All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 64

  • Article

    McCann plans to ensure wellbeing at Groupama

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    ING Bank's head of HR operations, Paul Cann, has left the organisation to become HR director at Groupama Insurances. Cann started work at Groupama in July, and his task includes continuing to develop the company's recently-launched wellbeing initiatives. "Groupama is a company that moves quickly and responds well to change. ...

  • Article

    Easyjet staff flying high as sharesave scheme pays off

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    EasyJet employees stand to gain around £3,431 on average each on maturity of the first year of the low-cost airline’s sharesave scheme.The first year of the scheme, which was due to mature on 1 August, has 880 members who, on average, have made contributions of about £115 a month. Employees ...

  • Article

    Young staff coy on pay

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    One-in-six staff would never dream of asking their employer for a pay rise, according to research by Ceridian. Of more than 1,000 employees surveyed for the Ceridian 2008 Salary Survey, only 19 percent of those aged under 34 years feel comfortable asking for a pay rise. But, 81 percent of ...

  • Article

    Traidcraft launches employer-paid cash plan

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    Fair-trade organisation Traidcraft has launched an employer-paid healthcare cash plan to maintain the health of its staff.The cash plan, provided by HealthSure, were introduced to all 153 UK-based employees in July in a bid to ensure they are fit to carry out their jobs, which often involve placements abroad.Through the ...

  • Case Studies

    Grant Thornton merger boosts pension take-up

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    Grant Thornton introduced a flexible benefits scheme and increased the take-up of pension benefits when it launched its new stakeholder pension after its merger with accountancy firm Robson Rhodes in July 2007.These perks were introduced to its 4,200-strong workforce in April 2008.Under the terms of the companies' previous pension schemes, ...

  • Article

    PwC to clarify flexible benefits offering

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    PricewaterhouseCoopers is restructuring its flexible benefits scheme to take account of the rising cost of private medical insurance (PMI) and to make holiday entitlement more clear to staff.It is also rebranding the scheme to make it consistent with the rest of its remuneration package.The accountancy firm, which employs 16,000 staff, ...

  • Analysis

    Harmonising benefits post-merger

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    Harmonising benefits after a merger or acquisition is a major challenge for HR and reward professionals, says Nicola SullivanAs the economy continues to slow down, organisations will be forced to review their strategies for growth. Some employers will have to give up on pursuing an aggressive acquisition strategy that is ...

  • Article

    Many staff under stress, but few have access to support services

    2008-08-03T23:00:00Z

    Large numbers of employees suffer from stress, but few have access to support services at work, according to research by Westfield Health.Of the 510 employees taking part in the Westfield Health Survey, 80 percent of women and 64 percent of men claim to have suffered from stress, while overall 39 ...

  • Article

    Friends Provident launches online pensions service

    2008-08-01T00:00:01Z

    Friends Provident has launched an online financial pensions service to help members of its group pensions schemes keep track of their finances and make the most of their group pension schemes.Through the service. staff will be able to view a snapshot of their financial position, which will enable them to ...

  • Article

    Employers prepared to offer flexible working even if not obliged to do so

    2008-08-01T00:00:01Z

    Most employers offer flexible working and would do so even if there were no legal right for employees to request it, according to research from the Institute of Directors and Unum.The Flexible Working - the new world of work survey of 500 business leaders shows 86 percent operate flexible working ...

  • Analysis

    Incentivise staff to choose green cars

    2008-08-01T00:00:01Z

    IEmployers can use various incentives to encourage employees to choose more environmentally-friendly cars, but senior management staff may be more difficult to convince, says Nicola SullivanEmployers wishing to avoid the impact of changes to capital allowances that come into effect in 2009 and penalise the ownership of traditional company cars ...

  • Article

    High-spec cars are big lure for staff

    2008-08-01T00:00:01Z

    Almost one-third of company car drivers would leave their employer if they were offered an equivalent job but with a higher-spec car, according a study released by Masterlease.The importance of a company car also shows that 27 percent of the 500 company car drivers surveyed who have accepted a cash ...

  • Article

    Court of Appeal ruling paves way for new equal pay claims

    2008-07-30T10:26:31Z

    The Court of Appeal has ruled that equal pay schemes that offer transitional protection to higher paid, often male, workers are unlawful.Its verdict in the cases of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council v Bainbridge and others and Middlesbrough Borough Council v Surtees and others means that thousands of low-paid women ...

  • Article

    John Lewis extends cash plan coverage

    2008-07-30T08:49:43Z

    The John Lewis Partnership has made healthcare cash plans available for its entire workforce.All of the partnership’s 69,000 employees now have access to a cash plan after the benefit was introduced to an additional 1,000 staff in May.All under 18’s are covered on the plan free of charge while partners ...

  • Article

    Microsoft to reward US partner law firms for diversity

    2008-07-29T11:17:50Z

    Microsoft has introduced a financial bonus scheme to reward its panel of law firms in the United States that champion diversity in the workplace. Under the new scheme, 17 of Microsoft's US-based law firms are eligible for a 2% quarterly or annual bonus on top of their legal fees. The ...

  • Article

    Smiths Group considers new executive incentive plan

    2008-07-28T11:46:07Z

    The Smith Group is considering freezing the salaries of senior staff and offering them shares in the company for successfully overcoming challenges.Under the engineering firm's new remuneration scheme, proposed by chief executive Philip Bowman, executive directors would not receive pay rises for a period of two years and would no ...

  • Article

    Harrods staff threaten strike over pay and holidays

    2008-07-28T09:45:55Z

    Harrods employees are to be balloted over strike action in a dispute over pay and holiday.Around 275 essential workers, such as engineers, drivers, warehouse operatives and maintenance workers, are to be balloted by union Unite between 4 and 18 August. The move after these employees were excluded from the two ...

  • Article

    Wrongly targeting pensions communication fails to engage staff

    2008-07-24T11:11:40Z

    Communication around defined contribution (DC) pension schemes often fails because it is is mis-targeted.According to research carried out by BlackRock among focus groups of 18-65-year-olds from different socio-economic groups, their basic information needs are not being met. These failing to communicate details about how much employees should be saving, and ...

  • Article

    WS Atkins self insures group income protection

    2008-07-23T10:32:03Z

    WS Atkins has promoted its new self-insured group income protection (GIP) benefit to staff.To avoid paying market-rate premiums, the organisation has created its own policy and self-insured the benefit through a captive arrangement, at a cost of £2 million a year.To deal with any clinical and occupational health issues, it ...

  • Article

    Benefits to support employees with elderly relatives

    2008-07-08T13:47:59Z

    As the population ages, employers will have to do more to support workers caring for elderly relatives, says Nicola Sullivan.Employer support for staff with elderly relatives is still not widely available, but with an ageing population, organisations could find that they have to begin to take action to help employees ...