All articles by Tom Washington – Page 9
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Article
Employers increase DC pension contributions despite downturn
Average contributions to UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes have increased by 1.5% over the last two years despite the economic downturn, according to research by Mercer.The susrvey revealed that since 2007, employers have, on average, increased their contributions from 6.80% to 7.25%, whereas member contributions have increased from 3.60% ...
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Article
The Pension Protection Fund reduces cap on risk-based levy to 0.5%
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is to reduce the cap on its risk-based pension protection levy to 0.5% of liabilities.It said the move will help protect 10% of the schemes which pay the PPF’s levy – an increase from the 5% of vulnerable schemes protected under the previous cap of ...
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Article
New laws on hospitality sector tips and pay in force
Employers in the hospitality sector will not be able to use tips to make up minimum pay for their staff, following new rules that came into place today.The government said the change would promote fairness and clarity for staff, customers and employers, despite claims from the British Hospitality Association that ...
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Article
Childcare voucher providers team up to fight government's tax relief cuts
The newly formed association of childcare voucher providers is planning to show a united front to campaign against the government's plans to remove the current tax relief on childcare vouchers.The association, made up of 16 voucher providers including Kiddivouchers, Accor Services, Grass Roots, Computershare Voucher Services and Sodexo, have met ...
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Article
Caffè Nero launches health cash plan for staff
Caffé Nero Group has launched a healthcare cash plan for nearly 400 employees to offer them an affordable means of healthcare.The cafe chain has signed up to Westfield Health’s Foresight Plan.Caffé Nero HR adviser Jon Poett, said: “With the way the economy is at the moment and access to the ...
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Article
New business fuel card launched
Employers can save money on petrol bills with the launch of a new business fuel card exclusively for use at supermarket forecourts.Accepted at around 1,000 Morrisons and Tesco stores, the fuelGenie card held by company car drivers can be used at participating supermarket fuel forecourts in much the same way ...
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Article
Personal Group links with Bupa to offer voluntary group income protection
Personal Group has signed an exclusive agreement with Bupa to offer its voluntary group income protection (VGIP) product.Staff fund the premiums via salary sacrifice, creating tax and national insurance (NI) savings for employees, as well as NI savings for employers. Premium rates are, on average, 30% to 40% cheaper than ...
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Article
Employee Benefits Live: Limiting public sector pension entitlements for high paid is a distraction
Public sector pensions face a raft of changes in the future amid questions of sustainability and fairness, according to a panel of experts speaking to day at Employee Benefits Live 2009.Reacting to an announcement by secretary for state for communities and local government, John Denham that the government plans to ...
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Article
Employee Benefits Live: Employers should understand what employees value most
Employers should try to understand what benefits employees value most in order to design a cost-effective reward package, according Michael Rose, director of Rewards Consulting.Speaking in a master class on total reward at Employee Benefits Live 2009, Rose urged employers to create a benefits package that was the best fit ...
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Article
Employee Benefits Live: HSBC’s flexible benefits and pension plan changes
HSBC Bank has launched flexible benefits for its 55,000 UK employees and made significant changes to its pension schemes. Speaking in a conference session on flexible benefits at the Employee Benefits Live 2009, held at the Business Design Centre in London today, Peter Robotham, head of performance and reward, described ...
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Case Studies
Case Study: Carphone Warehouse
Case Study: Carphone Warehouse hangs up on commissionCarphone Warehouse removed commission from all its London stores in November 2008. Following a successful trial, it has now extended this to its 820 stores across the UK.Andrew Harrison, Carphone Warehouse chief executive, says the organisation recognised that the mobile phone retail industry ...
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Analysis
Commission versus base pay
Finding the right balance between basic pay and commission is crucial to rewarding salespeople, says Tom WashingtonIf you have ever had dealings with a persuasive, perhaps forceful, salesperson, the chances are they were thinking more about the money they stood to earn from the sale than finding the right deal ...
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Article
Catlin expands share plan globally
Insurance company Catlin has extended its employee share scheme to include staff in Bermuda, Germany, Canada and Singapore.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 plan to 273 US staff.Rapid expansionAfter rapid global expansion in recent years, ...
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Article
Informa adds RSS feed to upgraded benefits portal
Informa has overhauled its employee benefits portal with a series of technological enhancements to maintain and improve staff engagement.The media firm, which has 3,000 UK staff, will reveal the updated portal when its benefits election window opens in November. The portal is being rebranded to match the booklet Informa sends ...
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Article
Share plan membership breeds staff loyalty
Employees who are members of a company share plan work harder and stay with their employer longer, according to the Share Plan Study from Computershare and the London School of Economics.The research, which surveyed more than 3,000 workers, also showed almost one-third (30%) of share plan members said they would ...
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Article
Axa launches voluntary benefits scheme
Financial services firm Axa has launched a new voluntary benefits scheme for its 10,000 employees across the UK.The new scheme, which went live in September, offers staff discounts at over 1,500 retailers online, by telephone, and on the high street. It offers brands such as Sainsbury's, Debenhams, Vodafone and Comet ...
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Article
Pearl Group launches flexible benefits
Pearl Group has launched a flexible benefits scheme for 700 of its life company and corporate office staff.The scheme, called Flexit, went live this month and replaces a previously limited range of benefits.The plan has been split into three categories: lifestyle perks, including the opportunity to buy and sell holiday; ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: Interview with Mike Izzard, chairman of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries
Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries chairman Mike Izzard tells Tom Washington how private medical insurance is maintaining its status as a prized asset of rewardPrivate medical insurance (PMI) seems to be a perk employers are prepared to tinker with. Last month, Employee Benefits reported that Kellogg’s had switched its PMI ...
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Article
Heyday ruling: It is legal to retire staff at 65
The High Court has ruled it is legal for employers to retire employees at the age of 65.The long-awaited decision follows the challenge led by Age Concern and Help the Aged against the UK government’s default retirement age of 65.Mr Justice Blake indicated an exempt retirement age at 65 was ...
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Article
Royal Mail could offer share plan for staff
The introduction of an employee share plan for Royal Mail is a realistic possibility, according to MPs speaking at the ifsProShare conference yesterday.Greg Hands, shadow treasury spokesman for the Conservatives said introducing some form of all-employee share plan for workers at Royal Mail would be “actively examined” by the party.Furthermore, ...