All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 23
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ArticleUK universities strike over pensions dispute
Employees at a number of UK universities including Oxford and Cambridge have gone on strike in a long-running pensions dispute.Employees are in dispute over proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, which could see the existing defined benefit (DB) pension scheme axed and around 150,000 active scheme members moved to ...
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ArticlePWC loses flexible working discrimination case
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has lost a sex discrimination case against an employee who wished to pursue work flexibly but had his request rejected.Erik Pietzka, who was a manager at accountancy firm PWC’s office in Cardiff, was told by his employer that pursuing the idea of flexible working would damage his career, ...
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ArticleGerald Eve boosts financial education
EXCLUSIVE: Gerald Eve has boosted financial awareness among its 360 employees after holding a number of age-based and one-to-one financial education sessions.The chartered surveyor’s financial education programme, provided by Hargreaves Lansdown, has switched its focus to helping employees deal with stress around personal finances. It has achieved attendance rates of ...
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ArticleLicensed Trade Charity boosts pension take up
Nick Funnell, head of LVS Ascot Junior School, with studentsThe Licensed Trade Charity has seen take up increase in its pension schemes following auto enrolment.The organisation offers three schemes. Firstly, a money purchase defined contribution (DC) scheme, provided by Legal and General, which was introduced for auto enrolment. It has ...
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ArticlePension schemes fall behind with DC governance requirements
Pension schemes are behind with their work on defined contribution (DC) governance requirements, according to research by pensions law firm Sackers. Its survey, which was conducted among trustees and pension professionals, found that more than two-thirds (69%) of pension schemes have not carried out a value-for-money assessment, a new standard ...
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ArticleBecton Dickinson personalises financial education
EXCLUSIVE: Becton Dickinson has launched a personalised financial education programme for its 300 UK employees.The global healthcare organisation has introduced the programme to deliver education through technology to engage with the whole workforce.Becton Dickinson is using Nudge Global’s Quantum technology, which uses HR and benefits data to profile employees and ...
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ArticleThomas Miller and Wolseley awarded Pension Quality Mark
Professional service firm Thomas Miller and heating and plumbing organisation Wolseley are among the latest employers to be awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM), which recognises employers’ defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. Other organisations to be recognised by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) include chemical organisation BASF, drinks ...
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ArticleAviva in talks to acquire Friends Life
Aviva is in talks to buy fellow insurer Friends Life in a deal worth almost £5 billion.The merger would create the UK’s largest insurance and savings business with more than 16 million customers.It would also lead to a substantial increase in profits and assets under management at Aviva Investors.he merger ...
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ArticleOnly 6% of UK staff on track for retirement income
Just 6% of employee respondents are on track for the retirement income they want, despite the focus on pensions following the reforms announced in this year’s Budget, according to research by Aegon.Its second Aegon UK Readiness report surveyed 4,000 UK employees to assess their behaviour, awareness and finances to determine ...
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Article39% struggle to find maternity benefits information
Nearly two in five (39%) female employees struggle to find details about their employer’s maternity benefits, according to research by jobs and careers website Glassdoor.Its survey of 1,000 working women, 500 who have already taken maternity leave and 500 who plan to do so in the future, found that 13% ...
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ArticleWest Middlesex Hospital saves £38,000 with pool car scheme
EXCLUSIVE: West Middlesex University Hospital has saved more than £38,000 by launching a pool car scheme.The employer introduced a Nissan Leaf electric car, provided by Alphabet, for 40 of its therapists to use to help cut the cost of taxi fares and to lower the hospital’s carbon footprint.Therapists’ taxi fares ...
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ArticlePension scheme membership lowest among 16 to 21 year olds
Employee membership of a workplace pension is at its lowest at the beginning of an employees’ working life, according to research by the Office for National Statistics.Its Pension scheme membership report found that among employees aged 16 to 21, around 10% of both men and women belonged to their employer’s ...
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ArticleBankers face bans on alcohol and late nights
Something for the weekend…Boozy late-night entertaining was once considered an essential aspect of most investment bankers’ careers. But employees in this industry sector could now face new curfews under codes of conduct aimed at improving the sector’s reputation. This means that some staff may have to reconsider what they believe ...
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ArticleTop 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read stories on employeebenefits.co.uk from 23-30 October:1. Implications of the October 2015 childcare voucher changes 2. Asda faces mass legal action around equal pay 3. The Pensions Regulator issues first auto-enrolment fines 4. Asos plans to change management incentive plan 5. Government to abolish short service ...
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ArticleLloyd's Register to use global mobility technology
EXCLUSIVE: Lloyd’s Register is to introduce new technology to help manage global mobility.The scheme, which will be launched in December and provided by Polaris Global Mobility, will help the engineering, technical and business services organisation remove the administrative burdens associated with global mobilityIt will also help free up time for ...
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ArticleThe Pensions Regulator issues first auto-enrolment fines
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has issued its first fines to employers for failing to meet auto-enrolment duties.It has issued three fixed penalty notices were issued, each levying fines of £400 on employers, according to the TPR’s latest automatic-enrolment Compliance and enforcement bulletin.TPR has not revealed details of the nature of ...
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ArticleTNT aligns global mobility with talent management
EXCLUSIVE: TNT is in the midst of aligning its global mobility framework with its talent management structure to bring both elements into the full HR cycle.Lisa Dempsey, global HR manager at TNT, will discuss how the logistics organisation has been through a major transformation to align global mobility and talent ...
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ArticleMG Rover Group reaches £8m pension settlement
MG Rover Group has reached an £8 million pension settlement with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) following an investigation into its senior pension scheme.More than 100 former employees, who were members of the scheme, will now receive a cash bonus almost ten years after the car manufacturer collapsed in April 2005.In ...
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ArticleAsda faces mass legal action around equal pay
Asda faces mass legal action around equal pay by female employees over claims that male employees in the supermarket’s distribution centres are being paid more, despite doing comparable work.In April, more than 400 female employees at Asda launched legal action against the supermarket around equal pay.Since then, law firm Leigh ...
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ArticleNine out of 10 small employers want auto-enrolment delay
Nine out of 10 small employers that have not reached their pensions auto-enrolment staging date yet want the process to be delayed until the new raft of pension reforms are complete, according to research by the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).The ACA 2014 Smaller firms’ pension survey, which surveyed 414 ...