All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 13
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ArticleBalfour Beatty delays £85m pension payment
Balfour Beatty has agreed new terms with the trustees of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme over an £85 million deficit payment that was due next year.The UK infrastructure group will now make the payment over the next eight years, starting with a £4 million cash payment in 2016.This will ...
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Case StudiesBenefits offered by the University of Lincoln
PensionsThree schemes in place including a Teachers Pension, a Local Government Pension Scheme and the Universities Superannuation Scheme. A number of additional voluntary contribution (AVC) schemes are available.Employer contribution levels range from 14% to 28% across all schemes. Healthcare and wellbeingPrivate medical insurance, employer-funded for executive level and heavily discounted ...
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Case StudiesUniversity of Lincoln places benefits at heart of talent strategy
Ian Hodson, reward and benefits manager at the university, says: “The type of employee that we are trying to bring to the organisation now will not be motivated by the typical [benefits] package [of a good salary, a pension and sickness benefits]. We had to change our thinking.“Lincoln is not ...
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ArticleTechnology can maximise DC pension flexibility engagement
How employers and employees can use new technology to maximise defined contribution (DC) pension flexibilities will be discussed in a session at Employee Benefits Connect on 4 March.In a session titled ‘Using technology to maximise new DC pensions flexibilities: helping both employers and employees’, Lee Hollingworth (pictured), partner and head ...
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ArticleHayes Davidson launches employee ownership trust
Hayes Davidson has launched an employee ownership trust.The architectural visualisation studio organisation is now 100% owned by its employees (pictured) after it launched the trust at the end of January 2015.Employees in an employee-ownership trust organisation can receive income-tax-free bonuses of up to £3,600 per tax year.Hayes Davidson closely follows ...
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Analysis
13 - Health and wellbeing case study round-up
North Halifax Grammar School in West Yorkshire is to roll out mental health and wellbeing initiatives for staff. The scheme, provided by Worth-It Projects, will offer mental wellbeing coaching and training to staff, all 60 of whom have registered to attend. http://bit.ly/1zSPCbzJP Morgan has extended dental cover and health screening ...
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ArticleSky outsources benefits admin to focus on strategy
EXCLUSIVE: Sky has outsourced its employee benefits administration to enable the home entertainment and communications organisation to focus on driving its benefits business strategy.It appointed Capita Employee Benefits in January following a tender process in October 2014.The provider will look after its pension auto-enrolment, benefits selection, benefits administration, consultancy, helpdesk ...
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ArticleHSBC bonus pool fell to £2.38bn in 2014
HSBC’s bonus pool for staff across the organisation fell to £2.38 billion in 2014, down by £2.5 billion from 2013.However, the banking group’s Annual results 2014 also highlighted that its spend on employee compensation and benefits increased by 4% in 2014.Its report stated that because of further regulatory changes to ...
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Article£13,800 gender pay gap exists in public relations sector
A gender pay gap of more than £13,887 exists in the public relation (PR) sector, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).Its State of the profession 2015 report found this is an increase of 12% on the £12,390 gap identified in 2014.Of the average pay gap ...
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ArticleWalmart to invest $1 billion to increase staff pay
Walmart is to invest $1 billion (£652 million) to increase the hourly pay of more than 500,000 of its 1.4 million workforce.The US supermarket giant, which is the parent organisation of Asda, pledges to award staff at least $9 (£6) an hour, which is above the US minimum wage of ...
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ArticleWages set to grow by 1.9% in 2015
Real pay is set to increase by 1.9% in 2015, with UK employees set to enjoy their first increase in wages since 2007, according to research by economic forecaster, EY Item Club. Its latest report on the labour market found that wage growth is expected to continue to accelerate, underpinned ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment continues to be a burden
The business barometer survey published by Close Brothers Asset Management in January, for example, found that more than three-quarters (76%) of employer respondents now notice the administrative burden created by auto-enrolment, a 7% increase since September 2014.In addition, figures published by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), also in January, highlighted that ...
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AnalysisHow to create an integrated financial wellbeing strategy
If you read nothing else read this…46% of employees worry about their finances.An effective financial wellbeing strategy needs to understand the needs of employees.Workplace savings and education can encourage saving and boost wellbeing.An integrated strategy must link to business needs. Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions’ (C&ES’s) Financial wellbeing: the last ...
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ArticleMichelle Tudor: How could the general election impact employee benefits?
We can expect to see the national minimum wage continue to increase. The Conservative Party’s sights are set on reaching a minimum wage of £7 per hour, while the Labour Party has pledged to increase the minimum wage to £8 per hour by 2020.A Labour government would also increase the ...
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ArticleDave Roberts: How could the general election impact employee benefits?
I don’t think any new government will back track on the new flexibilities offered following the 2014 Budget. Not only would it be a huge amount of work to unravel, but the changes are proving popular and bring in much needed additional tax revenue for the UK. But I suspect ...
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Article
Pension legislation announcements in February
Draft regulations to cap defined-contribution (DC) pension scheme charges at 0.75% were put before Parliament in February, alongside additional governance requirements.From April, scheme charges will be capped at 0.75% unless employees have specifically chosen a more expensive option.In its response to a consultation on the introduction of a 0.75% cap ...
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Case StudiesAnglian Water evolves financial wellbeing strategy to support employees
The utilities organisation has integrated financial wellbeing into its approach to employees’ health and wellbeing since 2007.Sally Purbrick, head of reward at Anglian Water, says: “We have seen a correlation and it all integrates into the area of health and wellbeing. It is not done in isolation. All the areas ...
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Article
Google's best-paid jobs
Something for the weekend…Jobs at Google are often highly sought after, making it one of the employers that we all dream about working for.Google provides its workers with a lot of perks: sleeping pods, slides in the office, free rental cars to free gyms on-site and free food. It is ...
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ArticleWolseley UK to discuss future of flexible benefits
Wolseley UK will embrace the flexible benefits technology of the future to help drive employee engagement.Speaking in a session titled ‘The future of flex’ at Employee Benefits Connect on 4 March at the Lancaster London, Neil McCawley (pictured), head of reward, benefits and policy at Wolseley UK, will discuss how ...
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ArticleEmployers will not incur penalties for late PAYE information
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced employers will not incur penalties for delays of up to three days in filing pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) information.HMRC has advised that any employer that has received an in-year late filling penalty for the period 6 October 2014 to 5 January 2015 and was three ...