All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 34
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ArticleQueen's Speech confirms higher minimum wage penalties
The Queen has confirmed that higher penalties will be imposed on employers which fail to pay their staff the national minimum wage, first announced in January 2014.The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will introduce an increased penalty of up to £20,000 for employers that do not pay staff the ...
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ArticleMicrosoft hosts wellbeing week
EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft has hosted its annual wellbeing week for 3,000 staff at its campus in Reading.Its Living Well 365 event, took place between 22 April and 2 May, supports the four pillars of the technology organisation’s wellbeing programme: physical wellness, emotional wellness, financial wellbeing and social wellbeing.It held a number ...
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ArticleAon completes acquisition of Lorica Employee Benefits
Aon has completed its acquisition of Lorica Employee Benefits.This follows an announcement in March 2014 that Aon would acquire Lorica Employee Benefits, subject to regulatory confirmation.Aon’s benefits solutions business currently employs around 240 people in seven locations in the UK, while Lorica Employee Benefits has more than 150 employees in ...
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Analysis
Gamification in pensions communication
If you read nothing else, read this…Gamification is a trend to employ game mechanics in non-game environments.Employees could receive a reward for completing a games process.Gamified design of pension communications must not be tedious.By 2015, 50% of organisations will gamify innovation processes (Gartner).According to technology research firm Gartner’s Future of ...
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ArticleExtended right to request flexible working to come into effect
This had been due to take effect on 6 April, but was postponed because of a delay in the Children and Families Bill’s progress through Parliament.At the moment, employers must ’”consider seriously” requests to work flexibly from employees who have a child aged 16 or under, those with a child ...
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ArticleHMRC loses company car tax case
Six companies in the Newell and Wright group, including Apollo Fuels, provided cars to managers and salesmen under an arrangement whereby it leased the cars to the workforce in an ’arm’s length’ hire rental.Employees were paid for business mileage at the same rate as colleagues who used their own cars ...
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Analysis
What is driving demand for eldercare as a workplace benefit?
If you read nothing else read this…The number of people needing care will outstrip the family members able to provide it.Eldercare is the fatest-growing perk in flexible benefits plans.Demand is driven by the UK’s ageing demographic, the growing number of users of health and social care, and the ’sandwich generation’.Not ...
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ArticlePension saving reaches five-year high
The number of people saving adequately for retirement is at its highest level since 2009, according to research by Scottish Widows.Its 10th annual Scottish Widows Retirement report, which surveyed more than 5,000 people, found that 53% of respondents are saving enough through a pension scheme, up from 45% in 2013, ...
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ArticleFinancial stress impacts work productivity
Nearly a quarter (22%) of employee respondents said the stress of their current financial situation impacts negatively on their work productivity, according to research by Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services.Its Financial stress is impacting productivity for nearly a quarter of UK employees survey, which questioned 398 employers and 760 UK ...
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ArticleQueen confirms greater flexibility on DC pension savings
The Queen has confirmed legislation announced in the 2014 Budget to offer greater flexibility to pensions in the way retiring defined contribution (DC) pension members can take their savings.The Pensions Tax Bill will remove previous restrictions to the way individuals can access their DC pension savings, and allow them to ...
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ArticleExtended right to request flexible working comes into effect
The right to request flexible working has been extended to every employee on 30 June.The legislation was due to take effect on 6 April, but was postponed because of a delay in the Children and Families Bill’s progress through Parliament.Previously, the right was only available for carers or people who ...
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ArticleKFC launches salary sacrifice car scheme
EXCLUSIVE: KFC has launched a salary sacrifice car scheme for more than 950 eligible employees.The restaurant chain has included an emissions cap at 130g/km to help improve the organisation’s green credentials and help employees to make tax savings.The current lowest tax band, of 5%, is applied to all cars emitting ...
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ArticleGovernment sets out support for ageing workforces
The government has set out a framework for action to support employers in keeping an ageing workforce in employment.Its action plan, Fuller working lives – A framework for action, found that the UK economy could have been boosted by £18 billion in 2013 if the employment gap between people in ...
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Article72% expect staff to pay more into pensions
Nearly three quarters (72%) of respondents are anticipating an increase in defined contribution (DC) pension contributions from employees who are close to retirement, according to research by Towers Watson.Its Post-Budget DC pension strategy survey, which questioned 74 UK employers, found that one in five (20%) of respondents anticipate younger employees ...
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ArticleEmployers not reviewing global benefits
Employers are not reviewing their international benefits often enough, according to research by Jelf International.Its survey, which questioned nearly 50 employers, found that 42% of respondents have either never reviewed their global benefits or have only done so more than a year ago.One in five (19%) of respondents have reviewed ...
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ArticleCould space sandals prove next workplace health perk?
Something for the weekend…Employers that offer workplace health and wellbeing benefits for their workforce and keen to track the latest innovations in the fitness industry should look no further than recent efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Nasa).The agency has packed its astronauts off to space wearing new ...
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AnalysisInterview with Sarah Purnell, head of UK reward and benefits, Tesco
After spending four years at Tesco in two different roles as a business analyst and an IT finance manager, Purnell became interim reward and benefits manager after returning to the organisation following a few months spent travelling.“I am fortunate because Tesco has a really strong talent planning process,” she says. ...
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ArticleDanone extends access to employer-paid health checks
EXCLUSIVE: Danone has extended access to employer-paid health screenings to all of its 1,300 UK employees.Previously, only senior staff, who represent around 10% of the workforce, had access to the benefit.The food manufacturer introduced the scheme during its flexible benefits enrolment window in April.Since then, 48% of employees have signed ...
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ArticleYoung staff to save more after Budget pension reforms
Younger employees are more likely to save into a pension scheme following the reforms announced in the 2014 Budget, according to research by insurer Legal and General.Its MoneyMood research, which surveyed 578 adults aged 18 to 65, found that nearly half (48%) of respondents between the ages of 18 to ...
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ArticleBuyer's guide to off-the-shelf voluntary benefits packages
Although off-the-shelf packages are more mass-market and less tailored to individual workforces than a bespoke package would be, the ready-made versions are an easy option for employers of all sizes and involve minimum administration.They use web portals that offer employees savings from deals and discounts on services and products. Schemes ...