All Opinion articles – Page 73
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OpinionLaurence Collins: The wider business risks on which employers should focus
Organisations are, more frequently, putting a spotlight on these benefits to understand the value for money they represent, but also how they help to mitigate risk.To answer these questions, employers are increasingly turning to the HR analytics community to uncover relevant insights. This is typically achieved by simulating the likely ...
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OpinionAngela Wright: Use technology to achieve more flexibility and greater value
But the revolution in means of communication has not necessarily been matched by an increase in communication by organisations with their employees about their reward packages.There is evidence that although choice in benefits is certainly desired by individuals, this remains a communications challenge for employers and is not standard practice ...
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OpinionAndrew Kinder: How can EAPs support staff suffering from financial stress?
Some people have no trouble in managing corporate finances and other people’s assets, while others really struggle when it comes to their personal finances. In simple terms, they can get into quite a mess. The process of getting out of such a mess can really affect employees, perhaps resulting in ...
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OpinionLucy Whitehall: Employers must decide which metrics to use for health data
A vital first step is for employers to understand what relevant metrics are telling them. They should look at absence and turnover figures, referrals to occupational health specialists, and employee engagement and satisfaction scores.For example, we have recently completed research that shows that 32% of chartered accountants admit to experiencing ...
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OpinionJonny Gifford: The role of corporate social responsibility in business
It’s about ethical, values-based leadership, human rights, fair wages (at both ends of the spectrum), governance, transparency and diversity.In the short term, it can be more profitable to disregard ethics. But there are strong business benefits in rooting HR and benefits strategies in CSR, even though they can be harder ...
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OpinionPaul Brown: Fit-for-purpose and well-communicated benefits engage staff
Some 92% of our respondents reported an increased level of employee engagement as an outcome of flex. This is compelling evidence to back up the theory that flexible benefits are considered best practice and a necessary weapon in the continuing battle to retain key talent. The research suggests flex is ...
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OpinionMirka Slater: Global expansion drives data need
The expansion has happened mostly in the last five years, with expansion in existing countries, opening new offices, as well as mergers and acquisitions.Because of this rapid growth, many countries in EMEA had not been reviewed properly for some time and I was not sure how accurate my data was ...
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OpinionJill Clucas: How the lifetime allowance reduction will impact benefits and charges
The lifetime allowance (LTA) was reduced from £1.5 million to £1.25 million on 6 April 2014. When an individual draws pension benefits, the value of the benefit drawn is tested against the LTA (reduced by the value of benefits taken previously). With a reduced LTA, more individuals will be subject ...
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OpinionStephanie Phizackerley: Top tips for managing a global workforce
If you read nothing else, read this…Mobile employees are typically managed by specialist teams.Planning, communications and effective processes are key to successful mobility management.Employers that fail to track global compensation data accurately can face penalties for payroll non-compliance.Employers must be able to place the right staff in the right location, ...
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OpinionRosemary Lemon: The benefits of benefits
With benefits, the clue is in the word and, what’s more, the advantage of having benefits should be mutual. Benefits should be something considered of value to both the employee and the employer.Too often, they are seen as ‘normal market practice’ at a certain grade and taken for granted. Or, ...
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OpinionThibault Jeakings: DC pension governance to beef up schemes
As well as significantly beefing up defined contribution (DC) schemes’ governance requirements, the proposals also clamp down on the costs of auto-enrolment schemes with a 0.75% cap on administration charges and a ban on additional charges for deferred members and commission payments.The proposals are a reaction to the six to ...
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OpinionFaye Jarvis: An historic day for pensions in the 2014 Budget
The biggest change is the ability for individuals to fully withdraw their DC pension pot from age 55, subject to their marginal income tax rate. Previously, if an individual wanted to do this both they, and their pension scheme, would have been subject to adverse tax charges.Whether members can take ...
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OpinionHugh Gittins: The legalities of financial education programmes
Firstly, the gradual demise of final salary pensions, at least in the private sector, and their replacement by defined contribution (DC) schemes, means that employees are having to pay more careful attention to how their pensions are invested now that they, rather than their employers, stand to gain or lose ...
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OpinionJonathan Watts-Lay: Staff need education on investment options
Despite this, news headlines highlighting unfairness in the annuity market for those who are retiring and will buy an annuity now (about 400,000 people a year) are commonplace.Data from Money Advice Service annuity comparison tables at 3 February 2014 suggests that, of employees and pension scheme members who relied on ...
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OpinionDamian Stancombe: Will DC pension members have too much flexibility?
Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement has effectively turned DC arrangements into later life savings vehicles rather than a retirement vehicle.Employees are no longer required to use all or part of their pension pot to secure an annuity income until death.Instead, the government has, in my opinion, wrongly put full trust in ...
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OpinionNicola Kerr: Delay to extension of flexible-working arrangements
This legislation will give employees the statutory right to request a contract variation for flexible-working arrangements, and will require employers to consider the request in a reasonable manner.However, the right to request does not create a right to flexible working.As part of its strategy to create a modern workplace for ...
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OpinionChris Coyne: Learning to deliver total reward
My view is yes, there is something missing in most organisations from true total reward that drives performance.Whichever total reward model employers use, it is likely that it can be broken down into four blocks: base pay, variable pay, employee benefits and non-cash reward.Theory suggests investment in each of these ...
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OpinionCarl Redondo: Reaping the rewards of global benefits governance
Corporate governance of employee benefits is becoming increasingly important for multinational organisations.The key drivers and enablers of this governance focus are: better access to global data and information about the organisation; the increasing significance of non-domestic businesses; the desire to optimise the cost of providing employee benefits; and minimising the ...
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Opinion
Shawn Healy: What quick win tax changes mean for employers
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has identified quick wins to simplify the administration of employee benefits and expenses, nine of which went live in January.HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to allow reimbursements by employees of fuel used for private motoring or in a company car made after the ...
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OpinionMatthew Webb: The joy of DC investment loss
But is positive return really the zenith of DC investing? In the long term, perhaps, but in the short term, especially in the early years of DC build-up, there is a strong case to suggest a DC investor should look for funds with a decreasing unit price. Why?First rule of ...