All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 43
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Article
Citigroup to part pay bonuses in cash
Banking group Citi is to pay a portion of bonuses awarded to employees for 2013 in cash after linking pay to performance.Bankers in the organisation’s Europe, Middle East and Africa units, who have been awarded bonuses of $5 million (£3 million) are in line to receive 40% of this in ...
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Opinion
Shawn Healy: What quick win tax changes mean for employers
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has identified quick wins to simplify the administration of employee benefits and expenses, nine of which went live in January.HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to allow reimbursements by employees of fuel used for private motoring or in a company car made after the ...
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Article
BT and BBC top pensions league table
BT and the BBC have topped a league table of the UK’s workplace pension schemes for responsible investment, according to research by charity ShareAction.BT and the BBC came joint top with a score of 35 out of a possible 40, followed by the universities’ superannuation scheme in third place.In contrast, ...
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Article
26% of HMRC staff satisfied with their benefits
Just over a quarter (26%) of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff feel satisfied with their total benefits package.HMRC’s People Survey 2013, which surveyed more than 30,000 employees as part of the Civil Service People Survey, also found that only 25% feel their pay reflects their performance.In addition, 23% said ...
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Article
Ikea pays pension contributions as bonus
Ikea Group became one of the first organisations to take this approach with the launch its reward programme Tack! at the end of last year. Through the scheme, Ikea will pay a total €100 million (£83.6 million) in pension contributions to reward employees with at least five years’ service, assuming ...
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AnalysisWhat makes an organisation a family-friendly employer?
If you read nothing else, read this…Retail or leisure discounts help put money back into families’ pockets.Healthcare benefits, such as private medical insurance and health cash plans, may allow staff to extend cover to family members.Changes to the childcare vouchers scheme and shared parental leave, both coming into force in ...
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Article
Court rules how to handle ill-health dismissals
Clarification has been given on how employers should handle an employee dismissal following an extended period of absence due to ill-health.In the case of BS v Dundee City Council, BS had been off sick for 272 days with stress and depression. During his absence, he was signed off sick by ...
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ArticleJeremy Mindell: Will the increase in share scheme limits boost scheme numbers?
While most governments in Europe have been cutting back on tax-advantaged schemes, the UK’s increase in tax-free limits is a pleasant contrast.Given that all three major political parties favour wider share ownership, the tax relief is unlikely to be reversed in the foreseeable future. This should give organisations confidence to ...
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Article
John Collison: Will the increase in share scheme limits boost scheme members?
IFS Proshare was delighted to learn that Chancellor George Osborne is to increase investment limits on sharesave plans to £500 a month and on share incentive plans (Sips) to £1,800 a month.Although no one can say for certain whether increasing the limits will immediately result in more organisations launching employee ...
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AnalysisA quick guide to employee benefits tax
Tax-efficient benefits offered through a salary sacrifice arrangement are exempt from income tax, employer’s NI and employee’s NI. This is so because a benefit offered in this way reduces an employee’s pay, so less tax and national insurance is due and the employer will not have to pay NI contributions ...
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Case StudiesAtkins engineers a family-friendly environment for staff
Benefits offered by Atkins that are popular among working families include flexible working, extra holiday entitlement, childcare vouchers and informal employee assistance programmes, such as networks for working families to interact with each another. The organisation won Workingmums.co.uk’s Innovation in Flexible Working Award in December 2013, and was named top ...
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Article
Allianz launches global benefits practice
Allianz has launched a global benefits unit to address the needs of multinational organisations. Allianz Global Benefits will co-operate with Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty and Allianz global Investors. Its focus will be on benefits such as: corporate life; pensions and health products.Combing global and local approaches, Allianz Global Benefits ...
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Article
Overseas holidays boost promotion chances
Something for the weekend…Employees looking to get ahead at work may not consider buying more holiday through a holiday trading scheme or taking advantage of workplace travel discounts as the obvious way to do so.But new research by travel agency sunshine.co.uk has found a link between the number of overseas ...
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Article
Top 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read articles on employeebenefits.co.uk from 16-23 January:1. BBC restructures pay processes for presenters2. Government to delay pension charges cap3. Reed Smith staff move to online savings platform4. Aberdeen Asset Management increases staff pay by 4%5. How should employers communicate default funds?6. Government confirms delay to pension ...
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Article
Government confirms delay to pension charges cap
Pensions minister Steve Webb has confirmed that the introduction of a pensions charge cap will be delayed by a year until April 2015.The charges cap was due to be introduced in April 2014. A ban on active member discounts and defined contribution reforms on governance and transparency will also be ...
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Article
Willis restructures global benefits practice
Willis Group is creating a new human capital and benefits practice which will combine its existing employee benefits and related consulting practices. The global risk adviser, insurer and reinsurer is to make the move in order to develop and execute a co-ordinated global strategy. These businesses include: pensions and retirement ...
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Article
University staff strike over pay
University staff across the UK are taking further strike action over proposed pay increases on Thursday 23 January.Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will walk out for two hours in protest of a proposed 1% pay rise.These include staff at academic institutions, such as: Oxford Brookes University; Nottingham ...
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Article
BBC restructures pay processes for presenters
The BBC is restructuring how it pays some employees.The broadcaster has applied a new employment test to all staff, including its well-known presenters, that it has previously employed as freelancers.Where individuals were hired on a freelance basis, they were paid through personal service companies, which can enable high earners to ...
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Article
Martindale Pharma boosts pension take up
EXCLUSIVE: Martindale Pharma has increased take-up of its pension scheme by 10% after reviewing and revamping its pension and benefits package.The pharmaceutical organisation began its review in April 2012 for all 350 of its employees. In doing so it aimed to: create a more competitive package; obtain a return on ...
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Article
Aberdeen Asset Management increases staff pay by 4%
Aberdeen Asset Management has increased base salary for employees by 4% for 2014.It has also increased executive directors’ base salaries by 1%, as approved at the organisation’s annual general meeting this month.The total annual bonus on offer has also increased by 11% as an average across all employees, and by ...