All articles by Rebecca Patton – Page 8
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Case Studies
Morrisons helps employees to save money
The programme, ‘Save your dough’, provides the retailer’s 135,000 employees with information on saving in general and for retirement. It includes in-store champions who are armed with further information on saving, two booklets about saving money and one on retirement saving, and a website.A monthly employee survey found that 45,000 ...
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Article
Flexible leave plans could pose pay challenges
Audrey Williams, partner and head of discrimination at Eversheds, said the changes could cause complications for enhanced maternity pay schemes. These schemes can include above statutory-rate pay and a returner’s bonus, raising the question of whether these benefits should be extended to men who take flexible parental leave.“The current paternity ...
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Case Studies
Daisy Group health cash plan covers PMI excesses
This means employees can use the plan to offset the cost of any excesses incurred when claiming on the employer’s PMI policy, which is provided by Bupa.Rebekah Tapping, group HR director at Daisy Group, says: “One of my frustrations with PMI plans is the hoops you have to jump through ...
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AnalysisHealth cash plans are booming
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…The number of company-funded health cash plans increased by 13.5% in 2011.Employers using cash plans to cover PMI excesses is a new trend.Dental and optical remain the most popular treatment areas for health cash plan claims.The number of employers funding health cash plans rocketed ...
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Article
Decrease in gender pay gap over past year
The gender pay gap for full-time employees has decreased over the last year, from 10.5% to 9.6% in 2011, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The Annual survey of hours and earnings 2012 found that women in full-time employment earned a median hourly wage of £12, a ...
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Article
Sweetening the benefits package
Something for the weekend…Reducing stress at work is an important issue for most employers because it can help improve productivity.One employer has decided to sweeten its benefits package by offering employees an opportunity to take a break during the day to enjoy a treat.The Big Word, a language services provider, ...
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Article
Former Rangers football club wins tax case
The former Rangers Football Club plc, which is now in liquidation, has won its appeal against a tax bill from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for its use of an employee benefit trust (EBT).In a majority decision, the first tier tribunal concluded that the club’s payments to players and staff ...
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Article
ITM to partner PensionsFirst for data audits
ITM, a pension data specialist, is to partner PensionsFirst to offer its Pfaroe risk management platform to enhance its data risk audit service for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The organisation will use the platform to assess the potential liability impact of data and benefit errors discovered during employers’ data risk ...
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Article
Tube Lines staff plan strike over pensions
Tube Lines’ staff are to strike for 24 hours on Friday 23 November over equal access to pensions and benefits.The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has called on Transport for London (TFL) to allow Tube Lines’ employees to re-enter its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme since 2010 when Tube ...
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Article
Greencore employees win pay deduction case
More than 400 employees have been successful in an unlawful pay deductions complaint against employer Greencore.The claim, brought before an employment tribunal, involved 408 employees at the convenience food manufacturer’s Hull facility who agreed in 2010 to a one-year suspension of premium pay rates and enhanced holiday pay in order ...
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Article
Cabinet Office awards EAP agreement
The Cabinet Office has awarded four providers a framework agreement to deliver pan-government employee assistance programme (EAP) services.The agreement was awarded as part of a tender process carried out by the government procurement service.Government departments have the option to select a preferred supplier from the four providers. Alternatively, the four ...
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Article
HMRC investigates top earners
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is investigating £400 million-worth of tax that has possibly been unpaid by directors and executives, according to analysis by Pinsent Masons.The law firm has analysed official data from HMRC’s large business service, a department responsible for the taxes paid by the 770 largest organisations in ...
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Article
Taxpayers' Alliance proposes steps to abolish NI
The Taxpayers’ Alliance has proposed three steps to abolish national insurance (NI) and simplify income tax with the goal of implementing a single income tax rate of 30% by 2020.The report, How to abolish national insurance within five years, suggested that NI be fully merged with income tax in 2017, ...
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Article
Equiniti Group sells Xafinity Consulting
Benefits administrator Equiniti Group has reached an agreement to sell its Xafinity Consulting business to private equity firm CBPE Capital.The sale is still subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2013.Wayne Story, chief executive at Equiniti Group, said: “Having considered ...
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Article
Gliding into the office
Something for the weekend…Employers could be saving money on offering season ticket train loans by encouraging employees to parasail to work instead.A Chinese businessman, Zeng Daxia, parasails over Zhuzhou city in Hunhan province to beat the daily traffic jams.According to Orange News, Daxia said: “I work and live at different ...
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Article
JP Morgan to expand flexible benefits plan
EXCLUSIVE: JP Morgan is to add a range of new perks to its flexible benefits portal, Elements, in 2013.The benefits that will be added for the 2013 enrolment period in February, include magazine subscriptions, a will-writing service and a home care benefit, provided by Allianz, which helps provide care in ...
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Article
Tindle Newspapers to pay bonus
Tindle Newspapers’ full-time staff will share a £250,000 bonus pool.Employees at the regional publisher will be given a lump sum of between £125 and £400, depending on the profits of the individual Tindle centre they work in. Staff at seven centres will definitely receive the maximum bonus of £400.Ray Tindle, ...
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Article
Lyreco prepares for pensions auto-enrolment
Lyreco has brought forward its auto-enrolment staging date, switched pension providers, and set up administration software between its payroll and pension provider.The workplace products distributor will use Cerdian’s auto-enrolment administration software, which automatically identifies and enrols employees into the chosen pension scheme.The software aligns the exchange of payroll information from ...
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Article
City bonuses will continue to fall
The estimated level of bonuses for City employees for the Christmas and early 2013 period are down to £1.6 billion, a decrease from a £2.3-billion estimate made six months ago, according to research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).Its study, London, city and regional prospects, found that, ...
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Article
HMRC proposes extra time for RTI reports
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has proposed that employers be allowed an extension for sending in real-time information (RTI) reports.From April 2013, employers will be required to begin to send pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) information to HMRC on, or before, the date the payment is made.However, concerns have been raised that, in ...