All articles by Nicola Sullivan – Page 9
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Motivated chef batters pancake world record
An Australian chef has received the ultimate form of recognition for his hard work and dedication – a place in the Guinness Book of World Records 2012 for a 76cm stack of pancakes.Andy Wrobel’s precarious tower of pancakes eventually fell over, but only after the world record was confirmed.He battered ...
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Employee Benefits Connect: Employers are not entirely truthful about pension reforms readiness
Employers who claim to know exactly what they are doing when it comes to complying to the pension reforms, including auto-enrolment, are not telling the truth, said Stuart Reid, head of employer duties at Bluefin.Addressing delegates attending his session on preparing for auto-enrolment at Employee Benefits Connect 2012, taking place ...
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Employee Benefits Connect: Benefits are key to motivating staff in tough times
Employee benefits are going to be crucial to ensure staff are engaged and motivated in tough economic times, according to research released by Employee Benefits and YouGov.The survey, released exclusively at Employee Benefits Connect, taking place today at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel, showed that employees with three or more ...
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BAE Systems to close its UK defined benefit pension schemes to new joiners
BAE Systems has announced it will be closing its UK-based defined benefit pension schemes to new joiners after reporting that its liabilities had increased by £1.1billion.The defence, security and aerospace systems firm is also waiting on approval from The Pensions Regulator to sustain its 15-year recovery plan to plug the ...
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CSR awarded Pension Quality Mark
High-tech specialists CSR has been awarded a Pensions Quality Mark (PQM) for its group personal pension plan (GPP).The PQM assessment looks at three key areas: contribution structure, governance and communications to members. The CSR scheme, which has 680 members, offers a customised website and regular member presentations, provided by Capita ...
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Work-life balance is a deal breaker for UK employees
HR professionals in Britain are the mostly likely to cite that work-life balance as a primary motivation for employees leaving their organisation, according to research by Robert Half International.The research which surveyed HR executives across businesses in South America, continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia showed that almost 29% ...
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Lloyds Banking Group claws back bonuses from senior employees
The board of Lloyds Banking Group will claw back a number of bonuses for 2010 from its senior employees, including five executive directors.Eric Daniels, the bank’s former chief executive, must surrender 40% of his £1.45 million deferred share award. Four other executives will yield 25% of their awards, and all ...
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Pay prospects improve for 2012
Employers predict there will be a positive shift in pay prospects for 2012, although uncertainty still prevails, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Its survey of more than 1,000 employers showed that the last quarter has seen pay intentions reach their highest level since spring ...
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Accident-prone jockey utilises healthcare benefits
Keeping a lid on private medical insurance (PMI) claims is a concern for many employers.This must be an impossible task in the case of accident-prone jockey Choc Thornton, who has suffered the 367th fall of his career.The going has been tough on Thornton’s private healthcare insurance and he has already ...
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Local authorities form tri-borough pensions team
A new tri-borough pensions and treasury team has been formed following a shared services agreement between Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea councils.The new team, which will handle combined pension funds of £1.5 billion and cash investments of £500 million, will be led by Jonathan Hunt, tri-borough director ...
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Employers want better benefit design
Improving benefit design is the most cited objective for employers in the next 12 months, followed by preparing to auto-enrol staff into a workplace pension, according to Aon Hewitt’s annual Benefits and trends survey.The research found that improving the design of benefits was a top objective for 34% of respondents, ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Jelf launches online assessment tool and microsite for international healthcare benefits
Jelf Employee Benefits has launched an online assessment tool and microsite to help clarify international healthcare benefits.The interactive tool seeks to establish whether an employer is confident its healthcare policy meets the legal requirements of the countries where employees work and travel, and whether it fully understands any exclusions.Sarah Dennis, ...
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News analysis: Battle of the sexes continues for annuities
Gender differences can continue for annuity rates in trust-based pension schemes, but not so with contract-based DC plans, says Nicola SullivanAnnuity rates for members of trust-based pension schemes can continue to be determined by gender, after confirmation from the European Commission that trust-based schemes are exempt from a European directive ...
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Workers protest over toilet break alarm
Work-life balance appears to have been given the pan for call-centre workers in Norway who are protesting against a system that triggers an alarm if they spend more than eight minutes in the toilet.Flashing lights alert managers if an employee is away from their desk for a toilet break or ...
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Legitas introduces GPP and will trial Nest
?Recruitment firm Legitas has introduced a group personal pension (GPP) for its 70 employees and is to trial the national employment savings trust (Nest) with a group of temporary staff currently on its books.The GPP, provided by Scottish Life, is the first employer-funded pension scheme to be offered by the ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Oracle aims to expand financial planning service
Oracle plans to extend its financial planning service for employees so it eventually covers up to 20% of its workforce.The service, currently directed at senior staff and provided by Citimark, enables employees to manage their pension in the context of their life goals and their net worth. Factors taken into ...
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William Russell extends global PMI to Abu Dhabi
International expatriate insurance provider William Russell has announced that its plans are now available to employers in Abu Dhabi.Previously, strict insurance regulation meant that insurance plans, available in much of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), could not be sold in Abu Dhabi. The Dubai Insurance Company (DIC), the underwriters of ...
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Fewer than half of respondents know correct staging date
Fewer than half of respondents know their correct staging date for auto-enrolment and compliance with the pension reforms, according to research by Punter Southall.The pension consultancy’s survey The impact of auto-enrolment, conducted among around 160 employers, showed that only 45% of organisations can pinpoint the date when they have to ...
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Questions raised over HR's role in executive pay decisions
In the wake of the controversy surrounding the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) chief executive Stephen Hester’s bonus questions have been raised about the role HR plays in setting pay and reward for senior employees.Duncan Brown, a principal at Aon Hewitt, said the independent governance structure of organisations means the ...
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RBS chief executive Stephen Hester waives bonus worth almost £1 million
Stephen Hester, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has bowed to pressure to waive his controversial bonus worth almost £1 million.The bank’s board decided to allocate Hester a 2011 annual performance award of 3.6 million shares worth £963,000 at the closing price (26.75p) on January 25. The ...