All articles by Kate Donovan – Page 4

  • Article

    Training specialists earn more than average HR professionals

    18 October 2007

    Training professionals are earning higher than the average HR salary for the first time in 10 years, although compensation and benefits remains the highest-paid HR specialism.Learning, training and development professionals are earning higher than the average HR salary, according to the latest reward survey from Croner Reward in association with ...

  • Article

    European Court rules mandatory retirement age is legal

    18 October 2007

    The European Union has ruled that mandatory retirement ages are legal in member states following the caes of Palacios v Cortefiel Servicios.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that while age discrimination is illegal, compulsory retirement at a certain age may be appropriate where there is a legitimate aim. The ...

  • Article

    NHS prepares to implement 2007 pay award

    18 October 2007

    NHS trusts will today receive the information they need to implement the 2007 pay award for staff on Agenda for Change pay bands.Following the NHS trade unions' acceptance of the revised proposal made in August, NHS Employers' provision of the information necessary to introduce the pay award, means NHS staff ...

  • Article

    Emirates Airlines appoints Watson Wyatt for pensions admin

    16 October 2007

    Emirates Airlines has appointed Watson Wyatt to provide pensions administration and accounting services to the Emirates Group Provident Scheme.Emirates Airline operates an offshore defined contribution scheme for Dubai-based pilots, licensed engineers and senior managers. The scheme has approximately 3,500 members and is growing by about 500-to-700 members a year. Watson ...

  • Article

    Barclays offers above inflation three-year pay deal

    16 October 2007

    Barclays has agreed a new three-year pay deal above the rate of inflation for 48,000 employees.This follows three months of negotiations between Barclays and union Unite (Amicus section). The deal amounts to retail price inflation - which is currently 4.1% - plus an additional 0.9%. The offer begins on 1 ...

  • Article

    Government back-tracks on health screen tax changes

    15 October 2007

    The government has back-tracked over its move to tighten up the tax exemption on health screening following pressure from employers and providers.The HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has said in a statement on its website that for 2007/08 it will not collect tax and national insurance contributions on health screening ...

  • Article

    Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank boosts payroll giving take-up

    12 October 2007

    Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank has seen take-up of its payroll-giving scheme grow from just over 0.5% to 10.76% in just 10 months.The bank relaunched its scheme with an extensive campaign to promote awareness among its 10,000 UK-based employees. It is now on track to receive the government-accredited Gold Quality Mark ...

  • Article

    CIPD appoints new chief executive

    10 October 2007

    The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has appointed Jackie Orme as its new chief executive.Orme, who will succeed Geoff Armstrong when he retires in June 2008,will join the CIPD next April from her current role at PepsiCo International where she is chief personnel officer and vice-president, HR. Orme ...

  • Article

    Pre-Budget report: Gift Aid consultation results due in autumn

    9 October 2007

    The government's consultation on identifying possible measures to increase giving through Gift Aid has closed and a summary of responses will be published later in the autumn.The consultation, which was announced in this year's Budget, was mentioned among the pre-Budget report's promises to simplify the business tax system. This drew ...

  • Article

    Chief executive of Personal Accounts Delivery Authority appointed

    8 October 2007

    Tim Jones has been appointed as chief executive of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.Jones, a former chief executive of retail banking at NatWest, is currently co-director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and will take on his new role with immediate effect.The delivery authority will offer independent ...

  • Article

    Pre-Budget Report predictions

    8 October 2007

    Holiday pay funds and tax around cars are issues likely to come up in the pre-Budget report.Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer will present his first pre-budget report. Alastair Kendrick, partner at Bourne Business Consulting predicts changes to the rates of authorised mileage allowance payments (Amaps), green initiatives in relation ...

  • Article

    Next minimum wage rise must be modest says CBI

    8 October 2007

    The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for the next minimum wage increase to be 'modest', after a number of above-earnings increases to the UK's national minimum wage have made it one of the highest in the world, exceeded only by France and Australia.Following last Monday's increase to £5.52, ...

  • Article

    Employers should protect retiring employees

    8 October 2007

    Debi O'Donovan, editorial director at Employee Benefits: In my experience, most employers are only too keen to wash their hands of any annuity decisions made by retiring staff. For many employers, simply offering a workplace pension is taking their duty of care far enough. I believe this is an outrageous ...

  • Article

    Providers launch corporate Christmas gifts

    4 October 2007

    Harrods Corporate Service and Laithwaites have launched their corporate Christmas gift ranges for employers looking to thank or motivate their staff.Harrods Corporate Service's 2007 Christmas hampers, which incorporate goods from its food halls, are presented in traditional wicker hampers and high-gloss gift boxes. Its options range from the £19.95 Christmas ...

  • Article

    Asperity acquires BringMe from Lloyds TSB Registrars

    4 October 2007

    Asperity Employee Benefits has acquired BringMe, the voluntary benefits arm of Lloyds LSB Registrars.Asperity will take over responsibility for approximately 41 employers’ voluntary benefits schemes with immediate effect, transferring the schemes from the Bringme platform to Asperity’s Reward Gateway platform. Once the 200,000 employees previously served by BringMe are brought ...

  • Article

    Conference news: Total reward valued in financial services sector

    2 October 2007

    A total reward strategy can help to attract and retain staff in the financial services sector.Speaking about Confronting the challenges for employee benefits in the financial services sector at the Employee Benefits Exhibition and Conference 2007, John Campbell, director rewards & recognition, Citigroup global consumer group EMEA at Citigroup, said: ...

  • Article

    Financial services industry may help fund generic financial advice

    1 October 2007

    The financial services industry and the government must share the cost of funding generic financial advice, according to the Thoresen Review.Otto Thoresen's, chief executive of Aegon UK, interim report has laid down the case for national generic financial advice to be funded by both the government and the financial services ...

  • Article

    Interview with Sara Edwards: Vice President HR at Maybourne Hotel Group

    30 September 2007

    Sara Edwards, vice president HR at Maybourne Hotel Group, has a formidable background in the leisure sector, and has seen HR become more commercially driven.If it wasn’t for untimely defence cuts, Sara Edwards, vice president, human resources at Maybourne Hotel Group (formally The Savoy Group), could have started down a ...

  • Article

    Kent County Council unveils total reward statements

    30 September 2007

    Kent County Council is launching online interactive total reward statements for its 44,000 staff, and is moving its voluntary benefits on to a new platform.The council has appointed Asperity to run its voluntary plan, after its previous provider HBOS announced it was to quit the market in January.The new voluntary ...

  • Analysis

    Hot topics at TUC conference

    30 September 2007

    Public sector pay demands and employees’ rights to benefits under the spotlight at TUC conference.Workers’ rights to benefits and public sector demands for above-inflationary pay increases were two key issues that were hotly debated at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference last month.Business and enterprise secretary John Hutton announced plans ...