All articles by Kate Donovan – Page 18
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Article
Royal Mail Group signs new contract on bike plan
Royal Mail Group has ended its tripartite arrangement with Futuremedia and Halfords Business Services for its cycle-to-work plan, and instead handed the entire scheme to the retailer to run.Previously the scheme was managed by Futuremedia, which oversaw all hiring agreements and legal paperwork as well as running a website and ...
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Analysis
Filling in P11Ds can be complicated
Completing P11Ds can be a considerable headache and requires much liaison, says Kate DonovanTax is rarely the most riveting or straightforward of subjects, but, with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) expected to clamp down more heavily on employers for delivering incorrect P11D forms, there are financial benefits to getting it ...
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Article
NHS staff awarded below inflation pay rise
Unions are up in arms over below-inflation pay rises awarded to health service employees by the government.Health staff will receive a 2.5% pay increase overall as recommended by the independent pay review body, but the chancellor, Gordon Brown, has decided that the pay rises should be introduced in two phases. ...
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Article
Unilever closes its UK final salary pension scheme
Unilever is closing its UK final salary pension scheme to new entrants who will instead be able to join a hybrid scheme.The new scheme will have a defined benefit component, based on career average salary for pensionable earnings up to a threshold of £35,000 per annum, and above this a ...
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Article
Sainsbury's sharesave scheme pays out GBP23m
Sainsbury's sharesave scheme paid out more than £23m when it matured today.A total of 8,190 employees that include checkout assistants, store staff and other J Sainsbury staff will receive an average payment of £2,853 each.Employees taking part in the scheme had the opportunity to convert their savings into Sainsbury's shares ...
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Analysis
What could extended flexible hours mean for employers?
Extensions to the overall mechanics of flexible working are a daunting possibility for employersJust as employers are preparing for next month's extension of the right to request flexible working to carers of adults, under the terms of the Work and Families Act 2006, children's minister Beverley Hughes has come out ...
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Article
A quarter of workers want employer pension presentations
One in four UK workers are in support of presentations by their employer (26%) or a financial expert (23%) to help them understand their pensions.Overall, 90% of workers believe that pensions need to be made easier to understand, according to the Spring Pensions Survey from B&CE Benefit Schemes. Just 10% ...
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Article
Employers must consider staff on maternity leave for promotion
Female employees could sue their employer for sex discrimination if they fall behind a queue for promotion while on maternity leave.The High Court decision in a case brought by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) ruled that the government had failed to comply with its obligation to implement the 2002 Equal ...
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Article
Nottinghamshire County Council launches childcare vouchers
Nottinghamshire County Council is launching a childcare voucher scheme to its 27,000 employees.From May, staff will be able to request up to £243 per month (or £55 per week) in childcare vouchers which, subject to individual circumstances, could save employees up to £1,196 per year on childcare. The vouchers will ...
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Article
Childcare and flexible working fail to retain female managers
The number of female senior managers in UK businesses has sharply fallen in the last five years despite the use of flexible working arrangements and childcare benefits.According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Monks gender data for FTSE350 posts, the number of senior female managers gas fallen by 40% over the last ...
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Article
Green focus on budget?
Under the government’s draft Climate Change Bill, which was unveiled yesterday, employers will have to take measures to reduce their carbon footprint. But the issue is unlikely to top the agenda in next Wednesday's Budget announcement, say benefits experts.Nevertheless, they think Gordon Brown will tinker with the level of tax ...
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Article
Towry Law acquires Baker Tilly Financial Services
Towry Law has acquired Baker Tilly Financial Services (BTFS), the financial advisory division of the accountancy firm.BTFS’ 41 wealth advisers will now trade under the Towry Law brand. Towry Law said that BTFS has more than 20,000 high net worth clients and is an ideal fit with its business model.Once ...
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Article
Getty Images launches flexible benefits scheme
Getty Images has launched a flexible benefits scheme to give staff greater flexibility around core benefits and make its package more visible.The image provider's new system works around a core benefits structure that includes: private medical insurance (PMI), income protection, critical illness cover, an employee assistance programme (EAP) and travel ...
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Article
Remuneration affected by defined benefit funding
The increased cost of funding a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme has had a negative impact on the overall remuneration package almost half (49%) of UK companies are able to offer.A further 48% expect it to have a negative effect in the future, according to Aon Consulting's The employer survey ...
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Article
HBOS share schemes pay out GBP210m
Two of HBOS' share schemes are set to pay out nearly £210m when they mature over the next couple of weeks.Its share option scheme, which will mature on 16 March, will pay out to 50,000 employees who were given free share options based on 20% of their salary in 2004. ...
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Article
ING Direct communicates flexible benefits plan with sweets
ING Direct has used sweets to communicate its new flexible benefits plan.Titled 'Pick & Mix', the scheme was communicated using bags of branded sweets, which were distributed to its 550†employees.Company directors dressed as ushers personally made the deliveries to employees' desks. The sweets then directed employees to a branded benefits ...
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Article
P&MM revamps internal staff recognition scheme
P&MM has revamped its internal staff recognition scheme with the launch of a 70s disco-themed plan.The scheme, which is branded Smart R's, is intended to focus on relationships, results and recognition, and encourages employees to nominate colleagues where they see behaviour that makes a difference to the company. Nomination categories ...
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Article
Wimbledon puts up equal prize funds
Female tennis players at this year's Wimbledon Championships will receive equal prize money as male competitors.Previously, the club has argued that men are paid more due to their matches being generally longer, although the ladies' prize money has increased progressively over the years.The total amount of the prize fund has ...
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Article
High Court ruling could prompt firms to question final salary commitment
Employers may question their commitment to defined benefit (DB) pension schemes following a ruling by the High Court that government ministers were guilty of maladministration in their communication of the safety of final salary plans.The ruling in the case, which was brought by four pensioners who have lost either all ...
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Article
Scottish Life's Bee petitions government on auto-enrolment
Scottish Life's head of pensions strategy, Steve Bee, has launched an online petition urging the government to reconsider auto-enrolment into its proposed system of personal accounts unless it can guarantees that employees are not penalised.The e-petition raises the concern that savers in the workplace will be penalised if the current ...