All Tax and legislation articles – Page 35
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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 ...
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ArticleEuropean Court rules that travel time is work
The European Court of Justice has ruled that travel between an employee’s home and the first and last job of the day at a client’s location constitutes working time for staff without a fixed or habitual place of work.The court considered this time spent travelling as working time, with the ...
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ArticleEmployee status of US Uber drivers to be decided
App-based taxi firm Uber, is facing further legal action regarding the employee status and rights of its workers, this time from the US.The US-based case, that of O’Connor et al. vs Uber Technologies, has been brought to the courts by three Uber drivers who claim that they should be treated ...
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Article66% have little to no understanding of pension tax relief
Around two-thirds (66%) of respondents have little or no understanding of how the tax system impacts pension contributions, according to research by insurance provider Aviva.Its survey of 2000 working adults in the UK, carried out in August, also found that one in ten respondents have never heard of pension tax ...
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ArticleJury to rule on employee status of FedEx drivers
A US district court in St Louis, Missouri, has referred a dispute over the employee status of FedEx drivers to a jury for deliberation.In the 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 ...
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ArticlePolice to appeal against EAT decision on age discrimination
An appeal has been filed against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) 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 (typically after 30 years’ service) is not age discriminatory.The judgment in the case of ...
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Article69% take entire pension pot as cash lump sum
More than two-thirds (69%) of respondents have chosen to take their entire pension pot as a cash lump sum since the pension freedoms came into effect in April, according to research by Royal London.The life, pensions and investment firm’s survey of 800 customers found that just under a third (32%) ...
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ArticleUS court rules Yelp reviewers are not employees
US District Judge Richard Seeborg has dismissed a class action against Yelp in which a group of reviewers sought to be considered employees and therefore be compensated as such.In the case of Lily Jeung, et al., vs Yelp. the claimants alleged that they were ‘directed how to write reviews and ...