All articles by Vicki Taylor
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Analysis
New legal requirements on fleet
New legal requirements on mobile phones, smoking, driving hours and corporate manslaughter mean fleet managers have their work cut out, says Vicki TaylorOver the past few years, a seemingly relentless stream of changing legislation and regulations has posed a challenge for fleet managers to keep tabs on.One of the biggest ...
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Analysis
Employer profile: The British Library
The British Library’s primarily public-funded status poses challenges over pay, so with staff generally looking for a better employment deal it has turned its attention to employee benefits, says Vicki TaylorThe British Library is a unique organisation that receives and files a copy of every item published in the UK, ...
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Article
Interview with Paul Farley, group compensation and benefits director at Lloyds TSB
Paul Farley, group compensation and benefits director at Lloyds TSB, has made a conscious decision to move between sectors in a bid to broaden his experiencePaul Farley, group compensation and benefits director at Lloyds TSB, didn't set out to become a reward specialist. After gaining a degree in French and ...
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Article
Poundland introduces first benefits package
Discount retailer Poundland is introducing its first benefits to help attract and retain staff.So far, it has launched a childcare voucher scheme for its 4,500 employees. This is open to all staff, although some will not be able to take part as it will take their earnings below the national ...
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Article
BSI auto-enrols pension members in salary sacrifice
The British Standards Institute (BSI) has moved its 800 pension scheme members into a salary sacrifice arrangement, and introduced auto-enrolment to the payment system for new recruits.In addition, the body has launched online total reward statements, which show staff their salary sacrifice savings. Employees have also been given the facility ...
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Article
Anglia Regional Co-operative Society launches voluntary benefits
The Anglia Regional Co-operative Society has launched a voluntary benefits scheme to bring itself into line with competitors.The plan is available to the organisation's 3,500 employees who have been issued with a booklet containing details of the benefits on offer. They can also access the scheme online.Robin Hendy, HR executive, ...
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Article
Hartlepool Housing launches employer-paid cash plan
Hartlepool Housing has launched an employer-paid cash plan for its 310 employees.The social landlord, which manages more than 7,000 properties in Hartlepool, introduced the plan to help its staff remain healthy in order to support strong customer service levels. The LHF-provided cash plan allows staff to claim money back towards ...
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Article
SCS Upholstery launches sharesave scheme
ScS Upholstery has launched a sharesave scheme for its 1,400 employees in a bid to boost retention.The scheme, which went live in March, gives all employees the option to save between £5 and £250 each month for a three-year period. At the end of this time, employees can purchase shares ...
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Article
Lambert Smith Hampton launches group Sipp
Lambert Smith Hampton has launched a group self-invested personal pension (Sipp) to aid recruitment and retention.This is the first time that the commercial property consultancy has offered a pension scheme with company contributions to all of its 950 employees.Previously, it offered a stakeholder scheme with no employer contribution, which was ...
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Article
Employers need to consider lifetime limit on new hires
Employers could save time and money by coming up with strategy to deal with new senior executives in relation to the lifetime allowance limit.Many employers focused on pension arrangements for their existing employees when the £1.5m limit came into effect last April, but have not reviewed their corporate policy on ...
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Article
AXA UK postpones launch of flex
Axa UK has delayed implementation of its planned flexible benefits scheme until 2008 due to a company restructure.The firm, which has 11,000 staff and includes AXA Life, AXA Shared Services, AXA Insurance and AXA PPP Healthcare, had intended to launch flex in October this year but has put this off ...
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Analysis
How to tackle employees' addictions
Staff addictions don’t just damage productivity at work, they can also drive up the cost of perks such as private medical insurance, says Vicki TaylorCase studies: Sheffield City Council, NissanArticle in fullImagine it is Monday morning and conversations about the weekend are in full flow. One group of employees may ...
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Article
Exclusive research into salaries and perks for benefits experts 2007
To commemorate our tenth anniversary, we unveil exclusive research polled from the UK’s most comprehensive benefits database that tracks 1.35m staff. It shows that comp and bens practitioners are making massive strides, says Vicki TaylorBasic salary plus all contract-agreed bonusesBetween 1998 and 2006, salary practice in compensation and benefits (C&B) ...
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Article
Gwynedd County Council launches childcare vouchers
Gwynedd County Council has launched a childcare voucher scheme.The plan, which went live at the start of this month, is open to the organisation's 7,000 employees.Stephen Barnard, human resources policy manager, said take up had initially been slow, but thought this may be due to launching the scheme while many ...
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Article
Budget crackdown on employee benefit trusts
The government is to close a loophole around Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) where employers have been claiming tax relief on contributions ahead of benefits being paid out to employees, Budget background documentation has revealed.It is also†introducing new regulations regarding the taxation of benefits given to retired employees.EBTs are used by ...
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Article
Brown's Budget announcements
At first glance, Gordon Brown’s Budget speech left little to excite employers on the benefits front. While there were no nasty surprises as was the case last year when the Home Computing Scheme was axed, the Chancellor has once again proven that the devil is in the detail.The background material ...
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Case Studies
Employer profile: EC Harris
In an industry ravaged by skills shortages, multinational property practice EC Harris needs to keep a close measure of rivals in the recruitment stakes, says Vicki TaylorThe UK’s winning bid for the 2012 Olympics has caused some controversy, especially in London where householders are expected to foot council tax rises ...
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Analysis
Deciding what goes into total reward strategy early on is key
Decide what total reward should include before devising a full-scale strategy, says Vicki TaylorTotal reward is gradually catching on among UK employers. According to the Reward management survey 2007 by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 41% of organisations have a total reward strategy and 32% intend to ...
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Analysis
Members of defined contribution schemes should not be neglected
Pensions stereotypes place defined benefit schemes as king, but not all staff are members, so employers should address perceived fairness issues, says Vicki TaylorIf you read nothing else, read this ...Most employees are not perceived to know enough about pensions to worry about the difference between defined benefit (DB) and ...
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Article
Nestle launches food scheme with tax break
Nestle is launching a salary sacrifice scheme for food and drink for its 1,000 head office staff.The scheme will allow employees to save national insurance contributions and income tax on food and drink they purchase at work by sacrificing a monthly amount from their pre-tax salary.The money will be stored ...