All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 18
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Aviva switches share scheme providers
Aviva has transferred all shareholders, including staff participating in either its share incentive plan (Sip) or sharesave scheme, to a new share scheme provider.The insurance firm, which completed the six-month long project in July, moved around 25,000 live employee share plan records move to Computershare from previous provider Equiniti.Employees will ...
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Informa to tie in auto-enrolment staging date with flexible benefits renewal
Informa may comply with the incoming pension reforms several months before its staging date in order to tie in with its flexible benefits renewal period and provide a buffer should it make any acquisitions.The media firm’s staging date was originally August 2013 but this changed to July 2013 after it ...
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News analysis: The taxman rides again
Opinions are divided over how new VAT rules for benefits offered via salary sacrifice will affect perks such as bikes for work, says Nicola SullivanDebate is raging over how employers and employees will be affected by the new ruling on applying VAT to benefits offered through salary sacrifice. Last month, ...
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Employees working in haunted environments need support
News that employees renovating an Italian museum stopped work because they believed it was haunted raises questions over whether employers’ reward packages are equipped to deal with supernatural occurrences.Builders working overnight at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, claimed that they heard soul-piercing screams, experienced changing temperatures and even saw ...
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Employers focus on attracting school leavers
Employers’ benefits and reward offerings for young employees are in the spotlight following A-level and GCSE results.Some of the UK’s largest organisations are aiming to attract high-achieving school leavers in addition to university graduates. This comes amid fears that higher university tuition fees will affect the diversity of graduates.Accountancy firms ...
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Employers seek clarification on 2012 pension reforms
Employers preparing for the 2012 pension reforms, including auto-enrolment, are seeking clarification on how to manage employee data and the definition of basic pay.Richard Murray, group pensions manager at First Group, said that he is overwhelmed by the amount of information on the reforms coming from the Department of Work ...
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Nice employees finish last when it comes to pay
If you think showing kindness and co-operation with colleagues will be recognised in your pay packet, think again.The study Do nice guys and gals really finish last?, due to appear in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, shows that nice male employees are paid 18% less than their nastier ...
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KPMG research: Enhanced transfer value exercises on the increase
Enhanced transfer value (ETV) exercises are increasingly being offered to members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, according to research by KPMG. In the past three years, DB scheme members have been offered ETVs to leave their DB schemes, with a further 70,000 expected this year. On average, one in ...
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Hargreaves Lansdown launches smartphone app for corporate wrap platform
Hargreaves Lansdown has launched a smartphone app to assist employees using its corporate wrap product in managing their savings and investments.The free iPhone and Android application allows employees to view their individual savings account (Isa) and self-invested personal pension (Sipp), as well as trade funds, shares and investment trusts, exchange ...
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Employers advised on how to engage disenfranchised younger workers after the riots
While unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people are cited as some of the societal reasons behind last week’s riots, it has also emerged that younger generations feel disenfranchised in the workplace.Claire McCartney, an adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said that the economic climate ...
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Commuters in Beijing urged to get into punch-ups on their way to work
When on a packed commuter train, many of us will be familiar with the feeling of wanting to punch something or someone while navigating ill-placed bags, perilous cafe lattes and frayed tempers.However, in Beijing, stressed-out commuters are being urged to work off their frustrations on the way to work.Luckily, their ...
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Auto-enrolment staging dates for smaller employers in multiple pension schemes set to be pushed back
The government has proposed that smaller employers should be given more time to prepare for the 2012 pension reforms.New guidance released by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), Getting ready: first steps to prepare for new employer duties, proposed that smaller employers which share pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes with larger businesses should have ...
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Employers urged to consider the legalities of managing workers' pay after riots
Employers need to consider the legal implications of making changes to workers’ pay and managing their return to work following the riots to avoid disputes.Law firm Eversheds said that employers will have to pay employees absent from work because of the riots, unless there is a specific clause in an ...
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Nottingham City Council makes savings with holiday purchase via salary sacrifice
Nottingham City Council is expected to save more than £154,000 in its first year of offering a scheme to allow employees to purchase additional holiday via a salary sacrifice arrangement.The scheme, which was introduced in January, and is due to be launched again in September, is provided by P&MM. It ...
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Employers advised on how to support staff affected by riots
Employers are being advised on how to support staff working in organisations blighted by the London riots, which have now spread to other parts of the UK. Numerous businesses all over the capital, including those based in Tottenham, Hackney, Peckham and Croydon, have suffered from violence and looting. So far, ...
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Consultation on Modern Workplaces: Concerns raised over plans to introduce gender pay audits
The government’s plan to introduce gender pay audits has raised concerns among business groups.The proposal was outlined in the Consultation of Modern Workplaces, which is due to close today after seeking views on a number of changes to employment law, including flexible working and parental leave.The EEF argued that gender ...
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Addiction to gadgets causes disruption in the office
Blackberrys, mobile phones, and laptops dished out by employers to help boost productivity may actually result in a disruptive workplace addiction.Signs of a gadget addict include: sending text messages and accessing social networking sites in meetings, and continuing to take calls and listening to messages even after their boss has ...
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Cookson offers enhanced transfer values to reduce pension scheme liabilities
Cookson will offer deferred members of its UK final salary pension scheme an enhanced transfer value (ETV) as part of efforts to reduce liabilities.The arrangement will see members that choose to participate leave the final salary pensions scheme to join a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme at an enhanced value, ...
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HMRC clarifies VAT charges on salary sacrifice arrangements
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued guidance to employers around upcoming changes to the operation of salary sacrifice arrangements.From 1 January 2012, value-added tax (VAT) will be imposed on the provision of several benefits offered via salary sacrifice, including bikes-for-work, car parking, company cars, computers, gym membership, and food ...
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Workplace Retirement Commission report: Charges on private sector pension schemes should be capped
Charges on private sector pension schemes should be capped to encourage employees to save more for their retirement, according to a report conducted by the Workplace Retirement Income Commission.The report, Building a strong, stable and transparent pensions system, stated that private sector workers must get a better deal from their ...