All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 603
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Article
Final agreement on bankers' bonus cap
The European Parliament and European Commission have agreed to cap bankers’ bonuses.The move is intended to curb the banks’ bonus-driven culture and to prevent the risk-taking that led to the 2008 financial crisis.The new legislation will come into effect from January 2014 and will apply to bonuses paid in 2015.The ...
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Analysis
How to integrate fitness into a health strategy
Providing opportunities for physical activity to employees, particularly those who do not meet current criteria for such activity, has many benefits for employees and employers.The advantages of physical activity are well-established: lower obesity rates, increased psychological wellbeing, lower levels of stress and depression, and less risk of cardiovascular disease, type ...
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Article
DOD’s blog: three key benefits get a knockabout
In the Employee Benefits offices it has been of those weeks when you need lots of cake and biscuits to get you through (luckily our treat table is always well stocked). Then over and above the day job, to keep the excitement levels high, there have been three key announcements ...
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Article
Jedi training to boost fitness levels
Something for the weekend… A new force has been unleashed on the healthcare and wellbeing world.A martial arts instructor in the United States has created Jedi warrior combat exercise classes.Alain Bloch, of San Francisco Bay Area group the Golden Gate Knights, is hoping that everyone picks up a lightsabre and ...
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Article
BHF launches walking challenge
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has launched its Pedometer Challenge, a four-week team challenge that encourages employees to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.The Pedometer Challenge pack, which employers can order from the BHF, includes: a co-ordinator booklet, posters, editable desk drop letter and folder, editable weekly emails to send ...
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Analysis
Round-up of health and wellbeing research 2-12 to 2013
Employee Benefits has perused the past year’s health and wellbeing research to pull out the top issues that employers and employees are facing around workplace health.Mounting workplace stress, absence management and the affordability of healthcare benefits have been some of the biggest concerns in 2012 and early 2013.The Employee Benefits/Cigna ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to corporate eyecare 2013
Corporate eyecare benefits are popular with employees, enabling them to look after the health of their eyes with regular examinations. For an employer, the perk helps to meet some of its health and safety obligations.Under the 1992 Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, employers have a legal obligation to ...
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AnalysisKey points to tell staff about annuities
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…Employers should encourage staff to consider their retirement options five to 10 years before their retirement date.By disclosing information about their lifestyle, for example whether they are overweight or a smoker, employees could get a more beneficial annuity rate.Employees should be encouraged to shop ...
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Article
David Castling: Managing sickness absence effectively
Employers seeking to limit and manage employee absence require a clearly defined absence policy, which strikes a balance between supporting the majority of staff whose absence is genuine and preventing those who might seek to exploit the business. This policy needs to align with an organisation’s business objectives and define ...
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Analysis
How to reduce sickness absence
Health and work are intrinsically linked. Worklessness due to ill health has huge, adverse effects on individuals, businesses and the public sector, and consequently the economy as a whole. It is an area of policy where England is falling behind other countries, so much so that the annual cost of ...
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Article
Employers must change attitude on ageing employees
This follows the report’s finding that 10.7 million people in the UK can currently expect inadequate income in retirement.The report also recommended that the government establish a commission to work with employers and financial services providers to improve pensions and savings.Jonathan Watts-Lay, director of Wealth at Work, said the government ...
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Article
Alison Green: How to manage PMI costs
The wide range of private medical insurance (PMI) products available means there has never been more, or better, ways of managing their cost.There are also myriad ways employers can manage these costs, from introducing an excess, so staff pay, say, the first £200 towards their treatment, to setting an annual ...
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Opinion
Mel Duffield: Staff need support when buying an annuity
This is the point at which the employee’s pension pot is at its largest and when they stand to lose the most, both from their own and their employer’s pension contributions, by making a poor decision or simply failing to act. Reaching retirement and purchasing an annuity is a one-off ...
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Analysis
How to legally rehabilitate employees back to work
The staggering cost of employee absence to UK plc is £9 billion per year, according to The Sickness absence review, presented to government by Dame Carol Black, national director for Health at Work, and David Frost, former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, in November 2011. So it ...
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Article
Paul Shires: Business benefits of an effective health strategy
With the National Health Service (NHS) under pressure to save £20 billion by 2015 and sickness absence costing UK employers about £9 billion a year, employers are under great pressure to ensure the right strategy is in place to manage employee health and wellbeing. But what are the benefits for ...
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Article
Vanessa Sallows: Group risk benefits help sick staff return to work
Group risk benefits must be used in conjunction with a comprehensive and tailored strategy to help employees return to work.Returning to work can be daunting for an employee who has been absent for a long time. Individuals often have concerns about the information they share with colleagues about the cause ...
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Opinion
Paul Quartly: Shared parental leave a big step forward
Employers should embrace this as a progressive change, but be aware that it brings new challenges in communication, organisation and trust.It’s important for the individual and the business that care is taken to develop a successful handover, ensuring any concerns are brought into the open, resources allocated appropriately and disruption ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to contract-based defined contribution pensions
The pensions landscape is changing dramatically as the first wave of large employers continue to implement auto-enrolment and new regulations take effect. So far this year, a new initiative or consultation has been announced every few days, reflecting the government’s focus on pensions.For defined contribution (DC) schemes, a critical initiative ...
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Article
Joy Reymond: How to deal with cancer
Four in 10 people will develop cancer at some point in their life, but it remains a difficult subject to talk about, especially in the workplace.On the upside, more people are living with cancer than ever before, thanks to better awareness of diet and fitness and advances in treatments. Those ...
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Video
Tim Middleton: Governance challenges for a DC pension's default fund
Tim Middleton, technical consultant at the Pensions Management Institute, talks to Jennifer Paterson, senior reporter at Employee Benefits, about the governance issues to consider in relation to pension investment fund selection for defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.Contract-based and trust-based DC schemes have slightly different pressures, but both need to take ...