All articles by Nic Paton – Page 8
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Case Studies
Case study: Kent County Council staff can make their own reward statements
Kent County Council has provided interactive total reward statements since 2008, with staff being encouraged to take ownership of their personal statements.A key way of creating engagement has been to place the statements, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, within the council's rewards portal, which gives staff access to discounts and ...
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Analysis
Green focus for car salary sacrifice
If you read nothing else, read this . . . UK tax incentives naturally skew salary sacrifice company car schemes towards lower-emitting vehicles. Having an emissions cap on vehicle choice will naturally focus a scheme on greener vehicles. Further incentives for lower-emitting vehicles, or an extra levy on more polluting ...
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Analysis
Beware legal risks for drivers
If you read nothing else, read this… The Corporate Manslaughter Act and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has not gone away. With cases still workingthrough the system, managers need to be vigilant. Risk assessments, driver training, time-on-the-road protocols and telematics can all be useful tools tomitigate risk and exercise duty of ...
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Analysis
Driver training can cut fleet costs
If you read nothing else, read this... Rising fuel costs and insurance premiums are making driver training a win-win for company car fleets. It is important to assess and manage driver risk and then decide who will benefit most from what sort of training. It needs to be sold as ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Hannaford cuts down on car insurance claims
St Albans-based fit-out and refurbishment firm Hannaford has seen its insurance claims and premiums drop sharply since implementing a comprehensive driver training programme for its 51 employees in 2008.Fleet manager Leigh Stiff says: “We only had five claims last year and the same the year before. Before we started this ...
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Analysis
Technology is changing company fleets
If you read nothing else, read this...The new generation of in-car technologies include automatic braking, parking and steering, stability control, cruise control, adaptive lighting, speed limiting and environmental innovations.Telematics-based systems include GPS, mileage capture, vehicle tracking and fuel cards.Mobile devices are expanding what data can be collected.Before investing in new ...
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Analysis
How will VAT rise affect company cars?
If you read nothing else, read this...Accept leasing, purchase, servicing, maintenance, fuel and insurance costs - whether reclaimable or not - will rise as value-added tax (VAT) is going up.Employers should audit their fleet funding and acquisition model now so they do not get caught out in January.Do not necessarily ...
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Case Studies
Salary sacrifice company cars: Case studies
North Yorkshire County CouncilA soft launch, with staff allowed to play on the portal for a couple of months but not place orders, helped North Yorkshire County Council iron out any snags and generate interest before its company car salary sacrifice scheme went live on 1 April this year.The council's ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: Choosing vehicles and providers
Deciding on the make-up of your fleet and the best provider to meet your needs calls for some careful calculationsWith new offers and providers entering the market all the time, company car salary sacrifice is becoming both more popular and more competitive. Ask any leasing provider whether they are the ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: How to promote the scheme
A varied and effective communication strategy is essential to make sure your scheme succeedsHowever good your offer or provider, if staff do not know about your scheme, are not clear about how it works or simply are not interested, then all that hard preparatory work can come to nothing.Promoting your ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: Understanding the risks
Fleet salary sacrifice is not without its risks, and employers and employees should recognise the potential financial pitfallsCompany car salary sacrifice schemes bring many benefits, both to employer and employee, but they are not risk-free and will not suit every business.It is imperative that both employers and employees are fully ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: How to implement a scheme
Planning, communication and co-ordination are vital elements to get a fleet salary sacrifice scheme off the groundOne of the attractions of fleet salary sacrifice for the employer is that, if it is done well, there should not be a great deal of internal administration needed once the scheme is up ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: What is salary sacrifice?
Salary sacrifice is a tax-efficient way to give staff access to company cars. Both employee and employer save on tax and NI contributionsIn the post-recessionary economic climate, salary sacrifice means more than you might first think.At a technical level, company car salary sacrifice is, simply, a mechanism through which an ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: Building a business case
The benefits of a company car salary sacrifice scheme might seem obvious, but the selling points must be set out clearlyBuilding the business case for car salary sacrifice schemes involves two things: making the case internally for doing so in the first place, and making the case to employees once ...
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Analysis
Salary sacrifice company cars: What are the tax breaks?
Tax and national insurance breaks are the driving force behind take-up of salary sacrifice car schemesSalary sacrifice is a matter of employment law, not tax law, in that it will result in a change in employees' terms and conditions because they must give up their contractual right to the cash ...
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Case Studies
Case Study: Freshfields spreads the word
Since law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer introduced a salary sacrifice car scheme last July, 18 employees have signed up, with two more in the pipeline. Adam Brooke, the firm's employee benefits manager, says: "At the moment, take-up is still fairly low, but the word is spreading. For example, we now ...
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Analysis
Company car salary sacrifice schemes speed up
If you read nothing else, read this...A salary sacrifice car scheme can work as a cash-free, cost-neutral benefit for employees, as well as a useful staff retention tool.Expect it to take between three and six months to set up and implement a scheme.This type of scheme can be delivered as ...
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Analysis
Fuel cards are a winner for company car fleets
If you read nothing else, read this….Fuel cards are effective for capturing employee mileage and fuel consumption data more accuratelyFuel cards can simplify administration and the burden on payroll processesFuel cards are often confused with offering staff free fuelThe tax advantages of offering free fuel for private use have been ...
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Analysis
Economical alternatives to company pool cars
Pool cars can be a costly way to provide staff vehicles and there are better alternatives, says Nic PatonIf you read nothing else, read this...Pool fleet cars need to be in use 50% of the time just to break even.Pay-as-you-go car clubs can be an alternative to pool vehicles, but ...
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Analysis
Using driver to improve fleet efficiency
Driver training can make company car users safer and save their employers money, says Nic PatonAccording to statistics published by the Department of Transport, almost one in three UK road accidents involves a company vehicle, while 200 deaths or serious injuries a week involve someone driving for work.In January this ...