All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 471
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Eurotunnel introduces cash plan for staff
Eurotunnel has introduced a health cash plan for its 791 employees at its UK terminal.†The cash plan, provided by Health Shield, offers a number of benefits including: dental; dental accident; eyecare; alternative therapies; chiropody; health screening and a 24-hour helpline. The scheme, called Essentials, costs the organisation 75p per week ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Trowers and Hamlins introduces financial education workshops
Law firm Trowers and Hamlins is introducing a series of financial education workshops called ‘Making the most of your money’ as part of a three-tiered approach to ensure its 500 employees are looking after their finances.The first step was a series of presentations in October by Friends Life around the ...
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Bupa research: HR teams take measures to tackle winter absence
Over three quarters (78%) of human resources professionals have implemented policies to try to reduce staff absence in December, according to a poll by Bupa.The Bupa December survey found one-third (33%) of organisations call staff in for questioning if they have more than three isolated days of sickness absence in ...
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Close Brothers research: Most UK employers unsure of auto-enrolment staging date
More than three-quarters (77%) of UK organisations do not know when they have to begin auto-enrolling their employees into a qualifying pension scheme, according to research by the financial education division of Close Brothers.The research, which was conducted among 2,000 employers across the UK, found that 12% of organisations have ...
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London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine signs deal to replace personnel and payroll system
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has replaced its personnel and payroll system.The national school of public health will use Northgate Arinso's ResourceLink Aurora system for HR, payroll, self-service and web reporting for its 3,000 staff.The system will also ensure LSHTM meets HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ...
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Heath Lambert and Gallagher Risk and Reward re-brand as Gallagher Employee Benefits
Heath Lambert Employee Benefits and Gallagher Risk and Reward have re-branded as Gallagher Employee Benefits (GEB).GEB is now the UK employee benefits brand of Arthur J Gallagher International, the insurance, employee benefits and risk management adviser.The re-branded firm will focus on delivering advice and solutions across a range of areas ...
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Female staff win equal pay case against Birmingham City Council
A group of 174 female former employees of Birmingham City Council have won a Court of Appeal decision on equal pay claims.The employees, who worked as cleaners, cooks, catering and care staff, were aiming to recover compensation for bonuses they claimed they were excluded from. The bonuses had handed out ...
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BP, BT, M&S and Tesco among winners at IFS Proshare awards
BP, BT, Henderson Global Investors, Marks and Spencer, and Tesco were among the big winners of the 2011 IFS Proshare Annual Awards.John Collison, head of employee share ownership at IFS Proshare, said: “The quality of this year's nominations was truly impressive in almost every category which made this IFS Proshare ...
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Trader Media Group extends payroll services provision to staff in Ireland
Trader Media Group has extended its payroll services for its employees in Ireland.The publisher of automotive titles has 1,700 employees, 1,400 of which are in the UK.It rolled out the service, which is provided by Ceridian UK, for its UK staff in 2010.Joanne Walker, human resources director at the Trader ...
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London Overground Rail Operations enhances staff pay during the Olympics
London Overground Rail Operations is enhancing its rate of pay by 25% for employees that work shifts during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.The deal will see 85% (almost 1,000) of its staff, including front-line station, conductor, train care, fleet maintenance and revenue staff, see a pay increase of ...
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Article
US military builds stone circle for pagan cadets
The United States military has taken measures of Stonehenge-type proportions to cater to its cadets who are practising pagans, witches and druids.The Colorado base of its air force training academy has built a stone circle to allow witches to cast spells and pagans to form circles of power. Situated at ...
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Bank of England tells banks to curb bonuses
Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has urged banks to curb bonuses in order to protect themselves and businesses from the eurozone debt crisis.In the Financial Stability Report, published 1 December 2011, the Bank of England’s interim Financial Policy Committee (FPC) recommends that distributions – payments of dividends ...
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High Court rules index switch for pensions is lawful
The High Court has rejected a claim by public sector unions that the government’s decision to switch from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI) for future pension increases was unlawful.The judicial hearing began on 25 October 2011 to challenge the switch, which was announced by ...
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Domestic and General to save £42,000 by offering flu jabs to staff
Domestic and General is aiming to save over £42,000 this winter by offering flu vaccinations to its employees.Research from its HR team showed that between 1 September 2010 and 31 March 2011, a total of 400 employees were absent due to cold and flu-related illnesses.This represented 5,292 lost working hours ...
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Mercer research: Deficit of FTSE 350 defined benefit pension schemes rises
The deficit of FTSE 350 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has risen £20 billion over past month, according to research by Mercer. The Pensions risk survey found that the aggregate FTSE 350 DB pension scheme deficit stood at £80 billion at 30 November 2011, compared to £60 billion at 31 ...
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Southern Housing Group appoints Capita Hartshead to manage DB pension scheme
Housing association Southern Housing Group has appointed Capita Hartshead to manage its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, which has 527 members.The five-year contract will include actuarial services, consultancy, pension scheme secretariat services, investment consulting, scheme administration, and pensioner payroll and fund accounting.Alene Wilton, corporate services director at Southern Housing Group, ...
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Association of Consulting Actuaries publishes paper on public sector pensions
The Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has published a discussion paper on bridging the gap between private and public sector pensions.In the paper, Placard, which was published on 28 November, Michael Johnson, research fellow for the Centre for Policy Studies, said market-linked pensions should be adopted for the entire public ...
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Stephen Bevan of The Work Foundation: A return to industrial strife?
Guest blog: professor Stephen Bevan, Director of the Centre for Workforce Effectiveness at The Work Foundation and honourary professor at Lancaster University gives his view on the public sector strike on 30 November 2011 and the inclusion of a regional pay review for the public sector in the Autumn Statement.Did ...
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CIPD research: Employers not taking proactive approach to 2012 pension reforms
While the majority (75%) of employers are fully aware of the forthcoming pension reforms, including auto-enrolment, less than one-third (32%) know the date at which the new rules will apply to them, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).The CIPD's Labour market outlook: focus on ...
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Macmillan Cancer Support appoints pensions investments manager
Macmillan Cancer Support has appointed Ernst and Young to oversee the investment decisions made by its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme’s fiduciary manager.The appointment was made in conjunction with Pitmans Trustees. It will see the actions of the fiduciary manager, MN Services, monitored and challenged.Melanie Cusack, chair of the trustees ...