All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 228
-
Article
Shared vision for a profitable future
Current low share prices could result in significant gains for staff when schemes mature, says Ifs ProShare's Julie RichardsonDespite the onset of the credit crunch in 2007, increasing numbers of companies recognised the benefits of giving their staff the chance to take part in all-employee share plans, and dozens offered ...
-
Article
Don't let workers lose their balance
Attracting and retaining key staff is more important than ever in a recession, says Hertfordshire County Council's Alan WarnerIn times of economic hardship, should the soft fluffy stuff that HR normally promotes be ditched? Employees, after all, start thinking about 'a' job rather than 'what' job and turnover typically slows ...
-
Article
The Future: from thought leaders: The year of the bull could be the year of the employee wealth plan
2009 will bring tools to enable staff to plan their future by managing perks in harmony, says Jamie Jenkins, head of employee wealth at Standard LifeThere is something strangely appropriate about the animals celebrated in recent Chinese years. Looking at the performance of stock markets around the world, the relative ...
-
Article
Engage staff through total reward
Knowing the value of their benefits package increases engagement for staff, says Buckinghamshire County Council’s Gillian HibberdToo often we try to overcomplicate the relationship between employees and employers. In reality, employees’ expectations are quite straightforward - they are simply looking for answers to a number of questions. They want to ...
-
Article
Babs International Pension Scheme transfers to PPF
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced it has taken the Babs International Pension Scheme under its wing, bringing an extra 121 people into its compensation scheme.The addition of the office equipment firm's scheme in December brings the total number of funds in the PPF to 68, with 20,750 members ...
-
Article
Fox Kalomaski offers Botox leave
Fox Kalomaski has introduced an extra day’s paid leave to be taken in December to help cope with increased demand for time off to have beauty treatments in the party season.Stephen Fox, managing director of the marketing and advertising agency said: “We have unofficially called this day Botox leave, because ...
-
Article
KPMG offers employees a four-day week and sabbatical
KPMG has offered its 11,000 UK employees the possibility of opting to work a four-day week, or to take a partially paid sabbatical to avoid job cuts following the economic downturn.The ‘big four’ accountancy firm has given employees, including partners, a 6 February deadline to volunteer to work reduced hours, ...
-
Article
Europe rules employees accrue holidays while on long-term sick leave
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees on long-term sick are entitled to take all holiday they have accumulated.Judges ruled that under the Working Time Regulations, holiday continues to accrue while an employee is off sick, bringing a long running saga over holiday accrual closer to a ...
-
Article
Unemployment rises to 1.92 million
The number of people out of work in the UK rose to 1.92 million in November and now stands at 6.1%, with redundancies at their highest levels since 1995.Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the number of unemployed people in the UK rose by 131,000 over ...
-
Article
Northern Rock's bonuses trigger row
Northern Rock has triggered a row after revealing it will press ahead with plans to pay the majority of its 4,500 employees a 10% bonus.HM Treasury approved the bonus scheme last year, to reward progress in repaying the £26.9bn government loan, £15.4bn of which has been repaid so far. Most ...
-
Article
Inchcape switches provider for an integrated VB solution
Thursday 22nd January 2009Inchcape plc, leading car retailer, has switched its UK employee benefits provider to Asperity Employee Benefits to broaden its benefit offering and increase employee engagement.The new voluntary benefits programme, launched at the beginning of December 2008 to Inchcape’s 5000 employees across the country with a membership card ...
-
Article
J Sainsbury to offer outplacement support to any axed staff
J Sainsbury will offer outplacement support on request to any employees that are made redundant in a head office restructure.The retailer has entered into a 90-day consultation period over plans to streamline its operations, which could result in job losses.J Sainsbury's employs approximately 3,500 people in its head office operations ...
-
Article
NAPF says half private sector DB pensions could close to new joiners.
More than half of the defined benefit pensions schemes in the private sector are set to close to new joiners in the near future, according to research released by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).The result of the Pension Provision and the Economic Crisis survey, conducted with 100 pension ...
-
Article
British Airways chief hints at less than 1% pay increase for cabin crew
British Airways’ chief executive, Willie Walsh, has hinted that its cabin crew could be in line for a pay award of less than 1%.The current two-year deal for the 14,000-strong crew ends this month, although negotiations have not yet begun with Unite, the trade union that represents the majority of ...
-
Article
Default retirement age could result in loss of experience
Employers seeking to enforce the default retirement age of 65 years could be missing out on a wealth of experience.Mature workers who have weathered previous economic downturns and recessions can be a valuable source of knowledge for businesses in the current climate..100-year-old Jack Yaffe, for example, still works the family ...
-
Article
Equal Pay and Flexible Working Bill receives second reading in the House of Lords
The Equal Pay and Flexible Working Bill has received its second reading in the House of Lords.The Bill seeks to extend the right to request to request flexible working to parents of children under 16. Currently it is only available to parents whose children are disabled or aged under six.It ...
-
Article
Corus announces British Steel pension cuts amid 2,500 UK job losses
Corus will close the British Steel defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to new members as well as cutting 3,500 jobs from its global workforce in order to cut costs amid falling demand for steel.Although the DB scheme is in a healthy position, currently fully funded and running at a surplus ...
-
Article
UBS bonus package agreed in principle after bank bailout
UBS has reached a preliminary agreement to pay employees a bonus for 2008 following discussions with the Swiss financial regulator Finma.The bank is now obliged to seek Finma's consent to pay bonuses after it was bailed out by the Swiss government last autumn.A spokesman for the bank described estimates that ...
-
Article
Pension deficits could affect companies' credit ratings
Pension deficits borne by some of the UK's largest companies could begin to affect their credit ratings, global credit agency Moody has warned.According to its report, Pension Deficits: Back on the Agenda, falling asset prices could place pressure on the sponsoring employers of some of Britain's biggest funds, which may ...
-
Article
PADA confirms soft launch for Personal Accounts
Personal Accounts will undergo a soft launch, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has confirmed.As Employee Benefits reported in December 2008, a volunteer group of employers will be invited to enrol employees into Personal Accounts in low numbers, ahead of its formal launch in 2012.A spokeswoman for PADA said it ...