All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 276
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Article
Personal accounts will not protect workers in retirement
The government will fail to protect millions of Britons from poverty in old age unless it makes vital changes to the way in which it plans to introduce personal accounts, according to The Royal Society of Arts (RSA).The RSA said in its report Pensions for the people: addressing the investment ...
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Article
Projectlink Motivation enhances reward platform
Projectlink Motivation has enhanced its reward platform and is launching a new online shop for the festive period.The Incentive Shop reward platform has a range of improved features that will allow employers greater customisation.Employers can now add their logos, choose a scheme name for their reward programme and change the ...
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Article
Government pushes back deadlines to implement pension reforms
The government has extended the timeframe employers will have to automatically enrol employees into a qualifying pension scheme and pushed back the date by which organisations must contribute the full 3% on banded earnings under pensions legislation due to come into effect in 2012.A consultation paper published by the Department ...
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Article
Employers to review pension scheme ahead of 2012 reforms
More than half of employers are set to review their pension arrangements ahead of the introduction of auto-enrolment and personal accounts in 2012.Research by the Association of Consulting Actuaries' (ACA) reveals that 59% of organisations plan to do a review, including 86% of smaller employers with 249 staff or fewer.Under ...
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Article
Royal Mail could offer share plan for staff
The introduction of an employee share plan for Royal Mail is a realistic possibility, according to MPs speaking at the ifsProShare conference yesterday.Greg Hands, shadow treasury spokesman for the Conservatives said introducing some form of all-employee share plan for workers at Royal Mail would be “actively examined” by the party.Furthermore, ...
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Article
Heyday ruling: It is legal to retire staff at 65
The High Court has ruled it is legal for employers to retire employees at the age of 65.The long-awaited decision follows the challenge led by Age Concern and Help the Aged against the UK government’s default retirement age of 65.Mr Justice Blake indicated an exempt retirement age at 65 was ...
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Article
Curvy girls are a 'perk of the job'
In an environment where reward and benefits budgets are likely to have shrunk, employers can comfort themselves with the fact some employees may find workplace perks that blossom in the most unlikely of placesDr Terence Kealey from Buckingham University, for instance, finds curvy female students an attractive element of his ...
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Case Studies
Case Study: O2 Telefonica UK's holiday benefits
Mobile phone company O2 Telefonica UK decided to have a taste of its own medicine after publishing customer research that revealed almost one-third of Brits would forsake a holiday abroad this summer in favour of a break in the UK.To help employees join in the trend for holidaying in the ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Domino's Pizza - voluntary benefits plan
Case study: Domino's PizzaDomino's Pizza has not suffered as much as some other businesses in the recession, but that does not mean its staff are not on the lookout for a bargain. The company has offered its voluntary benefits scheme, Perks at Domino's, for a year and 67% of its ...
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Analysis
Health & Wellbeing: How to rein back private medical insurance costs
Private medical insurance is a highly-valued perk, but escalating costs are forcing employers to find ways to pare down their premiums, says Sally HamiltonWith the cost of a company-paid PMI policy averaging £768 per employee in 2008 - 7.7% higher than a year earlier, according to Laing & Buisson’s Health ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: How to prove perks' cost-effectiveness
The benefits of staff health and wellbeing programmes may seem obvious, but finance directors will want bottom-line proof of their effectiveness, says Sam BarrettJamie Barnes, client services director at benefits consultancy Enrich, says: "It is an age-old problem. Although common sense suggests health and wellbeing initiatives can deliver significant benefits, ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: Employers need strategies for prevention and cure
How do you keep a workforce healthy – by offering fast, efficient treatment or perks that might prevent illness? Employers need both strategies, says Jenny KeefeHelen Massie, organisational development manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, a state-funded development body, says: "Both types of benefit are equally important. While it would ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: Interview with Mike Izzard, chairman of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries
Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries chairman Mike Izzard tells Tom Washington how private medical insurance is maintaining its status as a prized asset of rewardPrivate medical insurance (PMI) seems to be a perk employers are prepared to tinker with. Last month, Employee Benefits reported that Kellogg’s had switched its PMI ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: Providers braced for the demands of swine flu
Health and wellbeing providers are gearing up for a potential surge in demand caused by a possible second wave of swine flu this autumn, as schools reopen and cold weather arrives. Absence management firm First- Care says staff affected by the virus are absent for an average of 4.3 days, ...
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Article
Health & Wellbeing: Comment by Debbie Lovewell, deputy editor
Despite the continuing pressure on employers to cut costs, taking steps to maintain employees' health and wellbeing is more important than ever.Not only are staff often under increased pressure following redundancies, but employers would be wise to look after those left behind to be sure of having an engaged and ...
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Article
Confessions of a benefits manager: Cabinet of curiosity
Candid sets out to detox her life, and decides that boosting her personal energy calls for a radical redistribution of office furnitureI am all fired up after reading a book about how to detox my life. Yes, that's right, my whole life. This book doesn't stop at mere diet and ...
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Article
Interview with Elliot Rees-Davies, head of reward at Aviva
Elliot Rees-Davies, head of reward at Aviva, has had an exhausting year helping to implement major benefits changes as the insurance giant also underwent a huge rebrandElliot Rees-Davies must be one of the busiest people in the benefits sector at the moment. As head of reward at insurance giant Aviva, ...
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Article
The big question: Have unions played a positive role during the recession?
Have unions played a positive role during the recession?Gillian Hibberd, corporate director (people, policy and communications) at Buckinghamshire County Council and president of the PPMA:Over the last decade, the UK has seen a reduction in the size and influence of trade unions. However, the recession gives unions a golden opportunity ...
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Article
Domino's launches cycle-to-work scheme
Pizza chain Domino's has launched a cycle-to-work scheme for its head office employees as part of its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and improve staff fitness.The scheme, which went live in September, enables its 311 eligible staff to hire a bike via a salary sacrifice arrangement.Employees who choose to pedal ...
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Article
Amey boosts flexible benefits take-up
Public services provider Amey has increased take-up of its flexible benefits scheme and boosted staff engagement, while reducing absence levels.New benefitsAfter revamping its flex plan, 15% of staff are now taking part, compared with 2% when the plan was launched three years ago. New benefits include life assurance, dental insurance, ...