All articles by System Administrator – Page 26

  • Case Studies

    Case Study: Amey

    2008-12-01T16:23:33Z

    Amey uses clever communication techniques to boost the value of its voluntary benefits scheme in employees' eyes.The consultancy, which works in the highway, railway and property sectors, has 9,000 staff working across 100 sites.Mark Bradshaw, head of reward and policy, says: ""Communication is always an interesting challenge because a lot ...

  • Article

    Flexible benefits – an introduction

    2008-12-01T16:06:37Z

    Flexible benefits - an introduction Download (pdf 2.7MB)

  • Article

    Government rethinks buyout costs rules

    2008-12-01T14:49:34Z

    The government has begun an informal consultation on reforming section 75 rules on the buyout costs affecting multi-employer schemes where a number of employers, including those in the same group of companies, all have members in the same pension scheme. Currently, employers leaving such agreements have to pay the full ...

  • Article

    IPC launches group income protection benefit for staff

    2008-12-01T11:33:43Z

    IPC Media has launched a voluntary salary sacrifice group income protection benefit. Staff are being invited to sign up for the perk which comes into effect in January.All staff with more than one year's service are eligible for the perk, which attracts savings on tax and national insurance contributions (NIC) ...

  • Article

    HML targets instant reward scheme at younger staff

    2008-12-01T11:33:00Z

    HML is launching a motivation scheme that enables managers to reward employees with a sum equivalent to cash that can be spent online at selected retailers and leisure providers.The scheme is designed to engage younger staff at the company, which services third-party mortgages.The instant reward is credited to an online ...

  • Article

    Monmouthshire County Council launches discounts for staff

    2008-12-01T11:32:16Z

    Monmouthshire County Council has introduced voluntary benefits for the first time for its 4,600 employees to help improve motivation and recruitment.The programme offers staff a wide range of savings at more than 1,500 local and national retailers, including John Lewis, Argos, Asda and Arcadia. Employees can also earn cashback when ...

  • Article

    NI rise set to boost employer interest in salary sacrifice

    2008-12-01T11:29:22Z

    The 0.5% increase in employer and employee national insurance contributions, announced in the Pre-Budget Report, could boost employer interest in salary sacrifice arrangements.Graham Farquhar, head of global employment at Ernst and Young, said: "This rise in NI will make [salary sacrifice] more attractive to employers, particularly [with regard to] pension ...

  • Article

    Preston College launches bus pass through salary sacrifice

    2008-12-01T11:26:14Z

    Preston College is set to launch an annual bus pass through salary sacrifice for its 1,000 employees.The college is in talks with two companies, Stagecoach and Preston Bus, and hopes to offer the benefit early next year.Under the scheme, employees will be able to sacrifice salary in exchange for an ...

  • Article

    Compass Group launches staff recognition programme

    2008-12-01T11:25:00Z

    Compass Group UK & Ireland is launching an employee recognition programme through which staff can nominate a colleague or themselves for an award for meeting key values.The Be a Compass Star initiative, which rewards staff for demonstrating integrity, teamwork, passion, responsibility and a can-do attitude, follows a 13% rise in ...

  • Analysis

    Employee Benefits Voluntary Benefits and Salary Sacrifice Supplement 2008

    2008-12-01T11:15:49Z

    Maximising return on investment with voluntary benefitsWhat to consider when selecting a voluntary benefits providerAligning voluntary benefits with a corporate social responsibility strategyThe benefits of salary sacrifice around pension contributionsSponsor’s comment by LogBuy: Voluntary perks step out of the shadow of flexible benefits schemesSponsored byGet clued up on voluntary benefits. ...

  • Article

    Confessions of Benefits Manager: Cracking the codes

    2008-12-01T10:45:28Z

    An instruction to take on responsibility for inputting job codes seems far too menial a task for the likes of Candid, but a foray into the company IT system throws up some interesting possibilitiesLooking back, there was a time when I considered working in IT. Now it seems unthinkable, especially ...

  • Article

    Enterprise Rent-A-Car launches pensions communication drive

    2008-12-01T10:17:21Z

    Enterprise Rent-A-Car is launching a communications campaign to boost take-up of its stakeholder pension scheme and increase the contribution levels made by members.Personal letters and flyers tailored for three specific groups of employees, new starters, staff who have just been promoted, and those who have signed up to the pension ...

  • Article

    NI rules for share schemes revised

    2008-12-01T10:13:13Z

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made changes to its approval procedures on national insurance contribution (NIC) joint elections for employee share plans.Under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000, an employee can opt to meet their employer's secondary Class 1 NIC liability arising on share option gains, ...

  • Article

    Firms may consider levelling down pensions in 2012

    2008-12-01T10:06:37Z

    Almost half of employers may end up considering scaling back their pension provision when auto-enrolment and compulsory employer contributions are introduced in 2012.Research by Gissings shows more than one-in-five employers (21%) may consider levelling down their provision to the statutory minimum, and 28% have yet to decide whether to do ...

  • Article

    Pension levy estimate set

    2008-12-01T09:52:18Z

    The Pension Protection Fund has set an estimated pension protection levy of £700m and a levy scaling factor of 2.22 in advance of 2009/10. The PPF said it decided to keep the same levy estimate as last year, indexed to wages, to ease the burden on levy payers. It has ...

  • Article

    VAT refund claims window to close

    2008-12-01T09:51:26Z

    A 12-month window to claim VAT refunds on two specific areas of fleet dating back to 1973 will close at the end of March 2009. It covers fleet support bonus payments made to employers that bought company cars outright between 1973 and 1996/7. HM Revenue and Customs will also consider ...

  • Article

    Clampdown on bonuses

    2008-12-01T09:48:28Z

    More than a quarter of employers (27%) have decreased levels of staff bonuses, pay or benefits in response to the financial downturn, according tothe Institute of Directors (IoD). The Policy Voice survey of 1,114 IoD members also revealed that the same proportion had reduced expenditure on staff entertainment, including Christmas ...

  • Article

    Pension enquiries soar in downturn

    2008-12-01T09:45:52Z

    Pension enquiries from scheme members have soared because of fears triggered by turmoil in the financial markets, says Aon Consulting. The firm reported a leap in the volume of retirement (60%) and transfer value quotation (74%) requests it received in September, compared with the same time last year. The total ...

  • Article

    Workers worry and working more

    2008-12-01T07:47:37Z

    Employees are working and worrying more, often for no financial reward, as the downturn begins to bite, according to research from Friends Provident. The Britain Under Pressure survey found that UK employees are working an average of seven hours’ unpaid overtime each week, losing out on a combined £23bn a ...

  • Article

    Morris & Spottiswood offers hybrid cars to clean up fleet

    2008-12-01T00:00:01Z

    Morris & Spottiswood has cleaned up its fleet by limiting its company car selection to just two models, both of which run on environmentally-friendly hybrid fuel.The building company, which specialises in fit-outs for large retailers, housing development and maintenance, previously offered a choice of 15 diesel cars that emitted an ...