Opinion – Page 87
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Opinion
Debbie Harrison: Changes to DC auto-enrolment schemes in 2013
The new year will witness a sea-change in the distribution of defined contribution (DC) auto-enrolment pension schemes. The government, backed by the Labour party, will introduce a cap (probably 1%) on member charges for all auto-enrolment schemes, driving medium-sized employers to go directly to a multi-employer trust-based scheme with low ...
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Opinion
Michael Rose: Getting more for less in benefits in 2013
Getting more for less has been a growing theme in 2012, and one that I expect to continue in 2013. Organisations will look for tax-efficient, approved benefits arrangements that can deliver value at low or nil cost, such as salary sacrifice. That said, while there will be a growth in ...
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Opinion
Susan Ball: Tax-free Christmas perks
Christmas is an expensive time of year, but staff parties can be tax free, because HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) festive gift is an annual tax exemption of up to £150 per person. While most employers include food, drink and entertainment when costing such events, many forget they should also ...
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Opinion
Rosemary Crabb: Quality flexible benefits prove their value
One of the simplest ways to achieve this is to include a range of discounted vouchers and rechargeable cards through flex with options to suit a diverse employee population.This benefit is one of the easiest to administer, can be accommodated in both large and small schemes, and the advantage to ...
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Opinion
Jane Vass: Flexible working vital for older workforce
Yet far too many people aged 50 and over are locked out of the job market despite their skills and knowledge. This is often simply because they are unable to work in a way that enables them to balance their work and home responsibilities, which may include caring for a ...
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Opinion
Angela Wright: Communication for reward is vital
For most service-based organisations, pay and benefits account for 70% to 80% of corporate costs. Yet there is relatively little evaluation of whether their reward systems are delivering value for money.Much research on reward system evaluation shows how hard it can be to disentangle the effect of reward from the ...
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Opinion
Ben Saunders: Employee ownership scheme has doubtful value
Then the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills rushed out its consultation on implementing employee owner status, with three weeks to respond.A new class of employment status, ‘employee owner’, will be introduced. Such people can receive shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000, which will be exempt from capital gains tax. ...
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Opinion
Paul Gilbody: Rise to the challenge of auto-enrolment
For many employers, auto-enrolment will mean making radical changes to their pension provision. But by starting the preparation process well in advance oftheir staging date, they can reduce the risks associated with implementing the new obligations.Once their staging date is known, employers need to start assessing the financial and administrative ...
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Opinion
Will Aitken: Nest restrictions cause pension problems
If an employer wants to pay 10% for staff earning £50,000, it cannot do so in Nest. But, in our experience, this is not the main reason most large employers have chosen to continue their own scheme.Some fear using Nest could make them look like they are doing the minimum, ...
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Opinion
Alastair Kendrick: What will HMRC do after court ruling on NI?
The case surrounded the national insurance (NI) relief the taxpayer tried to utilise against the cash allowance paid to staff in lieu of a company car.The Court of Appeal decision was on a point of law and cannot be taken as a ‘green light’ for others to try to make ...
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Opinion
Charles Counsell: Do not leave auto-enrolment plans too late
Some of the country’s biggest employers have already passed their auto-enrolment duty dates. Hundreds of thousands are entering the planning stage, with roll-out continuing until 2017 for small and micro businesses, and 2018 for new businesses.The changes in pension law are not something for the future for HR professionals. Plan ...
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Opinion
Louise Aston: Help employers achieve engagement
This week’s launch of the Engage for Success report (Employee engagement – the evidence) has reiterated the critical need for organisations to ensure they have an effective employee engagement strategy in place. The numbers speak for themselves: £26 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) is being missed each year as ...
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Opinion
Elizabeth Parkin: Maternity leave issues
Many employers struggle to fully understand their obligations to pregnant women. Misunderstanding legal duties may lead to employment tribunal claims which can be expensive to settle, not to mention the unwelcome possibility of negative publicity.Part of the problem for employers is the extensive legislation which includes rights to:paid time off ...
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Opinion
David Smith: EAPs prove their value for wellbeing
Despite the fact that many employers perceive employee health and wellbeing as a cost, and that many are under pressure to reduce benefi ts costs, in reality today’s economic and cultural environment actually requires investment in staff wellbeing to maintain engagement, performance and productivity.The value of such investment is underlined ...
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Opinion
Jill Duggan: Don't leave it too late to plan for auto-enrolment
The press coverage is hotting up and we are seeing adverts on TV and in newspapers. But do employees really know what it is yet and are employers ready?Employers must plan ahead and have a strategy because they will have to make decisions around a complex subject.At Trader Media Group, ...
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Opinion
Lukas Rootman: Focus on health and safety requirements
This has manifested in proposals to reduce the number of health and safety inspections required at low-risk workplaces.But regardless of the direction of health and safety policy, certain minimum legal requirements remain, and compliance has benefi ts for both employers and their staff.The primary legislation governing health and safety is ...
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Opinion
Mick McAteer: Auto-enrolment will aid inclusion
At the Financial Inclusion Centre, our work covers outright financial exclusion and financial under provision, where people are not making enough provision for their core financial needs.The number of UK households that do not have a pension or are not saving enough into a pension to look forward to a ...
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Opinion
Graeme Nuttall: Employee ownership rises on UK political agenda
Employee ownership has never been higher on the UK political agenda. The 2012 party conference season culminated in headlines for Chancellor George Osborne’s ‘swap rights for shares’ plan.There are also other measures out for consultation. This autumn, the government will deliver its full response to The Nuttall Review of Employee ...
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Opinion
Matt Duffy: Accurate data is key to effective segmentation
Employers should liaise with HR and payroll to ensure they have as much relevant information on employees as possible.Analyse this data to identify different segments and populations of employees. While most employers acknowledge the obvious categories based on standard demographic dimensions, such as generation, gender and ethnicity, few recognise that ...
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Opinion
Teresa Dolan: How salary sacrifice fits with auto-enrolment
Initially, there had been some concern over how salary sacrifice would interact with auto-enrolment requirements, given the apparent conflict between the need for permanent changes under salary sacrifice rules and the statutory right to opt out of auto-enrolment.However, HM Revenue and Customs guidance has confirmed that an employer can use ...