All articles by Sarah Coles – Page 4
-
Article
Law firm introduces HR self-service and better capital management reporting
Browne Jacobson has implemented a new human capital management system, allowing employees self-service access to a number of functions, including HR records and holiday requests.The Midlands-based law firm brought in the software, provided by COA Solutions, to store, update, access and process HR and payroll information more efficiently and accurately. ...
-
Analysis
Benefits in Canada
Economic and demographic pressures are forcing Canada's employers to rethink their benefits provision, with a growing move towards defined contribution pensions and flex, says Sarah ColesAn ageing workforce, stratospheric healthcare inflation, a sliding stock market and an impending recession are all having an impact on the provision of benefits in ...
-
Analysis
Maximise tax breaks by transferring Sips to Sipps
Executive Summary When linked with employee share plans, a self invested personal pension (Sipp) can boost pension pots by thousands of pounds because shares from approved schemes can be rolled over into the pension, tax-free. Employees in share incentive plans (Sip) can move their shares tax free into a Sipp ...
-
Case Studies
Case Study: Liverpool Women’s NHS Trust uses vouchers to reward staff
When the Liverpool Women's NHS Financial Trust achieved a high performance rating for its services in a report published last year by the Healthcare Commission, the trust's board of directors decided to show staff their appreciation by providing them with a Christmas gift.The board recognised that the trust's outstanding performance ...
-
Analysis
Cracking Christmas ideas to motivate staff
A cheap and cheerful Christmas may be the best many employers can afford to offer their staff this year, says Sarah ColesChristmas is traditionally a time for overindulging on food and letting out the waistband. Un- fortunately, this year there will be an unseasonable amount of belt-tightening as the economic ...
-
Analysis
Guide staff through share scheme maturity
With the right information, employees can make the tax rules on share plans work to their advantage when the schemes mature, explains Sarah Coles.With any share scheme, employers are most likely to focus their efforts and attention on the launch. But the point employees want to know about, arguably the ...
-
Analysis
Rolling out an employee share scheme internationally
Local tax and legal regimes can complicate share schemes for multinational employers, says Sarah Coles.Some international employers think of their share scheme as "global glue". Everything else in the benefits package is related to the local market in which the business operates and has been designed to compete with rivals' ...
-
Analysis
Promoting share schemes in an economic downturn
It is a stormy time for share schemes, so companies might need a change of tack, says Sarah Coles.To create a buzz around a company share scheme, it helps to have two things: a buoyant stockmarket and a booming economy. At the moment, the UK is failing on both counts. ...
-
Article
Linking incentive schemes with business strategy
Linking incentive schemes with business strategy can prove highly effective in boosting employee motivation levels, says Sarah ColesIn the early 1990s, US-based Continental Airlines had a real image problem: years of cost-cutting had left employees often demotivated, and flights were frequently late or cancelled. The company decided that it needed ...
-
Analysis
Cars can be a powerful attractor
Despite environmental concerns, cars are an essential part of many job packages, and pitching the right offer for the role will attract the best candidates, says Sarah ColesWhen sales recruitment firm Aaron Wallis was asked to find candidates for a role that came with a particularly sporty Jaguar there was ...
-
Analysis
Engaging younger staff with pensions
Pensions may be one of the last things young employees want to think about, but the right approach can make them see the importance of planning for the future, says Sarah ColesMarketing executives at Gap are specialists in engaging young customers with the company's brand. But the human resources department ...
-
Article
Buyers guide to pension modellers
Telling someone to save more for their retirement is like saying they should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. They know the theory, but acting on it is difficult, and because they can't see any immediate danger, they ignore it. So it is up to employers to ...
-
Analysis
Soften the blow of pension changes
We are in the eye of the storm when it comes to employers making changes to pension benefits, but there are measures they can take to help soften any blows for staff.One vital lesson is the importance of communication. Often, for example, the introduction of a DC scheme in place ...
-
Analysis
Otto Thoresen on his review into generic financial advice
Sarah Coles questions Otto Thoresen on his bid to bring financial education to the massesThere are two things that everyone knows about their finances. Firstly, they are far too complicated to understand, and, secondly, anyone who offers you help to get to grips with them is not to be trusted.It's ...
-
Article
Buyer's guide to company car manufacturers
The environmental agenda may be influencing company car makers, but fleet managers and buyers are just as likely to be swayed by tax and legislative changes, says Sarah ColesFord may well still be the most popular brand among company car drivers, but the market couldn’t look more different from the ...
-
Analysis
Calculating the return on investment on healthcare benefits
FDs love hard data, which can be scarce when arguing the return on investment of health perks, Sarah Coles goes hunting for substantial metricsExecutive summary Typically an employer can expect a £10 return for every £1 they spend on employee healthcare strategies. Hard figures on ROI for employee healthcare programmes ...
-
Article
Buyers guide to health screening
Employers can offer varying levels of health screening, despite some uncertainty around its tax status, says Sarah ColesHealth screening products come in a variety of guises. Employers' decisions on which to offer will typically depend on the seniority of the employees they wish to cover. At the top end of ...
-
Analysis
Launching employee benefits from scratch
Sarah Coles explores how employers can set about creating a benefits package with no previous track recordBusiness start-ups could be forgiven for thinking benefits aren’t a priority. If you are running a business out of the back bedroom with the help of friends and family, it’s only natural that perks ...
-
Analysis
Salary sacrifice schemes can help FDs save on payroll bill
By escalating the use of tax efficient benefits via salary sacrifice schemes, finance directors can make significant cuts to the payroll bill, and in doing so organisations can offer staff a greater array of perks, says Sarah Coles.Employers are slashing tens of thousands, or even millions of pounds off their ...
-
Analysis
Legislative changes impacting on share plans
A number of legislative and accounting changes have impacted on share plans, says Sarah ColesKeeping on top of changes to the share scheme market is no easy task. In recent years, employers have had to contend with seemingly-endless legislative changes, many of which, at times, are perceived as having been ...