All articles by Kate Donovan – Page 20
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Analysis
Government plans financial education service
Government intentions to design a national financial education service could impact on workplace schemes.Plans by the government for a national financial education service could help employees understand their pensions and plan for retirement.A team, led by Otto Thoreson, chief executive officer of Aegon UK, has been charged with researching and ...
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Article
Lack of flexible working disadvantages mothers
The limited numbers of employers offering flexible working hours is contributing to significant employment disadvantages for women, particularly mothers.The Equalities Review's final report, Fairness and Freedom, published today, has said that despite more women than ever being in employment and achieving higher educational qualifications, there are still obstacles in their ...
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Article
Employers unaware of risks of personal car use on business
Many senior managers have failed to register the potential risk of employees using their own cars to make business trips.Over a third (35%) of HR and finance directors do not think that employees driving their own cars for work is a cause for concern, according to LeasePlan's Financial directors and ...
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Article
Government minister backs flexible working for all staff
All British employees should be entitled to work flexibly, according to the Children's Minister Beverley Hughes.In an essay titled Children, parenting and families: Renewing the progressive story, which is included in Politics for the new generation: the progressive moment published by the Institute for Public Policy Research, she argued that ...
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Article
Pension regulator's DC guidance faces criticism
The Pension Regulator's document on regulating Defined Contribution (DC) pension schemes has been criticised by Gissings for neglecting the fact that not enough people are joining DC schemes.The consultation period for the government's How the Pensions Regulator will regulate defined contribution schemes in relation to risks to members document, which ...
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Article
Grosvenor Health acquires Health Sure UK
Grosvenor Health has completed its acquisition of Health Sure UK.Grosvenor Health. which is a Birmingham-based provider of occupational health services such as pre-employment fitness for work assessments, on-site health surveillance, sickness and rehabilitation management, pensions and insurance adjudication, will fund the acquisition of Glasgow-based Health Sure UK via existing cash ...
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Article
Employee health has biggest influence on retirement age
More than half (51%) of employees believe the age at which they retire will depend on their health and ability to do their job.Just over a third (35%) say that their retirement age will be governed by the amount they have in their pension scheme, according to the Pension omnibus ...
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Article
BA reaches agreement on absence management and pay
British Airways has agreed to make changes to its cabin crew's sickness absence management system, and pay increase.Exact details of the settlement, which has brought a week of negotiations between members of the Transport & General Workers' (T&G) Union and the airline's management to an end, have yet to be ...
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Article
Increased pay and holiday could result in fewer jobs
Increases in the national minimum wage and holiday entitlement could limit the number of employees small businesses are able to employ.According to research carried out by the Small Business Research Trust and the University of Liverpool Management School, and sponsored by HSBC Bank, for the final quarter of 2006, more ...
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Article
Complementary therapy could reduce employee absence
Complementary therapies could help to reduce organisations' sickness absence levels, particularly if they are used to treat musculo-skeletal problems.According to HSA's Complementary therapy research 2007, more than two-thirds of the 1,000 people questioned believed the demand for complementary therapy will increase in the future. Where physiotherapy is concerned, some 40% ...
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Article
BA set to change sick leave policy
British Airways has reportedly agreed to change its sick leave policy ahead of next week's planned cabin crew strike action.The Transport & General Workers (T&G)†union, however,†is not satisfied over a 'minor' change which has not been made in regards to the amount of time over which an employee's absence record ...
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Article
Employers urged to give staff the facts on pension transfers
Employers offering staff incentives to transfer out of final salary pension scheme have been urged to ensure staff know exactly what benefits they are giving up.Employers must also make staff aware that the scheme which accepts the transfer value may not provide the same level of benefit, according guidance published ...
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Article
The Jelf Group acquires SPS Wellbeing
The Jelf Group has acquired healthcare and group risk intermediary SPS Wellbeing in a deal worth approximately £10m.SPS Wellbeing is an independent consultancy with a client list that includes around 1,600 SME corporate clients, 160 larger corporate clients, around 2,250 schemes and 3,000 individuals. The acquisition will increase the Jelf ...
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Article
Employers could face increase in PPF level following ECJ ruling
Employers could face an increase in the levy payable to The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) following a ruling by the European Court of Justice that the UK's pre-2005 pension protection regime was 'inadequate'.The case was initially brought to the European Court of Justice by unions to decide whether the government, ...
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Article
BA staff postpone strike
British Airway cabin crew have postponed their first planned day of strike action over pay, sickness absence and staffing issues.After five hours of talks last night between senior shop stewards from the Transport and General Workers' Union's (T&G) cabin crew branch and Walsh Walsh, BA's chief executive, the T&G has ...
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Article
Grosvenor Casino staff to strike over pay
Employees at Grosvenor Casinos are set to hold a 24-hour strike tomorrow in a dispute over pay.The strike follows a similar walkout on 31 December 2006 as part of an ongoing pay dispute, in which staff such as croupiers, inspectors, cashiers, valets, receptionists and restaurant workers are unhappy about a ...
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Article
Marks & Spencer reduces pension deficit with property
Marks & Spencer (M&S) plans to reduce its £704m final salary pension deficit using income from a portion of the company's property portfolio.Through the property-backed partnership, it will contribute £500m to the scheme, and expects to meet the rest of the deficit with investment returns from the pension's scheme's assets.The ...
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Article
Bupa Wellness launches smoking cessation product
Bupa Wellness has launched a product designed to help employers support staff who wish to quit smoking.The programme, which runs for a 12-month period, includes workshops, health fairs, and†support emails and text messages. It also enables staff to access information about the effects of smoking, such as details about what ...
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Article
Medical Protection Society launches healthcare cash plan
Medical Protection Society (MPS) has introduced a healthcare cash plan for its 180 employees.The scheme, which was designed following feedback from employee focus groups, includes enhanced policy limits on dental and optical treatment, health screening, GP consultancy and a 24-hour confidential helpline.The focus groups found that employees wanted extensive cover ...
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Article
Lack of flexible working drives workers into low-skilled jobs
A lack of flexible working opportunities is driving highly-qualified workers into jobs below their skills level.If more flexible working was available, 6.5m people in Britain could be using their skills to a greater extent, according to a new report by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), Working Outside the Box. This ...