estimated one million employees are working past the state pension age, but this is expected to treble among those aged 65 to 70 years by 2017, according to ...
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Article
Employers fail to provide healthy workplaces
Employers are failing to provide a healthy workplace for employees.Almost a third (31%) of UK employers equate 'healthy working' with eating healthily at work, according to the What does 'healthy working' mean? Ipsos Mori research commissioned by Investors in People. This revealed that 24% of employers say their organisation does ...
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Article
Royal Mail staff to strike over pay
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced that Royal Mail staff will strike after negotiations over pay have failed.The first national pay strike in 11 years will take place on Friday 29 June. Workers in the Royal Mail and Post Office Limited will strike, which includes staff who work on ...