News – Page 77
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Workplace Options offers tips for workplace strategies during the World Cup
Employee benefits provider Workplace Options is offering upon-request packets to both employers and employees containing tips and information for enjoying next month’s World Cup while still maintaining an effective and efficient workplace.The tips include: reiterating company policy on time away from work, and encouraging employees who are able to take ...
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Biscuits more likely to survive cost cutting than pensions
The pulling power of the humble biscuit has not gone unnoticed by cost-conscious employers who are more likely to cut pension contributions than the snack.Research commissioned by Abbey Legal Protection has shown organisations are more likely to preserve their client biscuit budget than core benefits and even staff themselves.Its Protection ...
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Employees plan to use more holiday entitlement in 2010
More than a third of UK workers (38%) did not use up all their holiday allowance in 2009, compared to 81% of staff who intend to take all their annual leave in 2010.The findings, from the Institute of Payroll Professionals’ (IPP) Time for a holiday survey, also revealed 28% of ...
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Boots raises satisfaction with staff recognition scheme
Boots has helped to raise its staff satisfaction score to 80% by implementing a new recognition scheme.The company's Great Place to Work Survey, which took place in March, shows a rise of 2% from last year. In addition, 67% of Boots’ staff said they felt recognised and praised at work, ...
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Clarification on VAT treatment of retail vouchers
The Advocate General has said employers may recover value-added tax (VAT) when it is charged to them on retail vouchers.The Advocate General's Opinion, which the European Court will consider before it gives a final ruling later this year, acknowledged that the European Commission may want to consider whether the UK ...
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Prison van 'smash-and-grab' game launched
Reward professionals who would like nothing more than to shut away irritating colleagues in prison vans are now being offered the chance to do just that.Buckinghamshire-based team-building company Spy Games has launched a mock movie-style mission called The Snatch, in which teams attempt to hold up a prison van to ...
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Workplace environment has an impact on staff satisfaction
The physical environment of the workplace has a positive impact on levels of staff satisfaction, according to a survey conducted by Chiswick Park.The West London office park, which houses the European headquarters of Starbucks, Paramount, Discovery, Foxtons and Setanta, surveyed more than 1,000 employees from 25 different organisations.The survey revealed ...
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Harbour and Jones rewards long service with a duvet day
Catering firm Harbour and Jones is offering a duvet day to its employees with more than five years' service.Six employees will take advantage of the inaugural free duvet day, as the catering company has only just reached its six-year anniversary. The reward will be offered annually to any of its ...
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Most organisations support work-life balance
A large majority (86%) of employees say their employer supports their work-life balance, according to a new survey.Conducted by office support recruitment company Tate, the survey polled 308 people, finding that endorsing a work-life balance leads to increased productivity and reduced absences.Jo Edwards, Tate’s managing director, said: “Where, in most ...
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P&MM launches recognition guide for employers
Employee motivation specialist P&MM has launched a guide for employers on how to launch an effective recognition scheme, which is based around a treasure map concept. The guide includes details on the importance of setting motivation programme objectives, living the company values, designing a programme structure and identifying which rewards ...
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Government launches employee engagement guidance
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has introduced new guidance for effective employee engagement.The guidance was developed with input from a range of business leaders, employers and employee engagement practitioners. It follows the July 2009 publication of the independent report to government last year, Engaging for Success, which ...
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Kwik Fit Financial Services awards employee of the year £10,000 prize
Kwik Fit Financial Services has held its annual staff awards ceremony, at which 38 employees were rewarded for their work over the last year.Maureen Paterson, executive service consultant at Kwik Fit Financial Services, was honoured with a £10,000 prize as the insurance intermediary’s Employee of the Year.The award ceremony, which ...
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Virgin Atlantic staff climb Mount Kenya to raise money
Sixty Virgin Atlantic staff have climbed Mount Kenya, raising over £35,000 to support the airline’s adopted Kenyan village.Steve Ridgway, chief executive for Virgin Atlantic, said: “I am very proud to see that so many staff took part in this gruelling challenge.The fact that so many of them completed the climb ...
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Bank of America employees to donate time to charity
Almost 300 Bank of America employees will take to the company’s Europe Card Services’ (ECS) call centre phones to collect donations for Sports Relief.The response to be a part of the sporting charity event, which will take place on Friday 19 March, was so overwhelming that the Bank of America ...
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Staff engagement 'biggest concern' for HR in legal sector
Staff engagement is the biggest issue HR teams in the legal sector are concerned about.A third of law firms said employee engagement was of ‘great concern’ to them with a further 48% saying it was a concern for them.According to the The HR in Law Employee Benefits Key Issues Survey ...
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Rugby Football Union to offer corporate gift cards through SVM
Gift card provider SVM Europe has added the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to its portfolio of providers.The Rugby Store gift card, operated by the RFU, can be used to purchase merchandise via RFUdirect.com or at the Twickenham Stadium and town centre stores.Jane Barron, licensing and marketing manager at the RFU, ...
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PrePay Solutions reaches first anniversary
Prepay Solutions, a strategic alliance between Accor Services and MasterCard Europe, is celebrating its first anniversary.†The company delivers prepaid and electronic card-based solutions to corporate, retail, government, business and consumer markets.Gilles Coccoli,†managing director of Prepay Solutions, said: “The potential of this industry both locally and internationally is huge.†"We are all ...
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Gift card and voucher sales increase
Sales of gift cards and vouchers grew during quarter four (Q4) 2009, according to sales data from the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA).The business-to-business sector, where gift cards and vouchers are commonly used as corporate gifts, rewards and incentives, saw an increase of 2.8%.†One significant area of growth ...
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Manager grants extra holiday to troubled footballer
News that John Terry’s boss Chelsea FC manager Carlo Ancelotti has granted the troubled footballer extra annual leave following allegations that he cheated on his wife shows what a useful management tool holiday can be.This also builds the case for offering holiday trading as a workplace benefit. After all, the ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Rebuilding trust is vital task after the recession
On 26 January, it was announced that the UK economy had emerged from its 18-month recession with 0.1% growth for the previous three months. Despite the fact that few expected the news to have a dramatic impact on people’s day-to-day lives, many of us have started to see a subtly ...