All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 553
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Article
Employees want to know more about auto-enrolment
Three-fifths (59%) of respondents who do not currently belong to a pension scheme are still not aware of auto-enrolment, but 55% are keen to find out more about it, according to research by Standard Life.The research, which was conducted with YouGov, surveyed 2,125 UK adults, of which 1,098 confirmed they ...
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Article
AWR have increased admin costs
A year on from their introduction, the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) are thought to have cost organisations more than £1.5 billion in administration costs, but have not increased benefits for workers, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).The regulations, which were introduced 1 October 2011, give agency workers entitlement ...
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Article
Farrer and Co hosts wellness week
EXCLUSIVE: Law firm Farrer and Co hosted its first wellness week to coincide with National Work-Life week on 24-28 September.It rolled out a full week of activities and events for its 390 staff, including: health and wellbeing assessment by a fitness consultant, lunch-and-learn sessions, onsite Zumba classes, and webinars offered ...
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Article
UK in 12-year wage dive
UK employees will have to wait another nine years to get back to the level of income they enjoyed in 2009, during which time they will have lost an average of £8,500 in real-term wage losses, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).The research, which tracked wage and ...
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Article
CIPP award winners announced
HMV and Oxford City Council were among the winners of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) ninth annual Payroll and Pensions Excellence Awards.The awards took place on 4 October at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.The winners included:Team of the year – Oxford City Council.Effective use of a payslip ...
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Article
JLT Group acquires Alexander Forbes
JLT Group has acquired Alexander Forbes Consultants and Actuaries for a cash consideration of £17 million, subject to regulatory approval.The employee benefits firm, part of the Alexander Forbes Group, will become part of JLT Group’s employee benefits business.Alexander Forbes Consultants and Actuaries employs more than 300 people in the UK ...
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Article
Google boss shows off dance moves
And now something for the weekend…Staff engagement and motivation are important in all offices around the world to get the best out of a workforce.But is a bit of office dancing the way to do it? Google certainly thinks so.Eric Schmidt, executive chairman at Google, joined staff members in Google’s ...
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Article
FirstGroup staff pick new charity partner
FirstGroup staff have chosen Macmillan Cancer Support as its new national charity partner.Employees of the public transport operator were asked to vote for one of three charities. Macmillan Cancer Support received 60% of the staff vote.Katie Smart, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community manager at FirstGroup, said: “This is a ...
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Article
Pay and bonuses up for AIM directors
Total earnings for directors, whose companies are listed on AIM, rose by 5.7% from April 2012, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).The research, which is based on a matched group of directors from AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller growing companies, found the total earnings ...
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Article
Newsquest journalists strike over pay
Newsquest journalists in York took strike action on 5 October in a dispute over pay.The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members were balloted between 28 August and 11 September after the newspaper publisher notified staff they would not receive a pay increase in 2012 due to difficult trading conditions.NUJ members ...
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Article
BGL Group offers fitness classes to staff
BGL Group has launched a range of discounted fitness classes and physiotherapy services for its employees.The services are provided by Ultimate Performance Lifestyle, a specialist fitness studio in Peterborough, where the insurance group is based, and includes physiotherapy, pilates, yoga and massages.Gail Cingolani, reward and benefits manager at BGL Group, ...
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Article
CloudApps launches sustainability app
CloudApps has launched a sustainability application to encourage employers and their staff to set corporate social responsibility (CSR) targets in the workplace.The app can be used to create workplace challenges, leader boards, points and rewards, as well as social media elements that allow employees to collaborate and achieve personal targets.The ...
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Article
Owner-employee contract could breach EU laws
A proposed new employment contract that would require employees to give up employment rights for shares in their organisation could still leave employers open to claims for unfair dismissal under European regulations.The owner-employee contract, announced at the Conservative Party conference on 8 October by Chancellor George Osborne, could see employers ...
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Article
O2 to close DB scheme before auto-enrolment
O2 has proposed to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual due to the impending cost of auto-enrolment and the poor economic environment.The scheme, which was closed to new members in 2001, is a legacy scheme that was carried over to Telefonica, O2’s parent company, with BT ...
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BA brings in flexible retirement
EXCLUSIVE: British Airways (BA) has introduced flexible retirement, started to communicate auto-enrolment and streamlined its online pensions portal during its annual pensions month.Pensions month, which was introduced in September 2011, also offered members of its closed defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, the opportunity to change their accrual rates. Members of ...
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Article
Mental health stigma is decreasing
More than a quarter (28%) of respondents believe there is less stigma around mental health issues in the workplace compared to a year ago, according to research by Aviva.Aviva’s Health of the workplace 2012 report, which has been launched to coincide with World Mental Health Day on 10 October, found ...
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Article
Business Environment pays staff to stop smoking
Flexible office operator Business Environment is offering its staff up to £100 a year to spend on stop-smoking aids.The offer is linked to the NHS StopTober scheme, a 28-day challenge to encourage people to quite smoking during October.Yasmine Shah, who works at Business Environment, has taken advantage of the offer. ...
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Article
Warburtons launches discounts scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Warburtons has introduced a discounts scheme called Extra Dough for its 4,300 employees.The scheme, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, has achieved a spend of more than £90,000 in the four weeks following its launch.Because the baker’s employee base is spread out over 26 different bakery and depot locations, and ...
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Article
HEG to develop auto-enrolment and RTI support
EXCLUSIVE: The Hotel Employers Group (HEG) is to develop a support pack for its employer members to help them deal with pensions auto-enrolment and the real-time information (RTI) programme for payroll.The group, which represents hotel industry brands such as Holiday Inn Express and Best Western, are working with professional services ...
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Smith & Williamson launches auto-enrolment tool
Smith and Williamson has launched an online auto-enrolment tool, which uses basic information about an employer’s pension scheme.It enables the accountancy and investment management firm to assess what an employer needs to do, and by when, in order to comply with the new legislation.Paul Maher, head of financial services at ...