All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 370
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: Protection of the Nest
If you read nothing else, read this . . .The national employment savings trust (Nest) is a low-cost pension scheme designed for low-to-moderate earners and their employers.Nest will be structured like a trust-based defined contribution scheme, which can be offered as an alternative to other occupational pension arrangements.Nest has a ...
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: How to budget for auto-enrolment
If you read nothing else, read this . . .Auto-enrolment could lead to higher pension and payroll costs for employers, unless they have plans in place now to manage costs.They may choose to operate a two-tier pension scheme by retaining their existing scheme for current members and auto-enrolling new members ...
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: Six steps to compliance
If you read nothing else, read this . . .Employers need to identify the exact staging date on which their organisation will be required to auto-enrol all employees into a qualifying occupational pension scheme or the national employment savings trust (Nest).Employers should carry out strategic and budgetary analysis of their ...
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: Start getting up to speed
If you read nothing else, read this …Employers should budget now to manage the extra costs of all staff automatically enrolling into a pension scheme with compulsory minimum contributions.Employees earning more than the personal income tax allowance of £7,475 will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme from 2012 onwards.Initially, ...
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Analysis
2012 Pension Reforms: Sponsor's comment: Get into gear now for a new era in workplace pensions
Simon Fletcher, client relationship director at Johnson Fleming, says employers should waste no time in getting ready for the 2012 pension reformsIt is widely recognised that people are living longer and not saving enough to give them the income they need in retirement. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) ...
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Article
Churcher joins Abbott
Abbott Laboratories has appointed James Churcher pensions manager. He will take up his new role in January.Churcher has been pensions manager at the Telegraph Media Group since 2006. Before that, he was UK pensions manager at Brambles Group, and group pensions manager at Amersham Health.Churcher said: “It will be fun ...
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Analysis
Fitness facilities aid employee efficiency
If you read nothing else, read this… Workplace fitness practices should reflect the lifestyle and needs of an organisation’s staff. Gym membership can be offered as an onsite facility, as membership at an offsite commercial facility, or a combination of both. The perks can be offered standalone or bundled in ...
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Article
Confessions of a benefits manager: If it ain't broke...
Organising the corporate medical plan sees Candid embark on a confusing dialogue with the brokers’ ever-changing personnelI keep getting calls from Healthcare Helpers, which wants to help me optimise my medical plan. Among many others, I also get calls from Middleman Medical Intermediaries, which notes that my plan is due ...
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Article
Asda employees convert shares into charity donation
Asda employees have converted fractional shares into a sizeable charity donation.Members of Asda’s colleague share ownership plan were given the option to donate the US-listed shares they held in Wal-Mart once they came to maturity, as they were only marginally in profit and people had a small or fractional amount ...
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Article
AWD Chase de Vere launches outsources HR function
Independent financial advisors AWD Chase de Vere has teamed up with The Briars Group to offer outsourced HR, tax, finance, administration and IT functions for small employers.It claims the service, which allows employers to partially or fully outsource one or more of these departments, could potentially save small and medium-size ...
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Analysis
Give staff a balanced view of pensions
If you read nothing else, read this... Employers that operate both defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) pensions may find there is a perception of unfairness in the differing benefits received by staff. For DB schemes, employers can restrict the amount of an employee's salary increase that counts as ...
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Article
New orbit for Beeby
Comet has promoted Richard Beeby to group reward manager. In this role, he will be responsible for the strategic direction of reward for Comet, along with its sister organisations, such as Laskys and Comet On Call.Beeby has held three previous HR positions at Comet over the past five years – ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to benefits consultants
Nuts and boltsWhat are the costs involved?Consultancy costs depend on the size of a client organisation and the nature of the services. The fee charged depends on the type of project and the time it takes to complete. Consultants either charge a fixed annual fee or a standard annual fee ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Tesco offers wide choice of benefits
Retail giant Tesco offers its employees a wide choice of benefits, including a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme that is open to all staff from day one, three all-employee share schemes, life assurance, childcare vouchers and discounts at theme parks.The retailer also offers all its employees a discount card, the ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Moneyway gives flexible benefits character
To promote its 2010 flexible benefits scheme, call centre-based bank Moneyway made an 80-second video featuring FlexiBen, the little plastic figure that represents its benefits package.Anne McKenning, group head of HR of Secure Trust Bank, of which Moneyway is a subsidiary, says: "We decided to bring Ben to life and ...
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Analysis
Is video the best way to communicate flexible benefits?
If your read nothing else, read this... Only use video if it is the best medium for your message and your staff. It typically costs £2,500 to £20,000 to make a video, but it can be done for free or cost as much as £50,000. Most videos used to communicate ...
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Analysis
What should go into the optimum benefits package?
If you read nothing else, read this… Employee benefits packages must be designed to meet the objectives of the organisation. Benefits packages can vary between sectors, but typically reflect the demographics of an organisation. Providing tax-efficient benefits will help maximise people’s take-home pay. Employee communication and engagement ...
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Article
The Big Question: What festive rewards are you offering employees this year?
Louise McCabe, head of corporate responsibility at Asos.com:The weeks leading up to Christmas are a critical trading period for Asos, with many departments working atpeak capacity.As we near the holidays, the pressure in head office eases off and we are able to treat and thank our staff with some traditional ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Unisys has three categories of flex
IT services company Unisys has had a flexible benefits scheme for 13 years. This has changed a lot over that time to reflect staff interests, and is split into three categories - security, wellbeing and lifestyle.Unisys' workforce has an 80/20 male/female split, most staff have at least 10 years' service, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: PricewaterhouseCoopers offers flexible and voluntary perks
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) offers core, flexible and voluntary benefits.The core benefits - life assurance, personal accident, income protection, and private medical insurance - offer a fixed level of cover, but staff can increase this if they wish.Flexible benefits include holiday trading - down to a minimum of 20 days or up ...