All articles by System Administrator – Page 108

  • Article

    Number of flex plans doubles in a year

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    The number of employers with flexible benefit schemes in place has doubled over the past year, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits. Employee Rewards Watch 2005 revealed 44% of employers will also consider introducing salary sacrifice benefits this year and 47% believe compulsory employer pension contributions will be introduced.For ...

  • Article

    New interactive service for Zenith customers

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Fleet management company Zenith Vehicle Contracts has added a web-based system allowing customers to update key details remotely.Zenith Interactive does not require the assistance of Zenith staff, and is part of an upgrade intended eventually to provide one database for both the company and customers.

  • Article

    MG Rover staff exempt from council tax

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Redundant MG Rover employees living in Bromsgrove are to have their council tax suspended for four months. The local district council has said that it wants to do all it can to help the 600 ex-Rover workers that live in the area. Staff living in Solihull are not eligible for ...

  • Article

    Correction

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    The letter from Shawn Healy, senior tax director at BDO Stoy Hayward, in last month's Employee Benefits should have read "the opportunity to offer mobile phones via salary sacrifice has been available since April 1999" and not that "the opportunity to purchase mobile phones via salary sacrifice has been available ...

  • Article

    Employment contracts and pensions

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Organisations are being encouraged to use A-day pension changes to carefully review employment contracts.Workers' contracts that detail employer obligations to make pension contributions or promise certain benefits will need to be looked at because these may no longer be relevant after April 6 2006.For instance, the earnings cap, which limits ...

  • Article

    Heathrow Express staff raise momey for charity

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Employees at Heathrow Express have raised over £500 for charity by filling out a staff survey. The company, which runs the rail-air link between London Paddington station and Heathrow Airport, donated the money to Friends of the Earth's Tsunami appeal after over 100 employees completed a survey on safety at ...

  • Analysis

    Calculating the Pension Protection Fund levy

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    The levy into the Pension Protection Fund's compensation pot is as likely to rise as to fall, so future risk-based fees are causing concern, says Debbie LovewellIf you read nothing else, read this...The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy is set at a flat rate for the first year, but will ...

  • Article

    Flexible working brings staff contentment

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Over 84% of workers credit flexible working with better job satisfaction according to research by Johnson Controls Consulting and the University of the West of England. Some 87% of organisations believe they are more productive, while many workers (41%) retain a fixed workstation at their central office. Negative feedback included ...

  • Article

    BPP Law School launches EAP

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    BPP Law School has switched employee assistance programme (EAP) providers to help staff cope with stress at work.The education establishment, which offers postgraduate law training to people wishing to become solicitors, already offered a similar counselling service for staff, but the new scheme has been extended to their families.HR manager ...

  • Analysis

    Unlocking the HR secrets in self-help books

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Jenny Keefe finds some parallels for HR managers in some of the world's bestselling self-help books. Topics include change, quantity v quality, male and female benefit provision, and career enjoyment.Article in fullA bit like owning a complete back catalogue of Cliff Richard records, reading self-help books is something one avoids ...

  • Article

    Royal Mail launches tax-efficient bikes scheme

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Royal Mail has brought in a tax efficient bike scheme for its 190,000 workers. Shan Lawrence, rewards and recognition manager at the postal service, said she hoped the scheme would make the company more attractive to existing and future employees. The scheme was launched last month and staff had four ...

  • Opinion

    Guest opinion: The best way to invest in staff motivation

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Dr Reinhard Sprenger, author of Trust: the best way to manage and of The motivation myth says organisations often squander money on motivation problems instead of investing in managers' leadership.Managers who perceive that something is wrong with their teams are often quick to invest in the latest motivation course, seminar ...

  • Analysis

    The best time to launch a sharesave plan

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Sharesave plans require strategic implementation, as considerations of share price and the timing of the launch will impact on its success, says Peter WhiteCase Study: The Rank GroupArticle in fullAccording to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 'the answer to life, the universe and everything' is 42. This, of course, ...

  • Article

    Broadway launches voluntary benefits plan

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Broadway has introduced a voluntary benefits scheme as a way to reward staff while also keeping its fundraisers happy.The not-for-profit organisation, which helps the homeless, currently offers staff a package that includes thirty days' holiday and said it could not justify allocating any more cash to perks.Director of human resources ...

  • Article

    National Express relaunches benefits package

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    National Express has made a number of changes to its benefits package to take into account the wide variety of staff working patterns.The coach operator has launched an employee assistance programme (EAP), a voluntary benefits package and gifts for new mothers paid for by the company.Senior HR manager Sarah Maddox ...

  • Analysis

    Benefits for divorcees

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    With the divorce rate spiralling, Laverne Hadaway explores the ramifications for pensions and points to an increased demand for EAP schemes.Case Study: OracleArticle in fullThe statistics are there for all to see: around 40% of marriages in the UK now end in divorce; and second marriages (and divorces) are more ...

  • Analysis

    Flexible benefits must fit an organisation's culture

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    Flex is a tool that can help an organisation reaffirm its identity, and for it to work there must be a strategic and cultural fit, says Peter WhiteCase Studies: LogicaCMG, Greene KingArticle in fullAsking an organisation to define its own culture can often be similar to a woman asking a ...

  • Analysis

    The impact of pensions simplification on group risk benefits

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    A-day 2006 will break the four-times-salary cap on death-in-service benefits, so employers will have a range of insurance options, says Debbie LovewellArticle in full“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes,”as US founding father Benjamin Franklin was quoted in a letter regarding their newly-signed ...

  • Article

    B&CE increases group life perks

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    B&CE is increasing its group life benefits that it offers to members of its benefits scheme. The body, which provides an employee benefits package to the construction industry, is increasing lump sum life cover from £17,500 to £20,000 at no extra cost to employers. From the end of June, it ...

  • Article

    In the news: Backdated maternity pay

    2005-05-31T23:00:00Z

    The StoryMum's pay win opens floodgatesthe storyBosses could be faced with a flood of backdated maternity pay claims following a nine-year court battle.Michelle Alabaster, a former administrator at the Woolwich Building Society, was awarded a 12.9% pay rise before taking maternity leave. However, her maternity pay did not include this ...