All articles by Tom Washington – Page 3
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Article
Xafinity Pension Trust appoints Bridge Trustees
The Xafinity Pension Trust has appointed Bridge Trustees as its professional trustee.Under the new arrangement Bridge Trustees will independently address all governance aspects on the behalf of participating employers.The appointment follows the publication of The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) response to enabling good member outcomes from defined contribution (DC) arrangements in ...
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Article
IM Group appoints pension scheme actuary
The trustees of UK-based motor vehicle importer and distributor IM Group have appointed Barnett Waddingham to provide an actuarial service to its pension scheme.IM Group, which is currently the UK distributor of Subaru, Daihatsu and Isuzu cars, appointed Barnett Waddingham after a series of shorter-term projects.Gary Hutton, director of administration ...
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Article
VocaLink research: Take-home pay down £1,200 since 2008
Employees are taking home more than £1,200 less pay compared to three years ago, according to research by VocaLink.The VocaLink Take-home pay index shows that both public and private sector pay outlooks are fragile, while overall take-home pay has fallen by £1,212 since the end of 2008.Income after tax and ...
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Article
CIPD research: Salary freezes abound as cost of living overtakes pay
Employees continue to feel the effects of tight employment budgets and rising living costs as research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that pay levels have fallen below the current cost of living.The 2011 Employee Outlook: focus on pay research finds that just one in four ...
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Article
Department for Work and Pensions research: A third of employers offer stress management or support to staff
One-third (32%) of employers offer stress management or support to staff, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).The DWP's Health and wellbeing at work: a survey of employees also found that only 38% of respondents reported having access to occupational health services. This was more prevalent ...
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Article
Marks and Spencer to move to bundled mastertrust ahead of auto-enrolment
Marks and Spencer is to replace its current defined contribution (DC) pension scheme with a bundled mastertrust ahead of the 2012 pension reforms.The new arrangement rids Marks and Spencer of its complex four-tier contribution structure, replacing it with a two-tier structure which incorporates the 3% minimum employer contribution as stipulated ...
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Article
Hay Group research: Graduates gunning for big salaries
Graduates entering the job market are more concerned than ever about winning a big salary, as economic uncertainty and rising living costs put pressure on them to earn more.A new study by management consultancy Hay Group shows that salary is the number one concern for graduates, with 93% describing base ...
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Article
Law Society Pension Scheme enters into £320m buy-in deal
The Law Society Pension Scheme has purchased a bulk annuity policy worth £320 million from MetLife Assurance, providing security to some 1,800 members.This transaction, completed in June for £240 million, insures all known scheme members.Because the pensioners in payment were insured with MetLife in a separate £80 million transaction in ...
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Article
Perfect Health Insurance launches health cash plan for small employers
Perfect Health Insurance has launched a health cash plan aimed at small employers.The plan offers standard cover for dentistry, optical and hospital stays, but also includes new benefits such as cover for hospital car parking of up to £45 per day for friends and family visiting patients in hospital, and ...
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Article
MIB Data Solutions research: SMEs stick to outright purchase of company cars
Outright purchase remains the preferred form of company car acquisition among small- and medium-sized employers.According to a survey of 1,317 fleet managers by MIB Data Solutions, the vast majority (1,163) preferred to buy company cars outright, while 685 use some form of leasing and 259 do both.Nick Boddington, managing director ...
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Article
GE Capital research: Company cars grow in importance
The importance of company cars as a business tool has increased among employers in the past two years, according to the quarterly Company Car Trends research by GE Capital, Fleet Services.For essential car users, the perceived importance of the company car is now rated on aggregate almost nine out of ...
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Article
Barloworld Handling renews fleet contract
Barloworld Handling has renewed its fleet contract with Alphabet for a third consecutive year.The renewed contract, which came after a 10-way re-tendering process, sees Alphabet continue to manage the lift truck distributor's fleet of 650 cars and vans.Alan Thackray, vehicle contract and facility manager at Barloworld Handling, said: “The tender ...
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Article
University of Reading auto-enrols staff into new defined contribution pension scheme
Following the closure of its final salary pension scheme to new entrants, the University of Reading will auto-enrol all employees over age 22 into a new defined contribution (DC) pension scheme.BlackRock has been appointed to the DC scheme to provide a full proposition of investment funds, administration and member communications.Around ...
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Article
HMRC wins car allowance tribunal against Total People
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has overturned a first-tier tribunal decision that found business motoring allowances paid to staff at training firm Total People were exempt from national insurance contributions (NIC).The case, from August 2010, concerned whether the NIC relief for business travel could be used, not only on a ...
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Article
Reabur research: Employers do not expect mothers to return after maternity leave
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers do not expect female employees to return to work after their maternity leave, according to research by Reabur.The survey of almost 2,000 organisations by the online independent HR consultancy also found that almost half (47%) believe this is because of previous experience.Furthermore, 23% of respondents ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Catlin's extended employee share scheme
Insurance company Catlin extended its employee share scheme in September last year to include staff in Bermuda, Germany, Canada and Singapore using its UK sharesave model as a global template.The firm, which employs 1,300 staff globally, previously offered a sharesave (save-as-you-earn) scheme to 699 UK staff and a stock purchase ...
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Case Studies
Case study: international share plan at Shell
When Royal Dutch Shell launched a global employee share purchase plan, it attracted more than 12,200 staff saving in 36 currencies across 51 countries.Pam Roffe, manager, share plans, says a key message at Shell has been to eliminate unnecessary work, and to standardise, simplify and automate. This included the share ...
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Article
Interview with Gary Brewer, head of compensation and benefits at William Grant and Sons
Gary Brewer, head of compensation and benefits at William Grant and Sons, has always juggled a variety of activities, and enjoys the wider professional perspective this bringsGary Brewer is a busy man. Not content with a challenging new role as head of compensation and benefits at distillery firm William Grant ...
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Analysis
How to set up an international share scheme
Setting up an international share scheme poses many challenges, including language, legislation and technology, says Tom WashingtonIn today's world, few things are untouched by globalisation. Greater mobility and advances in technology mean businesses can operate on a truly international scale, and launching a global share plan is a great way ...
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Article
Government announces final auto-enrolment regulations
The final rules governing auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes from 2012 have been announced.From October, 2012 the country's largest businesses (those with more than 120,000 employees) will join the auto-enrolment regime. Employer will then be staged by size from largest to smallest through to 2016, with start up small businesses ...