All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 377
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Article
Canada Life extends group critical illness support services
Canada Life has extended its group critical illness services to make the Red Arc and Best Doctors support services available to all existing members with immediate effect.The changes follow the relaunch of Canada Life’s group critical illness proposition in late 2010.Red Arc provides help and support for members and their ...
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Article
Employers cut back on benefits
Employers have cut back on the cost of income protection insurance and other benefits, according to research by BDRC Continental.The results showed just 7% of small businesses offer their employees group income protection if they are unable to continue working.Meanwhile, only one third (34%) of all organisations offer a contributory ...
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Article
Brunner Mond takes steps to de-risk pension scheme
Brunner Mond is taking steps to de-risk its UK pension fund as part of its efforts to reduce the scheme's deficit.The manufacturing firm's de-risking strategy, provided by Mercer, will look to achieve 100% funding through a governance framework that will lock in market gains. Work will also be done to ...
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Article
AT Kearney appoints Gatemore to oversee pension investment strategy
Trustees of AT Kearney Pension and Life Assurance Scheme have appointed Gatemore Capital Management as dedicated chief investment officer.Under the new arrangement, Gatemore will work with the trustees to develop and implement the pension scheme's investment strategy.Jonathan Anscombe, chair of trustees and European head of the pharmaceuticals and healthcare practice ...
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Article
NHS Employers proposes pay freezes to save jobs
NHS Employers has proposed a national enabling framework to freeze pay in return for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.Twelve NHS chief executives have signed a letter supporting the proposal, which would allow employers to freeze incremental pay for all staff groups.If agreed, the framework, which was proposed following discussions ...
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Opinion
Carl Gilleard: Will higher student debt affect employers’ reward strategies?
Past experience does not suggest employers will take increasing levels of graduate debt into account when determining reward strategies. From 2006, when tuition fees were first introduced, starting salaries have barely risen (2% in 2006 and 2.4% in 2007) and in the past couple of years they have not increased ...
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Opinion
Michael Rendell: Will higher student debt affect employers' reward strategies?
Increased student debt is likely to have an influence on graduates’ degree and career choices, and employers need to respond accordingly. Pay levels and potential career progression are likely to become an even greater priority for students. Raising salaries may not be an option for many employers, but they can ...
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Opinion
Ben Wells: Will higher student debt affect employers' reward strategies?
The Browne Review essentially suggests an increasingly commercial approach to higher education. With new levels and horizons of student debt, the value of higher education has gone up and is now a significant investment choice for young people and their parents.Is university the right investment? If it is, what return ...
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Article
Ovo Energy sees 80% take up of flexible benefits
Since Ovo Energy introduced a flexible benefits scheme in September, it has achieved a take up of 80% among its nearly 100 staff.As part of its Instant Flex package, which is provided by Benefex, the benefits available in the market were reviewed against Ovo Energy’s demographics and employee feedback.Heather Andrews, ...
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Article
Barr implements eyewear policy across three divisions
Contracting firm Barr has implemented a new eyewear policy for three of its divisions: industrial, environmental and manufacturing.Part of the policy, operated in conjunction with provider Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, includes supplying prescription safety eyewear to relevant employees and site operatives.All employees within the three divisions will also receive Specsavers Premium ...
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Article
TUI Travel launches employee assistance programme
TUI Travel is launching an employee assistance programme (EAP) for staff in the UK and Ireland as part of efforts to support them through difficult times.The travel and leisure firm plans to launch the EAP, provided by PPC, in February across its workforce of around 18,000 employees.As part of the ...
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Article
Ince and Co introduces flexible benefits
International law firm Ince and CO has implemented a new flexible benefits scheme for its 200 UK-based non-partner staff which has introduced dental and international travel insurance for the first time.The scheme, which is provided by Portus Online, was rolled out in November after staff requests for a package that ...
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Article
News analysis: How the Finance Bill 2011 will impact reward
The Finance Bill 2011 contains several measures that affect the way employers reward and remunerate staff. In December’s publication of the draft bill, the government confirmed it would clamp down on arrangements that use employee benefits trusts (EBTs) to reward staff in a way that looks to avoid, defer or ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Court rejects retirement age appeal
The Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Leslie Seldon, who was forced to retire at 65 by his employer, law firm Clarkson Wright and Jakes.In the case Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes, the court deemed that it was not unlawful to make Seldon retire at 65 after a ...
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Article
Linklaters appoints Eleanor Smith
Law firm Linklaters has appointed Eleanor Smith rewards and mobility manager. She replaces David Jones, who moved to the JLT Group in September 2010.Smith joins from medical research firm Covance, where she had been associate director of global reward since 2006, responsible for employees across 54 countries. She has also ...
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Article
Sun Chemicals launches voluntary benefits scheme
Sun Chemicals has achieved 50% take up for its voluntary benefits scheme which was introduced for its 1,000 staff on 1 September.The scheme, which is provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, was rolled out under the communications banner ‘Xtra, Xtra, Read All About It!’ in line with the organisation’s primary business, ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Casual worker wins pension plan claim
In November 2010, the UK Pension Ombudsman rejected and overruled a decision taken by the Telegraph Media Group to exclude a former staff member it considered a casual worker from its pension scheme.The ruling followed a claim by Glyn Roberts, who worked a regular Saturday shift as a sub-editor for ...
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Article
Heather Downer moved to Torex
Torex has appointed Heather Downer global compensation and benefits manager. She is responsible for the compensation and benefits of staff in 10 countries.Downer was previously reward manager at TNT post UK and TNT Post Doordrop Media, a reward consultant at Misys, and a freelance reward consultant.In her new role, she ...
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Article
The Telegraph Group promotes Wadher
The Telegraph Group has appointed Dipak Wadher pensions and benefits manager. He replaces James Chrucher, who has moved to Abbott Laboratories.Wadher joined The Telegraph Group in 2002 as a pensions consultant on a temporary contract. He was promoted to pensions technician in 2006.His previous jobs include pensions administration manager at ...
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Article
Quintiles launches payroll-giving scheme
Quintiles has launched a payroll-giving scheme to support its chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.The pharmaceutical research firm rolled out the scheme for its 2,000 UK staff before Christmas to take advantage of a Workplace Giving UK promotion that guaranteed an extra £5 for every employee who signed up before the ...