All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 2
-
Case Studies
Ove Arup engineers smooth transition to group personal pension
Ove Arup and Partners International has taken a number of steps to engage and encourage its employees to save for their retirement since closing its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme in 2010, and more recently in the run-up to auto-enrolment, which will begin to be introduced next month.Pension roadshows, run ...
-
Case Studies
Case study: Svitzer corporate wrap platform offers savings flexibility
Svitzer UK offers a corporate wrap platform to give its staff flexibility in saving for their future. The wrap, introduced by the marine services firm last year, includes a group self-invested personal pension (Sipp) and an individual savings account (Isa).Staff can invest in a number of ways. For example, those ...
-
Analysis
Reward U-turns can turn out for the best
If you read nothing else, read this… Employers have been forced to adopt new ways of cutting costs during the economic downturn, sometimes having to reverse previous decisions. An HR U-turn can be necessary to come up with the best solution for the business and its employees. One employer made ...
-
Analysis
What is the overlap between flexible benefits and corporate wrap platforms?
If you read nothing else, read this… As the corporate wrap market develops, there is an increasing overlap between corporate wrap and flexible benefits providers. Several providers have now formed partnerships. Some wrap providers have evolved to develop a broader flexible benefits proposition, but there is debate over how much ...
-
Case Studies
FirstGroup up to speed with auto-enrolment hub
Transport operator FirstGroup will ensure its compliance with the reforms by introducing an auto-enrolment hub that will sit between its pension provision, payroll system, reward portal and communication processes.The firm conducted a beauty parade of potential providers in June and planned to make an appointment last month, ahead of its ...
-
Analysis
Beware penalties for pensions auto-enrolment non-compliance
If you read nothing else, read this… Employers must refer to pensions in an employee’s contract of employment, but those that provide too much detail could run into difficulties if they want to make changes in the future. Employers cannot provide staff with opt-out forms if they want to leave ...
-
Article
Corporate platforms added during benefits reviews
The most likely reason for an employer to introduce a corporate platform would be as part of an overall review of benefits, according to research by The Platforum.The Corporate platform guide, published in June, showed 27% would do so as a bolt-on to existing benefits and technology, and 24% would ...
-
Article
Spire Healthcare introduces voluntary benefits
EXCLUSIVE: Spire Healthcare is rolling out a voluntary benefits scheme to its 7,600 employees as part of efforts to raise awareness of its entire reward package.The organisation, which operates private hospitals, is rolling the scheme out on a site-by-site basis and has done so for about 2,000 staff so far.The ...
-
Article
News analysis: Riding out the pension investment storm
Volatile markets call for new investment strategies to minimise risk to DC pension default funds and members must be kept informed, says Nicola SullivanMarket volatility caused by the eurozone crisis has made it more important than ever for employers to review the default funds of their defined contribution (DC) pension ...
-
Analysis
The appeal of master trust pension schemes
If you read nothing else, read this… Master trusts can offer employers reduced pension administration costs and increased governance. The cost efficiencies obtained through a master trust are likely to depend on a number of factors, such as the age profile of pension scheme members and staff turnover. One disadvantage ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective use of total reward statements
WINNERTesco, Benefit Reports: Communicating our overall pay and benefits packageThis entrant sent personalised total reward statements to its 277,000 staff to ensure they understood the value of their pay and benefi ts in a tough economic climate. The statements, sent to employees’ home addresses, came with a personal letter from ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective benefits strategy in a public or voluntary sector organisation
WINNERYHA (England and Wales), YHA RewardsYHA designed a cost-effective benefits package that was relevant for staff of different ages and life stages. It was launched in conjunction with a three-year cost-saving exercise designed to cut central overhead costs by £1.7 million, so it had to achieve return on investment, and ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective strategy to encourage workplace savings
WINNERBT, Planning for retirement, entered by Wealth at WorkBT’s workplace savings strategy aims to ensure employees make informed decisions about their future.The company provides its workforce with a number of savings options, including two sharesave schemes and a share incentive plan. It also provides a defined benefit pension for employees. ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective pensions communications strategy
WINNERElectronic Arts, My Future, entered by Thomsons Online BenefitsElectronic Arts’ creative and fun strategy was designed to engage younger employees with pensions.It decided to take action after a review of its pension scheme in April 2011 revealed that 66% of staff had signed up to the scheme, but just 43% ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective pensions change strategy
WINNERSvitzer UK, Launch of Corporate Wrap, entered by Hargreaves LansdownThe innovative way in which Svitzer UK consolidated several legacy pension schemes by introducing a corporate wrap with a contract-based defined contribution (DC) scheme made it a clear winner.The corporate wrap, available to the entire workforce, allows employees to manage their ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective all-employee share scheme strategy
WINNERAsda Stores, Sharesave, entered by ComputershareIn a tightly-fought category, the judges were impressed by Asda’s decision to remove paper enrolment for its sharesave scheme and rely solely on electronic methods. This was felt to be a particularly brave step given Asda’s workforce demographic and the fact that most employees do ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective absence management and rehabilitation strategy
WINNERSerco, Serco Absence Process Review, entered by Jelf Employee BenefitsThis strategy features an online system that records and notifies managers of an employee’s absence on day one.Depending on the triggers for absence, a relevant professional, for example the insurer’s vocational rehabilitation consultant, or an in-house occupational health manager, gets in ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective reward or benefits strategy for staff based outside the UK
WINNERAmerican Express, Global Benefits GovernanceThis entrant introduced a new international reward strategy that reduced its total benefits costs and used the dividends from pooling arrangements to fund health and wellness benefits around the world.The Global Benefits Governance programme, which went live in 11 countries across Japan Asia-Pacific and Australia, and ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Most effective motivation or incentive strategy
WINNERMerlin Entertainments, Merlin Global Recognition Schemes: Star and CEO Award PlanMerlin Entertainments impressed the judges with its introduction of two global motivation and recognition schemes for all staff after rolling out new company values across the business. The new schemes replaced more than 20 previous ones, which were owned at ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2012: Benefits team of the year
WINNERKraft Foods, entered by BenefexThe benefits and reward team at Kraft Foods successfully tackled the huge challenge of harmonising employee terms and conditions in 2011 following the organisation’s high-profile acquisition of Cadbury.For the Cadbury acquisition to be a success, each member of the team was involved in the complex task ...