All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 2
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ArticleITV tables improved 2016 pay deal
ITV has tabled an improved pay offer for 2016 after its employees took strike action in May. The broadcaster has offered staff pay increases above the 2% pay rise for 2015, which took effect from January.That pay deal will remain unchanged but the organisation is also making contractual improvements including ...
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ArticleTata Steel improves DB pension plans
Tata Steel has made a new offer to employees, which will see its final salary pension scheme remain open and avert strike action.More than 17,000 employees that are members of trade unions Community, Unite, the GMB and UCATT were due to walk out for 24 hours on 22 June.The dispute ...
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ArticleFirstGroup has largest DB pension liability among FTSE 250
FirstGroup has one of the largest defined benefit (DB) pension scheme liabilities among employers in the FTSE 250, according to research by JLT Employee Benefits.The FTSE 250 and their pension disclosures report found that the travel operator’s scheme is a risk to the business due to pension liabilities of £4.6 ...
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ArticleCentrica adds new benefits to flex for 30,000 staff
EXCLUSIVE: Centrica has added three new benefits to its flexible benefits package for its 30,000 employees.The energy organisation, which owns British Gas (pictured), is also continually communicating the benefits through its summer roadshows to help drive up employee engagement with benefits.It launched the new benefits in its flex enrolment window ...
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ArticleThe office that combats mental and physical stress
Something for the weekend… Mental wellbeing and physical wellbeing is the hot topic in the HR world and employers continuously strive to give their staff best-in-class benefits to help in every way possible.Much has been said about how the design of a workplace can address such issues, but one organisation ...
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OpinionPaul Winter: Blending the pledge with day-to-day health at Ipswich Building Society
We signed up to five pledges, which have become the cornerstones of our healthcare.Some practical examples of this include the mental health and wellbeing pledge, through which we actively encourage lunch breaks and ‘desk breaks’ so employees can take time out to charge their batteries.We created a quiet room for ...
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ArticleReal wage growth highest in seven years
Real wages have grown faster than at any point in the last seven years, according to the latest Office for National Statistic (ONS) figures. Its UK Labour market 2015, June report found that regular pay for employees increased by 2.7% between February – April 2014 and February – April 2015, ...
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Watch Employee Benefits Wired: Post-Election Pensions Update
Employee Benefits Wired: Post-Election Pensions Update is now available to watch on demand. The webinar can be viewed online at anytime via EBTV on employeebenefits.co.uk.The webinar, which took place on 15 June in association with Wealth at Work, focuses on workplace pensions under a Conservative-led government over the next five ...
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ArticleRob's reward: Sharing the success with benefits professionals
However, it was a day of recognition for the best employers in the industry, with BNP Paribas, BT Group, Heinz, Peel Ports Group and Visualsoft just some of the employers that came out on top.BNP Paribas, which picked up the Grand Prix and won four awards prior to receiving the ...
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ArticleVisualsoft improves staff wellbeing
EXCLUSIVE: Visualsoft has seen an improvement in the health and wellbeing of its 200 employees in the past 12 months after introducing a number of new initiatives. The web development organisation launched an all new benefits package in 2014 with the aim of boosting wellbeing and motivation, as well as ...
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ArticleNorthgate Vehicle Hire launches voluntary benefits
Northgate Vehicle Hire has enhanced its employee benefits package with a new voluntary benefits plan for more than 2,000 members of staff. The vehicle rental organisation rolled out its ‘Just for You’ voluntary benefits programme in April 2015 and offers employees a broad range of retail and lifestyle discounts, as ...
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OpinionAndreas Kornelakis: Communicating benefits and the role of employee voice
Communicating to a global workforce may take place via direct and one-way modes of employer communication, for example staff handbooks, posters, emails, newsletters, total reward statements, SMS, webinars, podcasts or more interactive means such as staff meetings or forums, intranets and social media such as internal Facebook sites.The institutional perspective ...
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ArticleHeinz boosts flexible benefits take up
EXCLUSIVE: Heinz has nearly trebled its flexible benefits submission rates in 2015 through the use of an online benefits portal and effective communication practices.The food manufacturer took a ‘learn, see, change’ approach to guide more than 2,500 employees through the annual enrolment window in November 2014 to help them digest ...
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ArticleCompensation for discrimination claim not taxable
Compensation received by an employee to settle a discrimination claim is not taxable as earnings, a tribunal has ruled.A v The Commissioners for HMRC involved a dispute over whether a payment of £600,000 made under a compromise agreement should be taxed as “earnings” or whether it could be paid tax ...
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ArticleDo not miss Employee Benefits Wired: Post-Election Pensions Update
Do not miss Employee Benefits Wired: Post-Election Pensions Update, in association with Wealth at Work, which will stream live on 15 June at 11am via EBTV. Key issues to be discussed during the session include pension freedoms, auto-enrolment, pensions tax relief, contribution rates, and what impact a Conservative government might ...
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ArticleFind out who will win an Employee Benefits Award
The 13th annual Employee Benefits Awards, in association with Mercer, takes place today (12 June). BNP Paribas, BT Group, Clifford Chance, EE, Lidl and Universal Music Group are among the employers shortlisted.There are 24 awards in total and the winners will be announced during a lunch-time ceremony at the Artillery ...
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ArticleWalmart ditches Justin Bieber to boost motivation
Something for the weekend… Walk into any retail store and there is a 99.9% chance that music will be playing.And it is almost certain that this music playlist has been on a constant loop slowly driving the productivity of an employee down or, to put it nicely, driving them mad.But ...
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ArticleNottingham City Council and Arup make benefits team shortlist
Arup, Engine Group and Nottingham City Council (pictured) have been shortlisted for ‘Benefits team of the year’ at the Employee Benefits Awards 2015.This award, sponsored by Buck Consultants at Xerox, celebrates how an in-house benefits team worked together to deliver benefits that meet the HR and business strategies of the ...
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ArticleMEC UK improves employee wellbeing and motivation
EXCLUSIVE: Media advertising agency MEC UK has seen its staff health and wellbeing, productivity and motivation all improve in the first year of launching its ‘Smarter Working’ initiative.The scheme, which launched in June 2014 for its 560 employees, scraps the accrued hours rule and takes flexible working one step further ...
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ArticleBibby Financial Services shortlisted for total reward
Bibby Financial Services and Simplyhealth are among the employers shortlisted for the award ‘Best total reward strategy’ at the Employee Benefits Awards 2015.For this award, the judges were looking for an employer that has successfully integrated its reward offerings into a single ‘total reward’ strategy, which might include pay and ...