All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 53
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Lloyds Banking Group to merge Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical
Lloyds Banking Group will merge its Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical intermediary businesses under the Scottish Widows brand.From 1 July, Scottish Widows and Clerical Medical will combine to provide a single intermediary sales force and product proposition. It is intended that, over time, the Clerical Medical brand will no longer ...
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Pada and DWP launch consultation on personal accounts rules
The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (Pada) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have launched a consultation on the draft scheme order and rules for personal accounts.Pension industry professionals, employers, and potential members and organisations that represent their interests have been invited to submit their views on the government's ...
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Food from Britain in first public sector pension buyout
Food For Britain has become the first public sector organisation to offload the liabilities of its defined benefit pension scheme through a bulk annuity buyout arrangement.The move, which will see the Pension Insurance Corporation insure Food For Britain's Retirement Benefit Scheme's £20m liabilities, comes at a time when the food ...
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Alliance Boots considers closing final salary pension scheme
Alliance Boots is considering closing its final salary scheme to existing employees as part of a wider review of the firm's HR policies.Stefano Pessina, the firm's executive chairman, has described the current pension arrangements as unfair due to the large costs involved in providing the benefit to a small proportion ...
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Employers set to conduct equal pay audits under Equality Bill
Employers could be required to report on the amounts they pay male and female employees under a clause included in the new Equality Bill.The government has said it will make it compulsory for firms with more than 250 employees to report on the gender pay gap by 2013 if sufficient ...
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Relationship counselling on offer for Australian cricketers and their partners
The wives and girlfriends of Australian cricketers have been invited to relationship counselling sessions to reduce the stress associated with long-distance relationships.The sessions are open to both the cricketers, who are due to embark on a tour of England this summer, and their partners and will be held at a ...
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Budget 2009: Accommodation to be improved for armed forces staff
Chancellor Alistair Darling has earmarked £150 million cash to improve accommodation for employees in the armed forces.This money will be used to upgrade and rebuild the accommodation of 600 service men and women, and their families.This year's Budget also contained a measure that is designed to stop attempts to avoid ...
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Budget 2009: Income tax hike for high earners
In his 2009 Budget report Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a sharp increase in income tax for high earners.Employees that earn more than £150,000 a year will pay income tax of 50%. This will be enforced from April 2010.The change contrasts to the hike in income tax to 45% for high ...
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Employees would accept changes to reward to prevent job losses
Employees in the business and financial services industries, as well as those working in HR and recruitment are prepared to be flexible with reward and benefits to stem job losses in their organisation.Some 95% of the 2,500 employees surveyed by the independent campaign Keep Britain Working, would change their work ...
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Halfords reassures employers its cycle-to-work scheme is safe
Halfords has reassured employers that it will not moving away from its cycle-to-work scheme after it announced it will be dropping its brands Bikehut and Cycle Republic.The car parts and bikes retailer, which provides a cycle-to-work scheme to more than 300 blue chip organisations, has said it will be closing ...
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Dismissals and pay cuts to feature in reality TV show
Groups of employees working for struggling firms will be dismissed or given pay cuts in front of the camera during the filming of a new reality TV show called Someone’s Gotta Go.In each episode of the show, created by Endemol, workers will choose the fate of their colleagues based on ...
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B&Q rolls out employee recognition scheme
B&Q has implemented an employee recognition scheme featuring its newly-launched corporate gift card to motivate its 34,000-strong workforce.Employees that work for the retailer can nominate each other to be rewarded with the corporate gift card, which was launched at the beginning of April.At the end of each month, managers will ...
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Southampton City Council launches HR system
Southampton City Council has implemented a new HR system to give its employees more control over their HR and payroll services.Developed in conjunction with Capita, the new system, which went live at the beginning of the month, includes a HR portal that allows staff to have access to information on ...
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issues guidance on share incentive plans
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued guidance to help companies that wish to set up and run a Share Incentive Plan (Sip).The guidance includes information on a number of different areas, including employee eligibility, operating and terminating plans, as well as the transfer of employee's shares into an ISA ...
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EasyJet looks at cutting free tea and coffee for cabin crews
Pilots at EasyJet may find themselves closer to the no frills experience enjoyed by customers after the airline confirmed that it was looking at the possibility of cutting free tea and coffee for its cabin crews.As part of efforts to reduce costs the airline has said it is also looking ...
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Yorkshire NHS trusts and council join forces to offer local discounts to staff
Three public sector organisations in Yorkshire have pooled their locally-sourced voluntary benefits to create a more cost-effective, competitive package, which has been rolled out to their collective workforces.North Yorkshire City Council, York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and NHS North Yorkshire teamed up to roll out each other's employee discounts to ...
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Discovery Communications updates benefits communication
Discovery Communications, which broadcasts the Discovery Channel, has introduced a digital platform to improve the way benefits are communicated to its UK staff.Using the eRewardPlus.com system, which went live last month, employees can access personalised online total reward statements.They can also access information on individual benefits. For example, the platform ...
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HMRC pushes to speed up sharesave bonus rate effect
The length of time it takes for bonus rates to take effect for sharesave schemes could be reduced if HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) proposals to change the way schemes are administered are approved.In response to an informal consultation on sharesave administration, which was published in February, HMRC proposed that ...
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Case Law: Offshore workers' holiday is enough
Employers in the offshore gas and oil sector have overturned an employment tribunal judgment that said they should provide more annual leave for offshore workers.The Employment Appeal Tribunal, which heard the case Craig & others vs Transocean & others, found that the holiday enjoyed by offshore workers, typically 26 weeks ...
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Leave entitlement rises
Statutory annual leave entitlement has increased to 5.6 weeks under the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007. This is equivalent to 28 days' holiday for staff who are employed on a five-day working week. It is not necessary for employers to consult on these changes or update existing contracts of employment, ...