All articles by Katrina McKeever – Page 8
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Cancer Research staff book desks online
Cancer research UK is piloting a new online hotdesk booking scheme at its head office on London to cut the number of empty desks.It is part of a flexible working arrangement at the charity’s Information Systems department, where many staff take advantage of flexible working arrangements to work from home ...
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Winterton replaces O'Brien as pensions minister
Pensions minister Mike O’Brien has been moved to the energy and climate change department as part of a cabinet shake up.O’Brien, minister of state for pensions reform since June 2007 will be replaced by ex-Transport minister Rosie Winterton.The Cabinet reshuffle will also see Paul Myners resign as chairman of the ...
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Healthcare perks remain popular despite rising costs
Employers plan to maintain health and welfare benefits provision despite rising costs as they are key in attracting and retaining employees.According to Mercer's Pan-European health benefits report, an average of 5.3% of a company's total payroll costs are spent on health benefits, rising to 7% in the UK.Although the cost ...
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Pensions Regulator issues final guidance on transfer values
The Pensions Regulator has issued its final guidance on calculating cash equivalent transfer values for trustees of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to coincide with new regulations that came into force under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment).The guidance is aimed at trustees, who will now assume responsibility for ...
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FTSE-100 pension schemes move from deficit to surplus
Aggregate pension deficits for the FTSE-100 companies appear to have been wiped out during September, as a result of turmoil in the financial markets.According to estimates made by Watson Wyatt after the London market closed on 30 September, the £12 billion deficit which existed at the beginning of the month, ...
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Employee Benefits Live: Cutting the cost of global relocation
Employers could save money by reviewing their global relocation service for staff on expatriate assignments.Speaking at Employee Benefits Live, Craig Truter, reward programme manager at Centrica, said executives often take overseas postings with expectations of higher salary and perks, and there is a need to balance the demand for retention ...
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Employee Benefits Live: Equity key in using money as motivation
Employers should consider that their staff want to be paid fairly, not necessarily more, for their work, said Adrian Furnham, a professor in pyschology.The University College London professor said when creating a rewards programme, it was important to bear in mind that people do not always respond to cash as ...
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Employers could face jail under new fleet safety laws.
Company directors and managers, including fleet operators, that turn a blind eye to occupational road risk management could find themselves being jailed for up to two years when the Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 comes into force on 16 January 2009.The legislation, which gained Royal Assent this month, amends ...
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Hitachi Data Systems switches PMI intermediary and provider
Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a subsidiary of global electronics company Hitachi, has switched intermediary and provider for its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme.The company, which provides storage infrastructure solutions, storage management software and storage consulting services to over 170 countries, has appointed PMI Health Group to replace Mercer as intermediary ...
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Government to review planned changes to flexible working
Plans to extend flexible hours to working parents will be revisited due to the current economic crisis.Although no decision have been made as yet, the government said it wants to look again at the appropriateness of new regulations in light of financial changes.The planned changes due to come into force ...
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Abbey launches emergency care for staff
Abbey has introduced an an emergency care service for its 16,000 staff to access carers for children and elderly dependents at the last minute.The bank, which is part of the Santander group, will provide staff with access to a twenty-four hour database of contacts through which they will be able ...
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HSBC launches group self-invested personal pension
HSBC has launched a group self-invested personal pension (Sipp) for all employees who participate in the bank’s UK share plans.When these plans mature, staff will be able to transfer shares in to the group Sipp and gain income tax relief. The Sipp will also sit alongside HSBC’s defined contribution (DC) ...
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Employers have pension risks under control
Just a quarter of employers consider their defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to be a key business risk, as three-quarters believe they have bought this risk under control.Many organisations (66%) now consider pension scheme risk alongside other commercial risks, such as the effects of a down-cycle on both corporate trading ...
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GBP455m aid to help councils settle equal pay claims
Emergency funding worth £450 million will be made available to councils to help fund equal pay settlements for low-paid female staff.Local Government Minister John Healey has announced that 34 councils will be able to borrow raise up to £455 million overall, either by borrowing against or selling assets. It is ...
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PPF proposes levy of £700 million for 2009/10
The Pension Protection Fund's today announced a levy estimate of £700 million for 2009/10.It confirmed its commitment to last August's promise to set the levy estimate of £675 million for the next three years, indexed to wages, so long as there was no significant change in risk.The PPF has also ...
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London average salary £10,000 higher than UK average
The average advertised London salary is now more than £10,000 higher than the rest of the UK, according to job search engine AllTheTopBananas.com.The online firm found that average advertised salary for jobs in London has now hit £41,500, compared to £31,128 for the rest of the country.Its findings are based ...
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Printers pension £130 million buy in deal with Norwich Union
Trustees of West Ferry Printers Pension Scheme have announced a £130 million pensioner buy-in deal with Norwich Union.West Ferry Printers is national newspaper printing company which counts the Financial Times, Sport Newspapers and Express Newspaper among its clients.Individual members’ benefits are unchanged and the 1,300 current pensioners will remain as ...
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Unions call for cap on working week
Trade union leaders have renewed calls for a 48-hour cap on the working week at the Labour Party Conference, in a bid to end Britain's opt out of the European Union working time directive.Leaders used the conference in Manchester to move a motion to legally limit the number of hours ...
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Responsibletravel.com launches ethical travel vouchers
Ethical online travel company responsibletravel.com has launched a corporate voucher scheme to enable employers to offer staff discounts on ethical holidays.The bespoke travel vouchers, which start from £50, are designed to suit a range of employee benefit schemes, long service incentives, performance based rewards. Employers can brand e-vouchers for staff ...
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Government backs FSA crackdown on “fat cat” city bonuses
A crackdown by the Financial Services Authority on “fat cat” city bonus structures is being backed by the government.Lord Adair Turner of Ecchinswell, who starts his role as the new head of the Financial Services Authority today, has said he will take urgent action to curb “irresponsible” reward structures.He is ...