All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 39
-
OpinionFaye Jarvis: An historic day for pensions in the 2014 Budget
The biggest change is the ability for individuals to fully withdraw their DC pension pot from age 55, subject to their marginal income tax rate. Previously, if an individual wanted to do this both they, and their pension scheme, would have been subject to adverse tax charges.Whether members can take ...
-
ArticleEngagement biggest HR challenge
More than half (54%) of respondents said improving employee engagement is their biggest challenge in 2014, according to research by Secondsight.Its HR challenges survey found that only 17% of respondents cited developing a reward and benefits package as the main challenge.More than a third (39%) of respondents cited implementing legislative ...
-
AnalysisHow to devise a summer motivation programme for staff
The summer season is a great time to promote activities and incentives to help boost employee engagement.Employers looking to build a seasonal programme should first consider how all reward and benefits schemes work together in the organisation to achieve an overall purpose, for example staff motivation.Paul Bartlett, divisional director for ...
-
ArticlePay gap widened by 5.2% since 2000
The pay gap in the UK between the highest and lowest earners has grown significantly since 2000, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).The figures, based on full-time earnings from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual survey of hours and earnings, found that the pay inequality ratio ...
-
Article
Relocation benefits for Charlie the macaw?
Something for the weekend…A parrot has just landed a job at the theme park Legoland and could well expect some nice relocation benefits.Charlie, a 32-year-old macaw, will relocate from her home in Pickering, north Yorkshire to the famous theme park in Windsor.She beat out stiff competition in a ‘parrot-in-residence’ talent ...
-
ArticleThe Pensions Regulator appoints Mark Boyle as chair
The Pensions Regulator has appointed Mark Boyle as its new chair. He will take up the post from 1 April and serve a four-year term.Boyle is currently non-executive chairman of HM Land Registry, and was previously director and chief operating officer of the Shareholder Executive. He has also held banking ...
-
Article
Tax and legislative changes announced in January and February
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) changed its policy on the recovery of VAT on defined benefit pensions. There are now circumstances in which employers may be able to claim input tax in relation to pension funds: http://bit.ly/1gzU60qHMRC also announced that it will stagger the introduction of real-time information (RTI) penalties. ...
-
ArticleWorkplaces must evolve to tackle staff engagement
Workplaces must evolve by 2020 to tackle the growing issue of employee engagement.Organisations will also have to squeeze their benefits providers to get the best value for money, said professor Richard Scase (pictured), futurologist at the University of Kent, during the closing keynote session The future of the workplace: how ...
-
Article20% do not understand their wellbeing benefits
One in five (20%) respondents do not understand what workplace wellbeing benefits they are entitled to, according to research by Friends Life.Its survey, which questioned 829 employees, found that more than a quarter (28%) are happy with the wellbeing benefits offered by their employer.Less than half (45%) of respondents said ...
-
ArticleThieves fuelled by workplace food
Something for the weekend…Imagine how you would feel if your food was stolen from the office kitchen.It’s happened to many of us, but who are the culprits?Research conducted by Vouchercloud.com found that more than two-fifths (42%) of the 1,880 respondents admitted to stealing food from communual kitchen areas.Nearly half (47%) ...
-
Article
Top 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read articles on employeebenefits.co.uk from 6-13 March:1. Tribunal rules post-natal depression dismissal not discriminatory 2. Government publishes draft regulations on shared parental leave pay 3. Staffordshire council reduces absence 4. Boeing to move staff to DC pension 5. Personal Group acquires Lets Connect 6. Lloyds to ...
-
Article
West Ham FC auto-enrols three-millionth UK worker
West Ham United Football Club auto-enrolled the UK’s three-millionth worker into a workplace pension scheme.The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest Automatic-enrolment registration report from TPR showed that more than three million employees are now saving into a pension scheme through auto-enrolment, with the three-millionth worker employed by the Premier League club.Since ...
-
Case StudiesAsda gives staff clear communication about share schemes
In July 2013, staff shared £61.7 million under parent organisation Walmart’s three-year sharesave scheme, with payouts to individual employees ranging from £3,000 to more than £15,000.Sarah Lawson, shares and fleet manager at Asda, says: “The sharesave scheme is one of our most popular benefits. The take-up has increased year-on-year.”The scheme ...
-
Article
Boeing to move staff to DC pension
Boeing is to move 68,000 US-based employees into a new defined contribution (DC) component of its defined benefit (DB) pension from January 2016.The US aerospace organisation has reached a deal with unions to move its non-unionised employees in its 401(k) plan into an employer-funded DC pension.All benefits earned in the ...
-
ArticleJohn Lewis staff share £203m bonus payout
Around 91,000 John Lewis Partnership employees are to share a bonus payout of £202.5 million.Employees will receive 15% of their average salary, equivalent to eight weeks’ pay, just two percentage points lower than last year’s 17% bonus payout.The retail giant, which includes John Lewis and Waitrose, set out the bonus ...
-
Article
Football kit massages for players
Something for the weekend…Imagine how your stress levels would fall if, whenever your anxiety levels rise, your clothes could give you an all-over relaxing body massage?This might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.News broke this week that high-tech football shirts worn by the Italian national football team, ahead of ...
-
Article
Top 10 most read stories this week
1. Tax and legislation changes taking effect in April2. HMRC loses NI contributions case 3. All employers need to know about car salary sacrifice schemes4. Government names five employers which failed to pay minimum wage 5. Goodman Masson trademarks staff engagement 6. American Express reviews global benefits 7. Capital One ...
-
ArticleVeterinary firm launches employee ownership trust
Arrowfield Veterinary Practice has launched an employee ownership trust.The practice is now 100% owned by its employees after the launch of the trust on 1 March.Employee ownership is when employees own a significant stake in the organisation they work for, and is sometimes called a co-owned organisation.The veterinary practice was ...
-
ArticleNUS becomes accredited living wage employer
The National Union of Students (NUS) has been accredited as a living wage employer.The organisation will pay all its staff the living wage, which increased to £7.65 for the UK and £8.80 for London on 4 November 2013.More than 600 UK employers pay the living wage, which was introduced in ...
-
ArticleTax and legislation changes taking effect in April
The statutory sick pay percentage threshold scheme will be abolished. This will help to fund the launch of the government’s Health and Work Service. The extension of the right to request flexible working, which was due to come into force on 6 April, has been postponed (see Nicola Kerr: Delay ...