News – Page 23
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Age-related pension contributions not discriminatory
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that age-related employer contributions to pension schemes are lawful and not discriminatory to employees.The case of HK Danmark v Experion A/S 2013 concerned an organisation that set up a pension scheme for employees in Denmark with employer contributions at the following rates: ...
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HMRC tackles pensions tax abuse
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made a number of changes to strengthen existing processes to tackle the attempted misuse or abuse of the pension tax rules, deter pension liberation and safeguard employees’ pension savings.The changes, which took effect from 21 October, include:Registering a pension scheme: HMRC has made the ...
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Bank of England and FCA respond to remuneration report
The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have both published their responses to a report on a revised remuneration code for the banking industry.The Changing banking for good report, which was published by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS) in June 2013, made a series of ...
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New guidance on public sector pension transfers
HM Treasury has published new Fair Deal guidance on the transfer of public sector pensions.The new approach to Fair Deal set out in the guidance, Fair Deal for staff pensions: staff transfer from central government, aims to ensure that staff compulsorily transferred out of the public sector will continue to ...
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Tax on benefits-in-kind should be equal
More than three-quarters (81%) of respondents said benefits-in-kind should all be taxed at the same rate, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) and the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).The research, which surveyed payroll and accountancy professionals, is in response to an Office of Tax Simplification ...
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Consultation on executive pay published
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a consultation on executive remuneration.The consultation follows legislative changes, which came in on 1 October, which made votes on remuneration reports binding.It will cover three specific areas:Clawback arrangements.Whether non-executive directors who are also executive directors in other organisations should sit on the remuneration ...
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National minimum wage increases
The national minimum wage has increased by 12p to £6.31 an hour for adults on 1 October.The rise follows recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission in April 2013.Other changes include:Employees aged between 18 and 20 years will see a 5p rise, from £4.98 to £5.03.Employees under the age of ...
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Staff make provisions to avoid annual allowance threshold
More than 16,000 UK workers who contribute to registered pension schemes made contributions in excess of the £50,000 annual allowance threshold by using the carry-forward provisions, according to research by Kuber Ventures.The research, which analysed data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for pension contributions in the 2011/12 tax year, ...
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HMRC reports on real-time information issues
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published a report into the findings from analysis of disputed pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) charges associated with real-time information reporting.It had received feedback that some PAYE schemes have experienced difficulties in reconciling the difference between the tax HMRC says is due and the tax the employer ...
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Tupe changes will allow employment term renegotiation
Employers will be able to renegotiate the terms and conditions of employees when transferring them between businesses, as part of changes announced by the government to Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Tupe) regulations.This is provided that the overall change is no less favourable for an employee than their previous ...
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Venture Capital Platform to launch savings scheme for high earners
EXCLUSIVE: The Venture Capital Platform is to launch a workplace savings scheme that aims to offer high earners an alternative to a pension scheme.The investment-linked scheme, which will be launched at Employee Benefits Live on 25 and 26 September, has been developed in light of the government’s changes to the ...
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Pay ratio disclosure proposed in US
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed new legislation that would require public employers to disclose the ratio of the compensation of its chief executive officer to the median compensation of its employees. The legislation would not prescribe a specific methodology for employers to use in calculating a pay ...
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Sam Gee: Should zero-hours contracts include a minimum benefits provision?
Flexibility is good for business. Matching the people needed to the peaks and troughs in work makes for an efficient operation.Having the biggest choice of available workers is also good for business and people such as retirees, carers, students or second-jobbers may be looking for occasional earnings. So I can ...
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Consultation on bankers' bonuses launched
The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a consultation in July on the instruments that banks can use to satisfy the standards of its bankers’ bonus cap legislation.The EBA’s draft Regulatory Technical Standards, which includes the requirement for banks to pay 50% of variable remuneration in non-cash instruments, is expected to ...
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Commission calls on government to tackle low pay
The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has called on the government to develop a low wage strategy to raise the bottom rungs on the UK pay ladder.In its report, Social mobility: the next steps, the government-appointed commission recommends that the government:Mandate the Low Pay Commission to set out affordable ...
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TPR publishes report on public sector pensions
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published information and research on current practice in eight categories of public sector pension schemes, ahead of it taking on an expanded role regulating standards of governance and administration for these schemes.From April 2015, TPR will set standards of governance and administration in the local ...
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Nelu Abeygunasekera: Should zero-hours contracts include minimum benefits provision?
Don’t be fooled, just because an arrangement is referred to as a zero-hours contract, it does not necessarily mean this is the case.Under a zero-hours contract, the employer is not obliged to provide a minimum amount of work and the worker is under no obligation to accept work that is ...
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Government announces TUPE change proposal
The government has announced proposed changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) rules.The move comes in response to a consultation on TUPE regulations earlier this year.The government has confirmed that:Employers will be able to renegotiate terms and conditions provided for in collective agreements one year after ...
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TUC lodges agency workers pay complaint
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission (EC) against the UK government, alleging it has failed to implement the Temporary and Agency Workers Directive properly.Under the UK’s Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) legislation, agency employees are entitled to the same basic pay as ...
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Shares for rights scheme comes into force
The government’s Employee Shareholder Scheme came into force yesterday.The scheme, also known as shares for rights, was passed in Parliament after the government made several concessions to its original proposals.The legislation will enable staff to swap some of their employment rights, including unfair dismissal and redundancy rights, for shares in ...