All Tax and legislation articles – Page 28
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OpinionCaroline Harwood: An own goal on employee benefit trusts?
The ‘Rangers’ or ‘Big Tax’ case concerns the establishment of an employee benefit trust (EBT) in 2001 by the Murray Group, then owners of Rangers Football Club. Sub-trusts were established for the benefit of players, other employees, and their families. Sub-trust funds were then lent to relevant employees.HM Revenue and ...
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OpinionSarah Henchoz: What could the outcome of employee-status cases mean for employers?
Organisations that have a high population of atypical workers are coming under increased scrutiny, with workers challenging their legal status through the courts, as Uber, Yelp and FedEx have all recently experienced. These employees have alleged that, notwithstanding the label they are given, they should be deemed to be employees ...
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ArticleCompliance news at a glance: November 2015
Court rules holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated if hours increaseIn the case of Kathleen Greenfield vs The Care Bureau, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that employees’ accumulated holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated following an increase in their hours. ...
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ArticleTop 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read stories on www.employeebenefits.co.uk on 19-26 November 2015: Asda increases share plan take up by 45%Diesel supplement to remain in company car tax to 202134% believe pets in workplace boost healthGovernment to gather evidence on salary sacrificeAuto-enrolment contribution rate rises to coincide with tax yearEXCLUSIVE RESEARCH: ...
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ArticleShare scheme tax rules to be simplified
Autumn Statement 2015: The Finance Bill 2016 will introduce measures to simplify the tax rules for employee share schemes.These technical changes will streamline and simplify aspects of the tax rules for tax-advantaged and non-tax-advantaged employee share schemes. The move is aimed at providing more consistency, including putting beyond doubt the ...
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ArticleStay up-to-date with the Autumn Statement
Chancellor George Osborne will unveil the Autumn Statement at 12:30pm today (25 November). Stay tuned to the Employee Benefits website for the latest news and updates from the Statement. These will cover all announcements impacting employee benefits, from pensions and pay to childcare and salary sacrifice arrangements. We will also ...
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ArticleCourt rules holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated if hours increase
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that employees’ accumulated holiday does not need to be retroactively recalculated following an increase in their hours.In the case of Kathleen Greenfield vs The Care Bureau, Greenfield worked part time with a holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks a year, ...
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Article
6, main box: European Court rules on travel as working time case
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the time workers without a fixed or habitual place of work spend travelling from home to their first appointment of the day and from their last appointment of the day to their home to be working time for the purposes of ...
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Opinion
6: Column - What will employers need to consider in light of the rise in insurance premium tax?
In the Summer Budget 2015, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the standard rate of insurance premium tax (IPT) will increase from 6% to 9.5% from 1 November 2015.IPT is a tax on insurers and is added to general insurance products, such as car, home and travel cover, as well as ...
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Article6, small box: Same-sex spouse loses equal pension bid
The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling against a retired employee in his bid to see his civil partner, now husband, receive the same pension pay-out in the event of his death as a spouse of the opposite sex.In the case of Walker vs Innospec and others, in which ...
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ArticleAltmann puts defined ambition and automatic transfers on hold
Pensions minister Ros Altmann has announced that plans to impement defined ambition pensions, collective benefits and automatic transfers (also known as pot follows member) have been put on hold.In a statement to the House of Commons, the pensions minister (pictured) said that the timing was not right to ask the ...
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ArticleCalifornia acts to bridge gender pay gap
New legislation has been passed in California, USA, to help close the gender pay gap.The California Fair Pay Act was signed into law by Californian governor Jerry Brown to strengthen equal pay legislation in the state. Current law prohibits employers from paying a woman less than a man when they ...
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Article67% say Isa system would lower staff pension savings
Two-thirds (67%) of respondents believe an individual savings account (Isa)-style tax system for pensions would result in a reduction in the amount employees save into their pension, according to research by insurance provider Aviva. Its survey of 118 Friends Life (now part of the Aviva Group) corporate pension clients also ...
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Article93% say employers should publish gender pay gap data
Almost all (93%) of respondents believe that employers should have to publish the overall gender pay gap within an organisation, according to research by Business in the Community.Its report, The gender pay gap: what employees really think, which surveyed 1,179 employees, also revealed that 87% of respondents think compulsory gender ...
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ArticleEAT rules on disability discrimination pensions case
An appeal has been allowed against a ruling that found a former technician had been discriminated against after receiving half of the pension he would have been entitled to had he been working full-time at the time of his ill-health retirement.In the case of the Trustees of Swansea University Pension ...
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OpinionStephanie Creed: How should employers handle data sourced from benefits scheme technology?
But with great power comes great responsibility. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), which governs data protection in the UK, imposes certain obligations on employers when handling personal data.What kind of information can be gathered?Benefits scheme technology encompasses a wide range of applications and software, including online benefits portals, workplace ...
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ArticleFedEx, Uber and Yelp cases bring employee status issue to the fore
In the US-based case of Gray vs FedEx Ground Package System, the latter contracts with operators to make deliveries. Under their contracts, the operators were not required to personally drive, but could hire someone else to do so. The plaintiffs brought a suit against FedEx claiming that they should be ...
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ArticlePolice forces to appeal decision on age discrimination case
An appeal has been filed against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT’s) ruling that a regulation enabling police forces to compulsorily retire officers after they become entitled to a pension worth at least two-thirds of pensionable pay is not age discriminatory.The judgment in the case of Harrod and others v Chief ...
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OpinionJo Broadbent: Addressing long-term sick leave during unit transfers
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision found that an employee on long-term sick leave did not transfer under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Tupe) to a new employer with other employees when the part of the business in which he worked before his absence transferred.In the case of ...
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Article23% favour Isa-style tax system for pensions
Less than a quarter (23%) of respondents would opt for an individual savings account (Isa)-style system for pensions after gaining a full understanding of the tax implications, compared to an initial 41%, according to research by Aviva.Its survey of 2,000 working adults found that the number of respondents that prefer ...