All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 353
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Article
Scottish Widows research: Pensions vital to employee engagement
Research reveals the importance of pensions provision as an employee engagement tool.Scottish Widows’ Workplace Pension Report found that over two fifths (44%) of employees say the quality of the company pensions scheme is important when looking at potential employers.Furthermore, 63% of employees stated that they would be less likely to ...
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Article
Employees do not like working up a sweat at work
Employers offering cycle-to-work schemes in order to improve staff wellbeing might want to consider research from the British Heart Foundation that suggests one in three employees do not want to be seen hot an sweaty in front of their colleagues.After all, sharing the lift with the chief executive, while donning ...
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Article
UK employees’ health in bad shape
New research into the health of UK employees has revealed that nearly a third had a vital sign reading higher than recommended.The Water Wellpoint UK Workers Health Check Report revealed that two thirds of male and 44% of female employees are overweight or obese.The report, based on health checks undertaken ...
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Article
Abbott adds to flex offer
Pharmaceutical company Abbott has seen the percentage of staff amending their perks through its flexible benefits plan rise to 61% from 50% since adding bikes for work, discounted gym membership and will writing.The new benefits, available to all of Abbott's 2,300 UK staff, were introduced as a result of employee ...
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Opinion
Sheila Wild: Will this month's Equality Act make a difference to equal pay?
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act. While the film Made in Dagenham highlights the heroic struggle of the Ford sewing machinists to be paid the same as their male colleagues, many people will wonder why - nearly four decades later - the full-time pay gap ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing: Strategy must be well planned and adaptable
If you read nothing else, read this …Think about the organisation’s values, because wellbeing encompasses a number of areas, including physical, mental, emotional, family, career and financial health.Assess the workforce, looking at factors such as age and lifestyle, as well as management information from benefits such as any employee assistance ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing: Interview with Professor Sayeed Khan, chief medical adviser at the EEF
There are compelling business and legal reasons for employers to prioritise employee health, the EEF’s chief medical adviser, Professor Sayeed Khan, tells Tynan BartonAs chief medical adviser of manufacturers’ organisation the EEF, Professor Sayeed Khan travels the country working with organisations of all sizes, from huge multinationals to small and ...
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Article
Advisers in demand but need to show their worth
Exclusive research among 662 reward and HR professionals has found that 70% are satisfied with their corporate adviser, and 23% are extremely satisfied.The Employee Benefits/Friends Provident adviser research 2010, published this month, shows that advisers need to be on their toes. The vast majority of respondents review their advisers regularly ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing: Ageing workforce puts pressure on health perks
If you read nothing else, read this . . .44% of people aged 65 and over intend to continue working until they are at least 70, while 21% say they will never retire.Under age discrimination legislation, employers must provide all employees with the same benefits.The cost of many benefits increases ...
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Analysis
Training courses aid employee development
If you read nothing else, read this...Work-related training can be paid for via salary sacrifice and is exempt from tax and national insurance contributions for the employee, as long as it is directly linked to work.Non-work-related training can be offered to staff through a learning account or a voluntary benefits ...
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Article
Alliance Medical gets ready for flexible benefits
Alliance Medical is to roll out total reward statements ahead of introducing its first flexible benefits scheme next year.The company, working in conjunction with Thomsons Online Benefits, will issue the total reward statements in January so that employees can make informed choices about the benefits they want through flex, which ...
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Article
News analysis: Pension pot of gold just gets bigger
Executive pension pots continue to spiral, but calls for greater disclosure could be distracted by tax changes for high earners, says Nicola SullivanThe immense value of executive directors' retirement savings has prompted calls for greater transparency around their pension arrangements. According to the Trades Union Congress' (TUC) annual PensionsWatch survey, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Asda staff sold on sharesave benefits
When Asda relaunched its sharesave plan in February 2010, staff who had previously benefited from it were used to boost take-up.Laura Wilcock, shares manager at Asda, said: "We asked staff to put stories about how they spent money from previous schemes on our intranet site, The Green Room. We had ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Johnson and Johnson takes a global view for employee assistance
Johnson and Johnson introduced an employee assistance programme (EAP) in 1977 to deal primarily with substance abuse issues among its 50,000 US staff.However, the concept of holistic health led to a desire to broaden its EAP's scope, says Janice Lenehan, the pharmaceutical firm's worldwide director of employee assistance.In 2004, she ...
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Analysis
Health and wellbeing: International employee assistance programmes
If you read nothing else, read this …Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are now available in over 150 countries.Employers should first consider whether they want to offer an EAP centrally or localise it to each global worksite.Challenges to consider in implementing an international EAP are cultural barriers, cost, language, and the ...
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Case Studies
Case study: BT connects staff with mental health awareness
BT developed a mental health framework for all its staff to address the growing awareness of mental health issues both within in the workplace and among the general population.The framework operates on three levels: the first is around promoting good mental health and preventing ill health; the second is about ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Axa wellbeing strategy maintains a healthy mix
Health insurance firm, Axa PPP Healthcare introduced a wellbeing strategy in 2008. To determine the structure of the strategy, it assembled a steering group comprising clinicians, HR and employee representatives. Various data sources were also analysed, including occupational health, claims from the private medical insurance scheme, and management information from ...
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Article
Confessions of a benefits manager: Burying the hatchet
Candid is charged with closing the company's DB pension scheme, and it's suddenly a race against time to avoid a £50 million penaltyI am glad to say it is not every day I get a call from Hatchet Woman. She is probably a nice lady, it is just that wherever ...
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Article
Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Benefits professionals demonstrate their worth
This month sees the largest-ever gathering of benefits and reward professionals from across the industry.As we go to press, we can see that, with a week to go, more than 1,100 people have booked over 5,000 conference sessions at Employee Benefits Live. And the number of people pre-registering for the ...
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Article
Half FTSE firms measure return on investment of benefits packages
More than half (51%) of the top FTSE organisations feel it is important to measure the return on investment of their reward and benefits.According to Thomsons Online Benefits’ Employee Rewards Watch: FTSE 350 2010, which surveyed 39 FTSE-listed organisations, 67% of respondents also introduced pay freezes in 2009 to reduce ...