All articles by LouronPratt – Page 48
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Case StudiesCo-op transfers employees to a more flexible defined contribution scheme
In October 2015, food and retail business Co-op closed its defined benefit (DB) pensions arrangement and transferred employees out to a defined contribution (DC) group personal pension (GPP) scheme.During the change, the existing £8 billion DB scheme stayed as was, with all existing accruals retained. In terms of future pension ...
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AnalysisBack to basics on defined benefit to defined contribution pension transfers
Need to know: Defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) transfers are becoming increasingly popular, and employers should understand the basics to help staff make the right choices.Employees looking for greater flexibility must also understand and be comfortable with the higher level of risk associated with DC schemes.Many individuals would ...
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ArticleNational living wage projected to increase to £10.50 by 2024
Budget 2020: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (pictured) announced today (11 March 2020) that the UK government plans to raise the national living wage to £10.50, or two-thirds of median earnings, by 2024. For this year, Sunak announced an increase of 6.2%, to £8.72 per hour, taking effect from ...
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ArticleSalford-based care workers to receive £9 per hour minimum wage by October 2020
Image Credit: Manchester Evening NewsAnnounced yesterday (11 March 2020), Salford City Council will give more than 300 care employees working in the city a pay increase to at least £9 per hour from 1 October 2020; this ties in with Salford's commitment to work towards care workers receiving the full ...
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ArticleL'Occitane launches global parental leave policy to support working carers
Cosmetics and wellbeing retail organisation L'Occitane has announced the upcoming launch of a global parental leave policy to support working families.The new policy, being initially implemented at the organisation's global headquarters in Switzerland in the coming months, will give primary caregivers a minimum of 20 weeks of paid leave, a ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: Three-quarters of employers feel responsible for staff mental wellbeing
EXCLUSIVE: Three-quarters (75%) of employers feel it is their responsibility to support employee mental wellbeing, according to new research by Group Risk Development (Grid).The survey of 1,165 employees and 500 HR decision-makers, which took place in January 2020, also found that just under half (49%) of employees agreed that the ...
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Article
98% of business leaders seek to improve workplace culture
Improving workplace culture is a top priority for 98% of business leaders, according to research by recruitment specialists, Robert Half UK.The research of 600 C-suit and business leaders in the UK, found that the vast majority of employers are seeking to improve workplace culture, while 28% of business leaders are ...
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ArticleUniversity of Oxford to implement living wage and raise pay for 2,000 employees
The University of Oxford, which employs 17,000 people in total, has signed up to become an Oxford living wage employer, agreeing to give almost 2,000 employees a pay increase.From August 2020, employees will be paid a minimum of £10.21 an hour. This aligns with the university's commitment to creating an ...
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ArticleSir Robert McAlpine introduces enhanced family-friendly benefits
Building and civil engineering organisation Sir Robert McAlpine has introduced a new set of family-friendly policies, aimed at offering better gender parity, as well as flexibility for working carers.Following a successful pilot, the new initiatives came into force from March 2020; they form part of the organisation's goal to be ...
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Article
University of Oxford signs up to Oxford Living Wage
The Oxford Living Wage was introduced by Oxford City Council in 2009, set at 95% of London's living wage. The jobs that will benefit the most from this pay increase are office/clerical support, library assistants, security staff, invigilators, technicians, Secretaries, retail employees.Neil Duncan-Jordan, a regional organiser for UNISON South East, ...
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ArticleAon to merge with Willis Towers Watson in $80 billion deal
Professional services firm Aon is set to merge with risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory business Willis Towers Watson in a $30 billion (£60.8 billion) deal that aims to combine and expand complementary organisations to create a technology-enabled global platform.The transaction is expected to create more than $10 billion (£7.6 ...
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ArticleFrench court concludes Uber drivers should gain employee status
In a ruling made on 4 March 2020, France's Court of Cassation reclassified the contractual relationship between drivers and ride hailing organisation Uber, giving them the right to be seen not as self-employed workers, but employees.In the case, Uber argued that drivers remain free to decide whether to connect to ...
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ArticleWates Group overhauls family-friendly benefits for 4,000 employees
Family-owned construction organisation Wates Group has announced a complete overhaul of the family-friendly policies offered to its 4,000 employees.From 1 May 2020, the organisation will commit to making a number of significant changes including: increasing paternity and partner leave to eight weeks at full pay; increasing maternity leave to 26 ...
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ArticleChipotle enhances paid parental leave for restaurant support centre employees
US-based fast food restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill has enhanced its paid parental leave benefits, to support new working parents.On 6 March, Chipotle announced that starting in 2020, it plans to increase paid parental leave for restaurant support centre employees, providing 12 weeks for mothers, and four weeks for new ...
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ArticleMPs' basic pay to increase by 3.1% from 1 April 2020
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has announced that basic pay for UK members of parliament (MPs) will increase by 3.1% from 1 April 2020.Announced yesterday (5 April 2020), this brings MPs' overall salary from £79,468 to £81,932. This pay increase is in line with the decision by IPSA in ...
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ArticleCushman and Wakefield reduces gender pay gap from 35.8% to 31.1%
Real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield has reduced its gender pay gap to 31.1%, from 35.8% since 2018.The gender pay gap reporting regulations require organisations with 250 or more employees to publish the differences in mean and median hourly rates of pay for male and female full-time employees, the ...
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ArticleWilko abolishes sick pay for retail and distribution staff of less than a year
Homeware and household goods chain Wilko Retail is reducing sick pay for its retail and distribution employees; under the new policy, staff that have been at the business for less than a year will no longer be entitled to sick pay.Additionally, longstanding employees will only be entitled to sick pay ...
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ArticleThe top 10 most read stories: 27 February - 4 March 2020
The top 10 most read stories between 27 February and 4 March 2020 were: Government publishes review of implementation of IR35 off-payroll rulesKyocera commits to workplace mental health through new training courseEXCLUSIVE: British Airways aligns customer and employee experience strategiesSouth Western Railway agrees 2.6% pay increaseAlmost three-quarters of UK employees ...
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ArticleDowntown Alliance calls for urban adventurer to live rent-free in New York
Something for the weekend: Non-profit business improvement organisation Downtown Alliance is on the hunt for a social influencer and urban explorer to live in and experience Lower Manhattan.In addition to a wage of $2,250 (£1,742.19) per fortnight, for many the main benefit will be the chance to live rent-free in ...
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ArticleJohn Lewis Partnership employees receive 2% profit-sharing bonus
Retail organisation John Lewis Partnership is awarding a 2% bonus to its 83,000 employees, as a result of its 2019/2020 profits.The payout, which is due to the organisation's profit-sharing scheme and was announced to employees today (5 March 2020), paid employees 3% of their salaries in 2018/19; the dip this ...