All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 29

  • Article

    Government calls for evidence on early access to pension savings

    2010-12-14T10:43:21Z

    Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban MP has called for evidence on whether early access to pensions savings could encourage people to make higher pension contributions.The government wants to receive evidence on the potential benefits and risks of allowing early access to pension savings and how it could be ...

  • Article

    CBI urges rethink on removal of default retirement age

    2010-12-13T10:42:24Z

    The Confederation of British Business (CBI) has urged the government to clarify its position on the rules around the default retirement age (DRA) and respond to businesses' concerns over its removal.The CBI warned that employers will face huge uncertainty and greater risk of tribunal claims if the government does not ...

  • Article

    Baring too much is damaging to careers

    2010-12-10T10:26:09Z

    Flesh-flashing employees who take dress-down Fridays a little too literally could be damaging their career.Research suggests that women wearing low-cuts tops could be risking more than being ogled at by the photocopier.Inappropriate dressers could even lose their job, dispelling the myth that showcasing one’s assets can propel them up the ...

  • Article

    Finance Bill 2011: Pensions annual allowance will be reduced

    2010-12-09T13:56:26Z

    Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2011 to restrict pensions tax relief by reducing the annual allowance (AA) from £255,000 to £50,000 and the lifetime allowance from £1.8 million to £1.5 million.The changes to annual allowance will be fully enforced in the tax year 2011-12, where as the ...

  • Article

    Gender pay gap closes slightly

    2010-12-09T10:01:24Z

    The gender pay gap has narrowed following a rise in the hourly pay of females, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).Its 2010 Annual survey of hours and earnings show that median weekly pay for full-time employees in the UK grew by 2.1% in the year to ...

  • Article

    Standard Life acquires Focus Solutions to enhance corporate wrap

    2010-12-08T10:05:22Z

    Standard Life has bought software firm Focus Solutions as part of its efforts to enhance its corporate wrap offering in a deal worth around £42 million.By combining its own corporate wrap platform with Focus Solutions' technology capability and the software of Threesixty, which caters for independent financial advisors, Standard Life ...

  • Article

    Pension scheme members in the UK lose out on fees

    2010-12-07T12:02:04Z

    Members of pension schemes are losing a large proportion of the value of their pension in fees, according to research commissioned by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manafactures and Commerce.The report, by David Pitt Watson, a pension fund manager and chairman of Hermes Focus Asset Management, Building ...

  • Article

    Workers in Kabul given Thurdays off until the spring

    2010-12-03T10:07:19Z

    During the winter months, workers in the Afghan capital Kabul have been given Thursdays off each week to help cut pollution, but will have to make up the hours when spring arrives.Kabul is set among mountains that are snow-capped for most of the year but also trap fumes from the ...

  • Article

    BBC reaches possible deal in pensions dispute

    2010-12-02T10:53:38Z

    An agreement to end a dispute at the BBC over changes to its pension scheme has been reached following a meeting with union representatives.Negotiators from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the BBC came close to resolving the dispute, which resulted in strike action earlier this month, during discussions ...

  • Article

    Reward First People Consulting launches mentoring programme for reward professionals

    2010-12-02T10:19:20Z

    Reward First People Consulting has launched a programme to provide reward decision makers with one-to-one mentoring programme for reward decision makers to help them address the challenges associated with restricted budgets.The structured programme, Reward First, enables HR professionals, faced with calls for greater accountability around pay and bonuses, to improve ...

  • Article

    Hutton review reveals 20,000 public sector workers earn £117,523

    2010-12-01T10:35:12Z

    Around 20,000 employees of the six million-strong public sector workforce earn more than £117,523 a year, according to a review conducted by Will Hutton.The Hutton review of fair pay in the public sector: interim report showed that 4,000 of those in the top percentile of wages are in public managerial ...

  • Article

    North Yorkshire Council cuts fleet emissions

    2010-12-01T00:00:01Z

    North Yorkshire County Council has cut its fleet's CO2 emissions through a salary sacrifice car scheme for 13,000 employees.Since the scheme went live in April, average emissions across the 200 cars selected by staff have fallen to 112g/km of CO2 from the previous 156g. Cars available through the scheme, provided ...

  • Article

    New company car advisory fuel rates published

    2010-12-01T00:00:01Z

    HM Revenue and Customs has published new advisory fuel rates for company cars which will apply to all journeys on or after December 1 2010.For one month after the date of the change, employers may use either the previous or new current rates, and therefore can make or require supplementary ...

  • Article

    The Pensions Regulator in legal challenge with administrators

    2010-11-30T10:08:00Z

    The administrators for Nortel Networks and Lehman Brothers have launched a legal case to challenge the Pensions Regulator’s ability to impose an order that requires them to provide financial support for underfunded pension schemes.The regulator has issued a Financial Support Direction (FSD) against the two companies on the grounds their ...

  • Case Studies

    Case study: Capital One in credit on auto-enrolment

    2010-11-29T11:00:00Z

    Capital One is well ahead of the game in preparing for the 2012 pension reforms - it has already introduced auto-enrolment and auto-increases.Working from the premise that the credit card firm's staff should be encouraged to save more for their retirement, its pensions governance committee decided to introduce an arrangement ...

  • Article

    Roche aims to get ahead of schedule on pension auto-enrolment

    2010-11-29T09:10:00Z

    Roche is planning to bring forward its staging date to auto-enrol all staff into a pension scheme to comply with the 2012 pension reforms.The pharmaceutical firm is required to auto-enrol staff from 2013, but is looking to bring it forward to 2012, with the aim of providing a better duty ...

  • Article

    Interview with Leisa Docherty, head of people services and reward at Sage

    2010-11-29T00:00:00Z

    Leisa Docherty, head of people services and reward at software company Sage, is focused on the essential role reward plays in attracting and retaining talented employeesComing up with fresh and creative ways of rewarding staff without breaking the bank is the biggest challenge facing compensation and benefits professionals, says Leisa ...

  • Article

    AWD Chase de Vere launches outsources HR function

    2010-11-29T00:00:00Z

    Independent financial advisors AWD Chase de Vere has teamed up with The Briars Group to offer outsourced HR, tax, finance, administration and IT functions for small employers.It claims the service, which allows employers to partially or fully outsource one or more of these departments, could potentially save small and medium-size ...

  • Analysis

    2012 Pension Reforms: How to budget for auto-enrolment

    2010-11-29T00:00:00Z

    If you read nothing else, read this . . .Auto-enrolment could lead to higher pension and payroll costs for employers, unless they have plans in place now to manage costs.They may choose to operate a two-tier pension scheme by retaining their existing scheme for current members and auto-enrolling new members ...