All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 670
-
Article
European Commission to simplify EU legislation
The European Commission has compiled a list of the top 30 European Union (EU) regulations it wishes to simplify, and in some cases withdraw, with the aim of making life easier for employers and employees, as well as fostering economic growth.Among those it is looking to withdraw is the proposed ...
-
Article
Staff confidence in pensions growing
The UK is moving from being a nation of pension shirkers to pension savers.Speaking at the NAPF’s annual conference, Joanne Segars (pictured), chief executive of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), said: “I think I can see the green shoots of pensions recovery. [Auto-enrolment] opt-out rates are far lower ...
-
Article
Hertfordshire Council switches staff workshop provider
EXCLUSIVE: Hertfordshire County Council has switched providers of the financial awareness workshops it offers its 33,000 employees.Its new advisor, Affinity Financial Awareness, will provide fortnightly workshops, which will alternate between the council’s main offices across the country.The free financial planning and pre-retirement workshops are available to all employees, who are ...
-
Article
PTL launches DC governance products
Pitmans Trustees Limited (PTL) has launched a suite of products to help employers establish a governance framework for their defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The products, called ‘Lifetime: DC governance focused on members’, is a package of tools developed specifically for DC pensions, including trusteeship, group personal pension (GPP) governance and ...
-
Article
Demonstrating ROI is top priority for HR
More than a third (35%) of respondents named demonstrating return on investment (ROI) as their number one priority over the next 12 months, according to research commissioned by PMI Health Group and conducted by Imperial College Business School.The research, which surveyed HR directors and managers for large UK organisations, found ...
-
Article
FTSE pension schemes not diversifying
Over the past 12 months, 85% of a selection of FTSE companies have not made any significant changes to the asset allocation of their defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, according to research by Schroders.Its second FTSE DC report, which studied the pension investment allocations of 16 FTSE 100 companies and ...
-
Article
New financial education provider to launch
A new financial education software provider is to launch in the UK in November.The launch of Nudge is in response to unhealthy finances and money-related stress in the workplace.It aims to improve the lifestyle of individuals by changing their financial decisions via its online software Quantum, which has been developed ...
-
Video
VIDEO: Richard Murray: Get recognition for a good reward strategy
“If you have a good reward strategy and a good benefits package then, by all means, you should be ensuring you get the recognition for that,” said Richard Murray, group pensions manager at FirstGroup, during an interview with Jennifer Paterson, senior reporter at Employee Benefits magazine.FirstGroup won the award for ...
-
Article
Prysmian Group to launch global share plan
Energy and telecom systems organisation Prysmian Group is to launch a global share scheme for around 16,000 employees in 27 countries.The scheme, which is called YES (Your Employee Shares), offers staff the opportunity to buy shares in the organisation at a discount of up to 25% on market price, or ...
-
Article
PruHealth to launch integrated health product
PruHealth is to evolve its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme and its Vitality wellness programme into a new Lifestyle Health Insurance product.Its new offering, which will be introduced on 1 January 2014, will provide employers with a platform to offer employees a full integration of PruHealth’s products and services.The Lifestyle ...
-
Article
Mercer launches master trust service
Mercer has launched a master trust service through its workplace savings platform.The service will enable employers to select from three providers: Aegon, Friends Life and Zurich. Service levels have been agreed with each provider.Mercer has also appointed BESTrustees as independent trustee for the service.The master trust service has been designed ...
-
Case Studies
John Lewis Partnership offers staff sports and social activities
And so a sailing club was set up to enable the average employee to sail a boat.The sailing club still operates today and is the most popular club offered by the retailer. The partnership owns its own yachts and pays for their upkeep, an investment the organisation has made as ...
-
Article
Staff make provisions to avoid annual allowance threshold
More than 16,000 UK workers who contribute to registered pension schemes made contributions in excess of the £50,000 annual allowance threshold by using the carry-forward provisions, according to research by Kuber Ventures.The research, which analysed data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for pension contributions in the 2011/12 tax year, ...
-
Article
Workplace savings platforms assets approach £2bn
Total assets of the UK’s eight major workplace savings platforms are approaching £2 billion, according to an update published by The Platforum in association with The Lang Cat.Its second Workplace savings platform guide found that, as of the second quarter of 2013, an estimated 249 employers have adopted a workplace ...
-
Article
National minimum wage increases
The national minimum wage has increased by 12p to £6.31 an hour for adults on 1 October.The rise follows recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission in April 2013.Other changes include:Employees aged between 18 and 20 years will see a 5p rise, from £4.98 to £5.03.Employees under the age of ...
-
Article
Reforms to shareholders’ role in executive pay come in
Reforms proposed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) on executive pay came into force on 1 October 2013.As a result of the reforms shareholders of around 900 UK-quoted companies will now be better prepared to hold companies to account. They will have access to clearer information on ...
-
Article
More than 1.6m staff auto-enrolled into pensions
More than 1.6 million eligible employees have been enrolled into an auto-enrolment pension scheme, according to a registration report published by The Pensions Regulator.Its Automatic-enrolment report, which covers the period between July 2012 and August 2013, also found that an additional 2.5 million employees who work at organisations that have ...
-
Article
Oxfam launches EAP
EXCLUSIVE: Oxfam has launched an employee assistance programme (EAP) for its 1,300 UK-based employees.The programme, provided by CIC, replaces an in-house service previously offered by the charity. The EAP offers 24/7 telephone assistance and face-to-face counseling, as well as debt and legal advice, support with family care and everyday matters, ...
-
Article
Employee Benefits Awards 2014 open for entries.
The Employee Benefits Awards 2014 offer reward and benefits professionals the ideal opportunity to showcase, and gain recognition for, the outstanding work they have done over the past 12 months.This year, employers are encouraged to enter initiatives they have introduced during the past year, as well as successful longer-running benefits ...
-
Article
Debbie Lovewell: Publicising benefits is key
Despite investing significant amounts of money developing a benefits package to suit their workforce’s needs, often including a wide range of perks, some organisations then fail to communicate these to their employees properly.When you think of the work that goes into developing a benefits strategy, communication may seem like a ...