All articles by Tynan Barton – Page 74
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Article
Working parents urged to take advantage of childcare vouchers
Working parents should take advantage of childcare vouchers offered by their employer, before the Government's tax changes affecting the benefit come into effect in April 2011, according to Origen Financial Services.Origen's annual employee benefits survey found 70% of employers offer childcare vouchers.The changes to childcare vouchers announced in the June ...
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Article
Finance Bill 2011: Change to qualifying conditions for childcare vouchers
The government has confirmed the change to qualifying conditions for employers that provide childcare schemes through salary sacrifice or flexible benefits arrangements.The legislation ensures that employers can continue to offer childcare schemes that rely on salary sacrifice arrangements without compromising tax relief for employees.The tax exemptions and national insurance contributions ...
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Article
Finance Bill 2011: Government confirms restriction on tax relief on childcare vouchers for higher-earners
The government has confirmed it will introduce a restriction on the level of tax relief available to higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers who receive childcare vouchers or directly-contracted childcare.The legislation, announced in the Finance Bill 2011 consultation draft, is due to come into effect from 6 April 2011 and will bring ...
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Case Studies
Case study: BMI Healthcare goes for healthy options
Most of BMI Healthcare's employees are clinical professionals - nurses, physiotherapists and radiographers - so it is not surprising healthcare is one of the most popular benefits.The healthcare provider offers a pension, life assurance, paid sick leave beyond statutory requirements, private medical insurance (PMI) and health assessments.Catherine Ward, group HR ...
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Article
Lawyers' salaries fall in 2010
The average salary for lawyers fell in 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) 2010 law firms survey.The research found the steepest decreases were among the top firms, because the average wage for a London-based lawyer in a top 10 firm has dropped 10% from £64,200 to £59,000.Matthew Thorogood, HR services partner ...
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Article
Asda introduces onsite fitness classes
Asda has introduced onsite fitness classes in response to employee suggestions about how the retailer can help them lead healthier lifestyles.Asda surveyed staff at its head office in Leeds and found more than 400 were interested in taking up a fitness regime before or after work.As a result, it has ...
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Article
Good holiday package increases in importance for employees
Life assurance and income protection remain among the top five most important benefits to employees.But just 6% of staff receive income protection and 9% get life assurance as part of their benefits package, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance.A pension is still the most important benefit to employees ...
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Article
Gladedale thanks staff with voluntary benefits
Gladedale Group has introduced a voluntary benefits scheme to say thank you to employees.My Gladedale Rewards will give the housebuilding group's 850 staff access to discounts on a range of retail goods and services.The scheme is available to all companies in the group, which previously offered only local discounts. The ...
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Article
Towry promotes health benefits
Towry has held a wellbeing day to promote benefits to staff and raise awareness of key health issues.Employees at the wealth adviser's Bracknell and London offices took part in onsite mini health screenings carried out by trained wellbeing specialists, and had the opportunity to have flu jabs. Instructors provided 10-minute ...
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Article
News analysis: FSA puts rein on rewards for risk-taking
Revisions to the FSA’s remuneration code will have a significant impact on how financial institutions reward their employees, says Tynan BartonThe Financial Services Authority's revised remuneration code, which comes into force on 1 January 2011, will bring critical changes to the remuneration practices of nearly 2,500 financial institutions.The proposed revision, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Unisys has three categories of flex
IT services company Unisys has had a flexible benefits scheme for 13 years. This has changed a lot over that time to reflect staff interests, and is split into three categories - security, wellbeing and lifestyle.Unisys' workforce has an 80/20 male/female split, most staff have at least 10 years' service, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: PricewaterhouseCoopers offers flexible and voluntary perks
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) offers core, flexible and voluntary benefits.The core benefits - life assurance, personal accident, income protection, and private medical insurance - offer a fixed level of cover, but staff can increase this if they wish.Flexible benefits include holiday trading - down to a minimum of 20 days or up ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Tesco offers wide choice of benefits
Retail giant Tesco offers its employees a wide choice of benefits, including a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme that is open to all staff from day one, three all-employee share schemes, life assurance, childcare vouchers and discounts at theme parks.The retailer also offers all its employees a discount card, the ...
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Analysis
What should go into the optimum benefits package?
If you read nothing else, read this… Employee benefits packages must be designed to meet the objectives of the organisation. Benefits packages can vary between sectors, but typically reflect the demographics of an organisation. Providing tax-efficient benefits will help maximise people’s take-home pay. Employee communication and engagement ...
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Analysis
Give staff a balanced view of pensions
If you read nothing else, read this... Employers that operate both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pensions may find there is a perception of unfairness in the differing benefits received by staff. For DB schemes, employers can restrict the amount of an employee's salary increase that counts as ...
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Article
Asda employees convert shares into charity donation
Asda employees have converted fractional shares into a sizeable charity donation.Members of Asda’s colleague share ownership plan were given the option to donate the US-listed shares they held in Wal-Mart once they came to maturity, as they were only marginally in profit and people had a small or fractional amount ...
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Article
GlaxoSmithKline switches voluntary benefits provider
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has changed its voluntary benefits provider to bring more simplicity to its reward offering.The pharmaceutical organisation has switched its scheme provider to Next Jump, which will give employees access to discounts at major brands and retailers.Staff will also have the option to save through direct discounts or a ...
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Article
Interim managers willing to take pay cut to work at SMEs
Directors and senior managers are willing to take a pay cut of up to 50% to work at a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), according to a survey of interim managers by Interim Partners.The research found interim managers are willing to take a cut from the £757 per day they ...
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Article
Rise in expected annual pension for UK workers
Retirement income for UK employees has improved in the past month, according to Aon Hewitt's DC Index.The index showed an increase in projected annual pension, especially for 30 year olds who have seen a £403 increase to the retirement income they can expect to receive.However, although 30 year olds’ average ...
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Article
Siemens rewards employees with one-off special payment
Siemens intends to award its employees for their performance during the financial and economic crisis with a one-off special payment.A total of €310 million (£267 million) will be paid out to the company’s worldwide workforce.Peter Loscher, president and chief executive officer at Siemens, said: “The company came through the crisis ...