All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 222
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Consumer confidence may hit flexible benefits choices
Falling consumer confidence could hit flexible benefits choices, with access to ready cash now a more pressing concern for employees than tax-efficient benefits.Consumer confidence research released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), shows that †UK consumers now rank debt repayment (20%) as the top spending priority in 2008, with holidays (16%) a ...
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Tesco staff given a day's paid leave as Christmas thank you
Tesco employees are to receive a day’s paid leave and additional discounts on their in-store shopping as a reward for their hard work during the busy Christmas trading period. All 268,065 employees across the stores, head office and distribution centres, will get a day’s paid leave to use as their ...
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Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley CEOs give up 2008 bonus
Top executives at the US financial giants Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley will not receive their bonus for 2008.At Morgan Stanley, chief executive John Mack is said to have written a memorandum to employees stating that he and the company's two co-presidents would be forgoing their annual bonus.Meanwhile John Thain, ...
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PPF calm in face of record GBP 155 bn deficit for DB pension schemes
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is keeping calm in the face of a record £155bn total funding deficit for defined benefit pension schemes it covers.Concerns have been raised that the PPF could be put under a significant strain as companies go bankrupt during the downturn.However, a spokeswoman for the PPF, ...
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Corus in pay talks to save jobs
Corus is in negotiations with unions in an attempt to prevent job losses during the economic downturn, including a possible 10% temporary pay cut for employees as an alternative to redundancies.The Anglo-Dutch subsidiary of Indian steel group Tata, which employs 25,000 people in the UK, is in talks with union ...
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Employers selective over employee benefit cuts despite tough climate
Multi-national organisations are trying to be selective in cutting employee benefits despite tough times ahead, according to new research released by Mercer.The global Leading Through Unprecedented Times report revealed that 81% of respondents expected a decline in their own company's business performance in 2009.More than a third (35%) expect significant ...
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Woolworths' defined benefits pension scheme is likely to be assessed by PPF
Woolworths' administrators have said it is likely that the retailer's defined benefits pension scheme will be assessed by the Pension Protection Fund.However, the Pension Protection Fund has maintained that it is equipped to deal with the retailer's pension scheme, currently still in the hand of the trustees, should it have ...
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Postal workers face pressure over unrealitsic routes says union
The postal workers’ union claims delivery staff are under pressure to complete unrealistic delivery routes due to misuse of a computer programme that maps out their walks.The Communication Workers Union (CWU) says Royal Mail is using the Pegasus software to map unrealistic routes, which require workers to walk at up ...
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Corus workers' unions reject 10% pay cut proposal
Unions representing workers at the steel-making firm Corus have rejected a proposed 10% pay cut for the company's 25,000-strong workforce as talks continue with the employer in an attempt to strike a deal to reduce employment costs.Corus met with about 100 union representatives London yesterday to discuss the options available ...
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Debi O’Donovan, editorial director, Employee Benefits: Why healthcare cash plans boom during a recession
Over the past couple of months healthcare cash plan providers have been telling me that they are going through a bit of a boom. Amid talk of recession and redundancies, these medical savings plan providers have been increasing sales forces to cope with demand from employers.It is not hard to ...
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Kingfisher Gift Vouchers temporarily suspends trading
Kingfisher Gift Vouchers (KGV) has temporarily suspended trading following talks over the future of scheme-member Woolworths.Woolworths shares were suspended on 26 November. KGV also runs Comet and B&Qs voucher schemes.Employees who hold the vouchers under workplace motivation and reward schemes have been encouraged to redeem them while they can.John Sylvester, ...
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Commission payment errors cost employers millions
Poorly-managed commission schemes can lose employers millions of pounds each year.According to research carried out by market research firm Vanson Bourne on behalf of consultancy OpenSymmetry, 24% of the 153 UK sales directors surveyed said they regularly see errors of more than 10% of the total amount of commission paid. ...
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Tax exemption on health screening confirmed
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that employer-provided annual health screening and medical checks will be exempt from tax from 6 April 2009, bringing to an end months of uncertainty.The government will include legislation in the forthcoming Finance Bill to allow the provision of these perks to be exempt ...
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Employees are concerned about retirement savings
Employees are concerned that they are not saving enough for retirement, even though most admit it is their responsibility to provide for their own future.According to new research by JLT Benefit Solutions, despite the majority of both employers (84%) and employees (76%) believing that the responsibility for retirement savings lies ...
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Unemployment hits 1.86 million as experts warn of worse to come
Unemployment has risen to 1.86 million and earnings growth has ground to a standstill in the economic downturn, with experts warning there is worse to come.The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that the unemployment rate has risen by 137,000 to 6% in the three months to ...
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MEPs vote to scrap opt-out from the 48 hour working week
The European Parliament has voted to scrap the option to opt-out of the Working Time Directive and force employers across Europe to stick to a 48 hour working week, averaged over a year.The UK won the right to opt-out of the directive in 1993 saying flexibility was vital to business ...
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Paris life models strike nude protest over pay and respect
Nude life drawing models posed naked outside Paris's City Hall's this week to demand better pay and conditions and more respect for their art.Models disrobed outside the City Hall's culture department in the cold light of winter reportedly to demand a pay increase, proper contracts and respect for their craft.Artists, ...
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B&Q and Comet stop accepting Kingfisher Gift Vouchers
B&Q and Comet will no longer accept Kingfisher Gift Vouchers after the voucher company temporarily suspended trading following the collapse of Woolworths.Woolworths itself is currently the only retailer accepting the vouchers, largely issued to employees through workplace incentive programmes.The vouchers are issued by Flogistics a wholly-owned subsidiary of Woolworths Group ...
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Fines proposed for employers who breach duty to consult pension scheme members
The Department for Work and Pensions has proposed imposing fines on employers who breach their duty to consult scheme members over changes to aspects of their pension arrangements.It has opened a consultation on proposals which would give the Pension Regulator the power to impose fines on employers who are in ...
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Taxpayer-funded banks' pay and remuneration policies under the spotlight
The new finance body set up to guard taxpayers' interests in government funded banks will scrutinise pay and remuneration policies to ensure they do not reward failure or encourage excessive risk.The UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), was set up to be a commercial guardian of taxpayers' interests following the government's ...