All articles by Katrina McKeever – Page 7
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Value of DC pensions drops GBP157bn in a year
Nearly £157bn has been wiped off of the value of defined contribution (DC) pension funds in the past year.In October 2007, the value of DC pension assets stood at just over £552bn, however by October this year, the value had dropped by just over a quarter (28%) to approximately £395bn. ...
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High Court rules long service is contractual benefit in redundancy selection
The High Court has ruled that taking length of service into account when setting redundancy selection criteria is not age discriminatory as it should be considered a contractual benefit.In the case of Rolls Royce versus Unite the Union, the car firm sought to use Employment Equality Age Regulations to claim ...
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Aon launches occupational health audit service
Aon Consulting has launched an occupational health (OH) audit service to assist employers in actively managing employee health. The service reviews every aspect of employers' existing OH arrangements against key service objectives and best practice. It was introduced in response to employers' increasing concern with integrating activities concerned with managing ...
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Pension funding levels better than market suggests
Defined benefit pension scheme funding levels may not have been hit as hard as as the stock market conditions suggest.According to the Mercer Pension update, which used standard accounting measures, the aggregate FTSE-350 pension scheme surplus was £1 billion as at 30 September 2008.Taking market movements up to 10 October ...
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Alexander Forbes Financial Services appoints new benefits director
Alexander Forbes Financial Services has appointed Jarrod Parker as employee benefits director.Jarrod has worked at Alexander Forbes for over 18 years and moves from development manager to this newly-created position.In his new role, Jarrod will oversee the defined contribution and defined benefit pension propositions, as well as the actuarial team.
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Police Federation accepts three-year pay deal
The Police Federation has accepted a pay deal worth 8% over three years, ending a 14 month-long dispute.The federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, accepted a deal worth 2.65% from 1 September 2008, 2.6% in 2009, and 2.55% in 2010. This means that a police constable could be earning up to ...
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Working hours increase as earnings growth slows
Employees are working longer hours for falling pay, according to government figures which show unemployment has risen to its highest rate for 17 years.Labour Market Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics state that 1.79 million people are now out of work, with unemployment increasing by 0.5% to 5.7%. ...
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Inflation increase will hit DB pension schemes
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are set to award maximum pension increases, the highest recorded level of increases for 17 years, due to rising inflation.However, the additional and significant added financial burden will come at a time when most UK employers can least afford it. Marcus Hurd, head of corporate ...
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Bank chiefs waive exit bonuses after government bailout
Banking chiefs at HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have paid the price of the clampdown on excessive bonuses by waiving their entitlement to severance packages.The four head bankers waived payouts worth a total of more than £3.5m as they left the banks amid the government bailout. Announcing the ...
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Financial Services Authority issues guidelines on curbing bonuses
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published guidelines on reforming bonus structures in the City in a bid to curb excessive risk taking.Hector Sants, chief executive of the FSA, has issued an open letter to 28 bank chairmen, which states that he shares the view that inappropriate remuneration schemes may ...
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BSkyB launches online total reward statements
BSkyB has introduced total reward statements for its 15,000 UK employees. The statements, which were launched on 3 October, can be accessed from both employees' home and work computers. Within the first hour after the statements were launched, more than 550 employees had logged on to the system.The scheme was ...
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Pension is preferred employee benefit for staff
A pension is the most highly-rated employee benefit, ahead of flexible working options and cash bonuses.According to the 2008 Return on Pension Expenditure survey by Alexander Forbes Financial Services, 81% of workers say a pension is important. This was followed by flexible working arrangements and cash bonuses, cited by 70% ...
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Equal pay remains a long way off
Employers are shying away from equal pay audits to find out it female workers are being paid less than their male colleagues.Research carried out by Industrial Relations Services of 103 private sector employers shows that parity in pay is a long way off, with men being paid an average of ...
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Banks must curb executive pay and bonuses under rescue deal
British banks covered by the £500bn rescue package agreed by the government have agreed to curb executive pay and bonuses under the terms of the deal.Prime minister Gordon Brown said any banks in which the government ends up owning a stake must be prepared to sign up to tough criteria ...
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Nomura International switches pensions administrators
Nomura International, the Japanese financial services giant, has switched providers for the administration of its closed UK pension schemes.The trust-based defined contribution and defined benefit schemes, which have 3,000 members and are valued at £80 million, will now be administered by Premier Pensions Management, initially on a three-year long contract.The ...
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Centrica reopens cycle-to-work scheme
Centrica has reopened enrolment in its cycle-to-work scheme following an initial launch in June this year.Overall, so far 349 employees have signed up for the perk, which is one component of the firm's wider green initiatives.This month, staff will be given a further opportunity to take up the benefit with ...
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Ryanair could force staff to take unpaid leave
Around 400 Ryanair cabin crew and pilots could be forced to take one week of unpaid leave as the airline cuts flights out of Dublin and Stanstead this winter.The budget airline has asked staff at the two airports to volunteer to take an extra week’s holiday between November and February. ...
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Responses to local government pension consultation published
The government has published a summary of responses to its consultation on the future of pension liabilities for former local authority staff who now work for contractors in the private sector.Since 1999, private companies have been allowed to bid against councils for contracts such as road maintenance and waste disposal. ...
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Argos waives qualifying period for staff discount
Argos has waived the three month waiting period on its staff discount scheme to help recruit 15,000 temporary workers for the Christmas season.To help attract seasonal workers, all temporary staff will qualify immediately for the company’s 10% employee discount scheme on goods at Argos, to help attract them with promises ...
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Health and wellbeing is becoming core business issue for FTSE100 companies.
Health and wellbeing is becoming a core business issue for FTSE 100 companies, with growing importance for both employers and staff, according to research conducted by Business Action on Health. The group's 2008 report Nurture your people and grow your business, published today (October 7) to mark the first anniversary ...