All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 30
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: Start getting up to speed
If you read nothing else, read this …Employers should budget now to manage the extra costs of all staff automatically enrolling into a pension scheme with compulsory minimum contributions.Employees earning more than the personal income tax allowance of £7,475 will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme from 2012 onwards.Initially, ...
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Article
Staff should not expect lavish festive workplace celebrations
In this age of austerity employees may be wise not to expect much from festive workplace traditions such as the Christmas party.Research conducted by shopping website VoucherCodes.co.uk found that despite all their hard work, less than half (46%) of employees will be treated to a work Christmas shindig this year.The ...
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Article
The Institute of Directors awarded NAPF pensions quality mark
The Institute of Directors (IOD) has awarded a Pensions Quality Mark Plus by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) for its defined contribution (DC) pension scheme.The IOD’s director-general, Miles Templeman, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Pensions Quality Mark Plus for our staff pension scheme. It ...
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Article
Nest Corporation reduces contribution charge to 1.8%
The annual management charge for members of the national employment savings trust will be 0.3%, while the charge on contributions has been reduced to 1.8%.This follows the government's announcement earlier this year that Nest would operate with both a annual management charge of 0.3% and a contribution charge of around ...
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Article
Origen to sell healthcare business to Towergate Healthcare
Independent financial advice (IFA) firm Origen has announced the sale of its healthcare business to Towergate Healthcare.The move will see Origen's book of private medical insurance business transferred to Towergate Healthcare, which will manage healthcare services for all of its clients.Through the partnership, Origen’s clients will have access to a ...
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Article
PensionsFirst research: DB deficits set to increase
Defined benefit (DB) pension deficits of the top 100 UK companies are set to increase by more than £25 billion within one month.According to PensionsFirst's PF Risk Report, over a year this could result in an increase of around £100 billion in the total deficit, bringing the current deficit of ...
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Article
Healthcare RM and The Adventure Company launch fitness holidays
Health risk and absence management consultancy Healthcare RM has teamed up with The Adventure Company to offer a fitness and stress reduction programme.The package encourages employers to include The Adventure Company's (part of TUI Travel) range of activity holidays in employee wellness and rehabilitation programmes. These include trekking holidays to ...
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Article
HSBC launches Workplace Retirement Services business
HSBC is launching a new Workplace Retirement Services business which will offer employers a range of defined contribution (DC) pension products.This will include contract-based group personal pensions (GPPs) and stakeholder schemes in conjunction with employee benefits consultants and corporate independent financial advisors (IFAs). In addition, the service will offer a ...
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Article
City management consultants receive £30,000 retention bonuses
City management consultants are receiving retention bonuses averaging £30,000, according financial services recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.The bonuses (which are paid on top of annual bonuses) are being introduced to try and halt the increasing turnover of staff between management consultancies, caused by a boom in the sector.Mike O'Kane, manager at ...
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Article
Teachers pay and absence levels could be published
Schools may be required to publish teachers' salaries, qualifications and sickness rates as part of the government proposals to drive up standards.The changes would allow parents to rate primary and secondary schools on information designed to illustrate the quality and experience of staff. Absence levels for all schools would also ...
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Article
Friends Provident research: Employees expect to work longer
Employees expect to work beyond the new default retirement age of 66 with 40% planning to work past the age of 70 according to research conducted by Friends Provident.Out of the 1,200 people that look part in the report Visions of Britain 2020: Ageing and retirement, 32% do not have ...
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Article
Domino's Pizza in Japan offers $31,030-an-hour job
No doubt many employees working in fast-food chains will believe their wages in no way compensate for the grease-infused toil, the corporate uniform and drunken antics of some late-night customers.While many fast-food chains have taken significant steps to shift this image and create better working conditions for staff, Domino’s Pizza ...
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Case Studies
Tribunal backed Birmingham female staff
Last spring, an employment tribunal ruled against Birmingham City Council in an equal pay case. About 50 female workers in a variety of roles at the council, including lollipop ladies and cleaners, complained that until 2007 they had been excluded from bonuses worth up to 160% of their basic salary, ...
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Article
The Pension Protection Fund's funding position improves
The funding position of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has improved with last year's £1.2 billion deficit replaced with a £400 million surplus.The figures, which appear in the PPF’s 2009/10 annual report, show the surplus is mainly the result of financial markets performing better, solid investment returns and less costly ...
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Analysis
Cabot Financial gives staff immediate rewards
Instant reward is key to the work culture at debt management company Cabot Financial (Europe), says Nicola SullivanWalking round the Kent call centre that is at the heart of debt management firm Cabot Financial (Europe)’s operations, the links between motivation, achievement and reward could not be more obvious. Giant ribbon-dressed ...
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Article
Arqiva video puts workers in the picture on reward value
Communications and media services firm Arqiva has produced an online video to promote the value of reward and benefits to its staff and remind them what they have access to.The video, to be launched this month, includes information about Arqiva's core and voluntary benefits, as well as how its pensions ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Gloucestershire County Council keeps a check on equal pay
In 2007, Gloucestershire County Council began evaluating job roles as part of its efforts to ensure all employees were paid equally, regardless of gender, ethnicity, location or age.It also wanted to ensure there were no discrepancies between departments, and used a job evaluation tool, provided by NorthgateArinso, to scrutinise job ...
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Analysis
Gender pay gap persists
If you read nothing else, read this…Under the Equality Act 2010, employers can no longer use secrecy clauses to prevent employees from discussing pay rates.According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, the median gender pay gap for full-time workers in the private sector is 20.8%.Employers can identify any ...
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Article
News analysis: Victims of the Osborne axe
The state pension age and public sector pension contributions were two of the targets in the Comprehensive Spending Review, says Nicola SullivanLast month's Comprehensive Spending Review contained a number of measures that will impact on employers' pension provision and retirement policies. One of the most significant announcements by Chancellor George ...
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Article
Employee Benefits Live 2010: BG Group gives staff free shares with flexible benefits sign-up
The BG Group gave employees £3,000 worth of free shares when it launched its flexible benefits scheme.During the session Getting the right results from your flexible benefits, Lisa Philpott, HR manager at BG Group, said employees could keep the full amount of shares or use some of the value to ...