All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 51
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Ceridian launches auto-enrolment product for SMEs
Ceridian has launched an off-the-shelf auto-enrolment product for small and medium-sized employers (SMEs).The technology and service providers’ product aims to help organisations with between 499 and 59 employees that will reach their staging date in 2014 and reduce the administrative burden of complying with auto-enrolment.It is delivered through Ceridian’s HRevolution ...
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Vision Service Plan launches in the UK
EXCLUSIVE: Vision Service Plan (VSP) has extends its eyecare offering to employers in the UK.The US eyecare provider, which works with 40,000 employers in the US, will offer optical benefits to employers, encouraging them to create wellness programmes for their employees through eyecare.VSP is working with the Association of Optometrists ...
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Desk lunches are good for you
Who knew that sitting at a desk for the whole day, even through lunch breaks, could actually be good for you?A new survey has found that enforcing lunch breaks for employees may actually cause them to be more tired than allowing them to work during lunch hours.Earlier this year, health ...
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Ineos Refining consults on DB pension closure
Ineos Refining is consulting with employees on the closure of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.If it does not do so, it faces the risk of having to close its Grangemouth petrochemicals plant near Falkirk, Scotland. The plant, which provides nearly all of Scotland’s petrol and diesel, will close before ...
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Tax on benefits-in-kind should be equal
More than three-quarters (81%) of respondents said benefits-in-kind should all be taxed at the same rate, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) and the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).The research, which surveyed payroll and accountancy professionals, is in response to an Office of Tax Simplification ...
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Telephonophobia: It exists
Something for the weekend…Have you ever cast your eye over at your new intern, work experience colleague or young employee and wondered why they weren’t picking up the phone to make a call?It’s because one in 20 employees between the ages of 18 and 24 suffer from something called telephonophobia, ...
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Barnett Waddingham launches pensions governance health check
Barnett Waddingham has launched a free health check to help employers and pension trustees examine how they are managing pension governanceissues.The health check is in response to The Pension Regulator’s (TPR) latest governance report, which highlighted that pensions governance was lacking in certain areas.It aims to:Help employers and trustees to ...
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More than 1.6m staff auto-enrolled into pensions
More than 1.6 million eligible employees have been enrolled into an auto-enrolment pension scheme, according to a registration report published by The Pensions Regulator.Its Automatic-enrolment report, which covers the period between July 2012 and August 2013, also found that an additional 2.5 million employees who work at organisations that have ...
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National minimum wage increases
The national minimum wage has increased by 12p to £6.31 an hour for adults on 1 October.The rise follows recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission in April 2013.Other changes include:Employees aged between 18 and 20 years will see a 5p rise, from £4.98 to £5.03.Employees under the age of ...
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Mercer launches master trust service
Mercer has launched a master trust service through its workplace savings platform.The service will enable employers to select from three providers: Aegon, Friends Life and Zurich. Service levels have been agreed with each provider.Mercer has also appointed BESTrustees as independent trustee for the service.The master trust service has been designed ...
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PruHealth to launch integrated health product
PruHealth is to evolve its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme and its Vitality wellness programme into a new Lifestyle Health Insurance product.Its new offering, which will be introduced on 1 January 2014, will provide employers with a platform to offer employees a full integration of PruHealth’s products and services.The Lifestyle ...
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New financial education provider to launch
A new financial education software provider is to launch in the UK in November.The launch of Nudge is in response to unhealthy finances and money-related stress in the workplace.It aims to improve the lifestyle of individuals by changing their financial decisions via its online software Quantum, which has been developed ...
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Employees would change jobs for flexible working
Nearly six in 10 (59%) office workers would change jobs if their employer did not offer flexible-working arrangements, according to research by recruitment firm Office Angels.The research, which surveyed more than 1,000 office workers and 110 employers, found that nearly half (48%) of employee respondents choose to work flexibly because ...
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My Family Care launches online portal for working fathers
My Family Care has launched an online portal to help working fathers stay engaged in the workplace.The child and eldercare provider has partnered The Fatherhood Institute to create a new section, Being a Dad, on its Work+Family Space website. The new resource offers information on coping with pregnancy, babies, childcare, ...
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Royal London to rebrand pensions and life business
Royal London is to ditch its UK life, pensions and investment brands and bring the businesses under the Royal London brand umbrella.Bright Grey, Scottish Life and Scottish Provident are expected to be phased out over the next two years.The organisation’s fund management division, Royal London Asset Management, will retain its ...
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JP Morgan launches DC business
JP Morgan Asset Management has launched a dedicated defined contribution (DC) pension business for the UK market.UK SmartRetirement offers a range of target date funds, which take into consideration member behaviour analysis and long-term market assumptions, to create default investment funds that comprise different investment types.Simon Chinnery (pictured), head of ...
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Employers recognise flexible benefits can boost productivity
Financial and HR directors in UK organisations recognise that an appropriate mix of flexible benefits, which include flexible working arrangements, wellbeing initiatives and long-term financial protection, can boost productivity and wellbeing as well as retain employees, according to research by Unum, the financial protection insurance firm.The survey, which had 1,150 ...
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Barclays launches new benefits website
Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions (C&ES) has launched a website dedicated to its workplace savings and financial education product. Barclays Beyond Benefits, which was launched in September, brings together consultancy services, traditional employee benefits, share plans, pensions, financial education and banking services in a single online portal.The website includes:A financial ...
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Goldman Sachs and Molson Coors awarded Pension Quality Mark
Goldman Sachs and Molson Coors are the latest employers to be awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM), which recognises employers’ defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The PQM standard was awarded to both employers by pensions minister Steve Webb at the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) annual conference in Manchester on ...
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Michelin awarded PQM for fourth year
Michelin has retained its Pension Quality Mark (PQM) for a fourth consecutive year.The award recognises the tyre manufacturer’s commitment to helping employees save for retirement through its trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme.The PQM, which was launched in 2009 by the National Association of Pension Funds, recognises DC schemes with ...