All articles by Stephanie Spicer
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Article
Buyer's guide to voluntary benefits systems (July 2009)
Web technology is increasing the versatility of voluntary benefits schemes, says Stephanie SpicerVoluntary benefits are products and services that are sold to employees via the employer. Third-party suppliers usually allow the employer to offer the items at a discounted price. This can be particularly useful when budgets are tight because ...
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Article
Stagecoach introduces auto-enrolment for group Sipp
Stagecoach has introduced auto-enrolment for its group self-invested personal pension (Sipp).The first wave of employees has been automatically enrolled into the scheme, which was brought in for all staff last May to replace the bus company's previous stakeholder plan.Since the Sipp began, Stagecoach has amended the terms and conditions for ...
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Article
Enterprise Rent-A-Car introduces bike scheme
Enterprise Rent-A-Car has introduced a cycle-to-work scheme and discounted retail vouchers for its 2,000 full-time staff.Through the cycle-to-work scheme, staff can save 40% on the price of their chosen bike if they are a basic-rate taxpayer and 49% if they are a higher-rate taxpayer.Donna Miller, HR director for Europe, said ...
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Article
Friends Provident ups age for group income protection
Friends Provident has extended its group income protection products to cover staff up to the age of 70.The extended cover is available on new and existing schemes. In new schemes, it will be permitted on a discretionary basis even if employers do not initially choose to cover staff past the ...
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Article
Crawley Borough Council to run health and wellbeing events
Crawley Borough Council is to run a series of health and wellbeing events in June and September to encourage its 800 staff to lead healthier lives.June's events will focus on men's health, and those in September will cover a broader range of activities, including lunch-time walks, taster dance lessons, tai ...
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Article
Government urged to introduce short-time working scheme
Calls have been made for the the Government to introduce a temporary short-time working scheme to help businesses stem job losses.The TUC, British Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, The Work Foundation and manufacturers organisation EEF have written to Alistair Darling ahead of the Budget to outline a plan ...
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Analysis
Employers must examine eye care for staff
Employers need to look carefully at eye care for their staff, says Stephanie SpicerIn the grand scheme of cost control, eye tests may not flash too brightly on the radar of most finance directors. This may be short-sighted – employers have obligations to their employees concerning their eye care, but ...
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Analysis
The pros and cons of bundled healthcare products
Finance directors and healthcare insurance providers are thinking along the same lines. Both are looking for where costs can be saved: FD's in what they pay out for healthcare insurances and insurers for what they pay in claims.This thinking is leading both parties to look to the advantages of 'bundling' ...
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Case Studies
Case Study : Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim phased in its flexible benefits strategy between 2004 and 2006.Its first step was to launch a range of voluntary benefits, branded BI Lifestyle, along with a launch brochure and an online movie.This was followed three months later by online total reward statements to demonstrate the company's investment in ...
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Case Studies
Case Study : Adecco
Recruitment agency group Adecco (formerly Ajilon) took a phased approach to the introduction of its flexible benefits plan.A key objective was to ensure its permanent employees could access the benefits that were most appropriate to their needs, as well as understanding their package. To meet these aims, it obtained feedback ...
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Article
What are the best first steps towards implementing flexible benefits?
There is a long-running debate over whether employers should phase a flexible benefits scheme in gradually or simply plunge straight in, says Stephanie SpicerEmployers that want to introduce a flexible benefits scheme have a number of choices about how to go about it. Rather than hurling themselves straight in at ...
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Article
DHL Express introduces greener cars for employees
DHL Express (UK) is offering its 350 job-need drivers the chance to drive a company car with low carbon dioxide emissions.Previously, drivers were given the choice of Toyota or Vauxhall vehicles. Now, depending on their grade, they will also be offered models from the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3 ...
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Article
Stephenson Harwood adds flex to revamped package
Stephenson Harwood has launched a flexible benefits scheme in a bid to make its benefits package more competitive in the marketplace.The move comes a month after the law firm implemented total reward statements and a voluntary benefits scheme. It has also introduced salary sacrifice around childcare vouchers, bikes for work ...
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Article
Car discount affinity scheme drives savings for GSK staff
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has launched a car discount affinity scheme for all its employees.The affinity scheme will enable all 18,500 staff to take advantage of discounts that GSK has negotiated with car manufacturers.Currently, GSK has 5,000 staff who are eligible for a car allowance because they are perk drivers or need ...
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Article
BT invites top staff to gamble earnings to win extra bonus for meeting targets
BT is introducing a smart bonus benefit to senior employees that will enable them to gamble up to 50% of their remuneration package and possibly gain the same amount in the form of a cash bonus.The benefit is being rolled out as a pilot to 400 top-level employees in the ...
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Article
Ladbrokes pilots total reward statements
Ladbrokes is piloting total reward statements among 100 employees, with a view to rolling them out to more than 1,000 staff next year.The statements, which are intended to boost employees' awareness of their benefits package, will include details of base pay, bonuses, long-term incentives and other perks such as cars ...
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Article
John Lewis boosts cash plan take up with communications campaign
The John Lewis Partnership encouraged 1,350 staff to sign up for its health cash plan following a wide-ranging awareness campaign in June and July. It is hoped more will take up the plan following a similar communications exercise in October.Of the retailer’s 69,000 staff the number now signed up to ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to private medical insurance (PMI)
Employers are increasingly funding private medical insurance for employees. The number of people covered by employer-paid schemes increased by 2.3% to around 4.7 million in 2007, while the number covered by employer-paid healthcare trusts remained at around one million, according to Laing & Buisson’s Health and care cover - UK ...
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Analysis
Where should international HR and benefits sit within an organisation?
The increasing globalisation of business is creating challenges for HR professionals. In the past, many countries have approached the human resources and benefits functions in different ways. In the UK, for example, HR has generally been seen as a profession in its own right. But in other countries, such as ...
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Article
How employee stress puts your organisation at risk
Stress has now moved up to be the single biggest source of sickness absence, and FDs can no longer afford to ignore its blight, says Stephanie SpicerWithout resources spent on managing stress, organisations will increasingly find themselves financially losing out as workers fall foul of the un-addressed pressures of work. ...