All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 251
-
Article
Babcock hedges risk of longevity in its pension schemes
Babcock International will become the first UK company to offset the risk of retirees outliving expectations, in a deal that is likely to mark the beginning of a trend.The engineering company is setting up an arrangement known as a longevity swap on two of its pension schemes. These are agreements ...
-
Article
Employee Share Plans: the myths expelled
Article supplied by channel sponsor, Computershare.It’s pretty likely that everyone reading this has some connection with an employee share plan. Maybe you run one, quite probably you’re in one.What is sometimes difficult to quantify is ‘why a share plan at all?’Our gut feeling tells us that companies should offer share ...
-
Article
Changing ShareSave provider proves straightforward for William Hill
Article supplied by channel sponsor, Computershare.William Hill is a leading provider of gambling and betting services, and has offered a ShareSave plan to employees since 2002.The company decided to migrate its ShareSave plans from its existing provider to Computershare, in order to increase the profile of ShareSave amongst employees and ...
-
Article
More employers focus on staff engagement to measure success of reward
Most employers plan to increase their focus on employee engagement when measuring their reward programs during the next two to three years, according to a new study by Hay Group and WorldatWork.The research shows that more than half (57%) of companies intend to focus on engagement in the coming three ...
-
Article
Sainsbury's staff share GBP60 million bonus pot
Employees at supermarket giant Sainsbury's will share £60 million in bonuses after the firm posted an 11.3% profit hike to £543 million.The bonus pot will be shared between 120,000 staff, bringing the total amount paid out to £210 million since the the launch of the retailer's Making Sainsbury's Great Again ...
-
Article
BT to pay extra pension contributions of £525 million
BT has committed to paying an extra £525 million a year in pension contributions for the next three years, in an effort to close its £4 billion deficit. The firm has set two precedents for the city, which are likely to be followed elsewhere. Firstly, in order to afford repayments, ...
-
Article
BT introduces measures to ease the pain of job losses
BT announced a further 15,000 job losses this year - on top of the 15,000 already disclosed. However, the company confirmed it would take special measures to soften the blow for employees.The telecommunications firm said 10,000 of the jobs lost would be contractors and Ian Livingstone, chief executive, said BT ...
-
Article
Fujitsu Services to close final salary pension
Fujitsu Services has announced proposals to close its final salary pension scheme in order to reduce risk.The computer services company closed the defined benefit (DB) scheme to new joiners in 2000, but now intends to close it to future accrual for existing members.A spokesman for Fujitsu Services said: "Whilst this ...
-
Article
Parliament in crisis after MPs' expenses scandal
The Houses of Parliament have been swirling in controversy this week with several MPs and peers being exposed for wasting public money on a whole range of weird and wonderful luxuries and services during the expenses scandal.This week will be remembered for the unusual and extravagant uses some MPs have ...
-
Article
Long-term absence is an ongoing problem for employers
More than a third of employers in the manufacturing sector have seen an increase in long-term absence from 2007 to 2008, according to a sickness absence study of the manufacturing industry conducted by the manufacturers' organisation EEF and Unum.The EEF/Unum 2009 Sickness Absence Survey shows that, despite overall sickness absence ...
-
Article
Pension retirement quotes double
The number of people requesting retirement quotes in defined contribution (DC) pension schemes has almost doubled within a year, according to research published by Aon Consulting.The Aon Admin Tracker revealed that retirement quotes rose by 56% overall, a 55% increase in defined benefit (DB) schemes and a 71% rise in ...
-
Article
FSA's remuneration code of practice may have little impact
Remuneration and bonus guidelines issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) are being ignored by businesses fearful of losing their most talented staff. According to research by law firm Pinsent Masons, 84% of companies believe the FSA's code of practice will have little or no impact on how executives are ...
-
Article
Ten Green Bottles: are more SAYE providers about to fall?
This article was contributed by our sponsors, ComputershareIain Wilson, Client Relationship Director of Computershare Plan Managers, considers how healthy Save As You Earn (SAYE) employee share plans currently are.Walking to the train station on a cold and windy morning in February, I was snapped fully awake by a caller asking: ...
-
Article
Fixed pension administration costs are preferred choice
Half of pension schemes would prefer fixed administration costs.According to Capita Hartshead’s 16th Annual Pensions Administration Survey, while 31% of third-party administration clients are on a purely fixed-price contract, 50% said that this would be their preferred approach.The next most popular charging model was a per capita cost plus a ...
-
Article
Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Is now the time to launch an employee share scheme?
Employee share schemes are doing a roaring trade currently. After a few years in the doldrums sharesave schemes are taking off again.It appears that companies have taken a collective view that the share market has pretty much bottomed out and now is the perfect time to give staff the chance ...
-
Article
Gissings launches defined benefit (DB) pension service
Gissings Consultancy Services has launched a new defined benefit (DB) pension service designed to remove consulting fees.In partnership with Norwich Union and Aviva Investors, Gissings will provide qualifying schemes access to innovative consulting, strong investment products and active account management, while at the same time removing the ongoing burden of ...
-
Article
Inconnection launches online reward portal
Inconnection has launched a new online reward platform which is free to implement and only paid for by employers as and when they use it to reward staff.The platform is designed for small businesses who wish to reward individuals for achievements such as long-service, sales results or staff referrals.Line managers ...
-
Article
Reward in the legal sector
Many lawyers can expect to receive up to £6,000 for introducing new staff to their firm.According to the HR in Law: Employee Benefits Survey 2009 study by Portus Consulting, 89% of law firms provide financial incentives provided incentives for introducing new employees, representing around £1,000 for support staff. For introducing ...
-
Article
HSBC's sharesave scheme attracts highest-ever applications
HSBC’s latest sharesave plan has become the most popular share scheme in the bank’s history, attracting 34,000 applications from UK staff.The scheme, which closed to applications on 24 April, offered options at a 20% discount to an average of the share price in the preceding weeks. A spokesman said: “The ...
-
Article
Reward professionals feel under pressure
Reward professionals believe they are under more pressure to minimise costs and improve return on investment this year in 2009, according to research published by Thomsons Online Benefits.The Employee Rewards Watch 2009 revealed 88% of respondents felt under more pressure this year, yet less than one-in-ten (9%) organisations said they ...