All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 674
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ArticlePay rises higher in private sector
Average weekly earnings for the private sector increased by 1.1% year on year, while average weekly earnings for the public sector fell by 0.5%, when comparing June to August 2013 with the same period in 2012, according to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The Labour market ...
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Article
UnitedHealth Group rolls out global benefits portal
UnitedHealth Group has launched an online platform to manage and communicate benefits to its employees based in the UK and the Philippines.The US healthcare group, which employs 133,000 staff worldwide, will use the Darwin platform, administered by Thomsons Online Benefits, to streamline benefits administration, governance and compliance across several regions.The ...
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Article
48% will stay in pension post-auto-enrolment
Almost half (48%) of respondents will remain in their employer’s pension scheme once they have been auto-enrolled, according to research by information specialist EDM Group.Its research, which surveyed 1,586 employees, found that less than a quarter (23%) have either immediately opted out of their employer’s pension scheme post-auto-enrolment or plan ...
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Article
NAPF calls for single workplace pension scheme regulator
The creation of a single regulator for the occupational pensions market is both inevitable and necessary, according to the outgoing chairman of the National Association of Pensions Funds (NAPF), Mark Hyde Harrison.As part of his welcome speech at the NAPF Conference and Exhibition 2013, he said that the pensions industry’s ...
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Article
Teachers strike over pay and pension changes
Thousands of teachers are striking across the UK on 17 October in a row over pay, pensions and working conditions.The industrial action, organised by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), is being staged in the north-east, south-west, south-east and ...
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Article
Interface Europe changes DB pension adviser
Carpet tile manufacturer Interface Europe has appointed KPMG to provide a range of trustee services for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.These include actuarial and investment consulting, as well as administration and payroll services.The scheme, which is closed to future accrual, has around £100 million of assets and 1,400 members.Simon ...
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Article
Employers switching pensions drive down costs
Large employers switching pension schemes have been key drivers in the reduction of annual management charges (AMCs) on pensions schemes.However just 3.6% of employers have switched schemes according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Annual Conference in Manchester, Ed Smith, a ...
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Article
Prince of Wales calls on pensions industry to invest responsibly
HRH The Prince of Wales has called on the pensions industry to help tackle the world’s increasing social, environmental and economic risks by investing in corporate and socially-responsible employers.In a pre-recorded speech played during the opening of the National Association of Pension Funds’ Annual conference and exhibition 2013 on 16 ...
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Article
The top 10 most read stories this week
1. Government announces auto-enrolment changes2. Absence could be cut by over a third3. Shell staff most active in Europe4. Ceridian launches auto-enrolment product for SMEs5. New financial education provider to launch6. Sickness absence levels up slightly7. Oscar Mayer launches online benefits portal8. Kodak Pension Plan to set up new DB ...
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Article
DOD’s blog: Time to stop screaming about an auto-enrolment crunch
This week I have been talking pensions, largely of the auto-enrolment variety, up at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference in Manchester.What has been great is the positive attitude to how well auto-enrolment has gone to date.But with typical British cynacism, pensions experts are wary as to how ...
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Article
Holiday like your colleague
Something for the weekend…As it becomes wet, windy and cold here in the UK, employees’ thoughts may well turn to sunnier climes and where they would like to go in their next holiday. But according to research by online travel agency Sunshine.co.uk, which asked 1,892 employees for their top choice ...
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Article
Retail staff most likely to pull a ‘sickie’
Employees in the retail sector are the most likely to pull a ‘sickie’, according to research by Vouchercloud.com.Its research, which polled 1,921 UK-based employees, found that the most reliable employees work in health, education and agriculture.Just under a third (29%) of respondents said they were always genuinely ill when they ...
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Article
Webb says government will get tough on pension charges
Pensions minister Steve Webb (pictured) hinted that the government is to take a tough stance on pension charges in an upcoming consultation, which will respond to the Office of Fair Trade’s (OFT) paper on the defined contribution (DC) pension market.During a speech at the National Association of Pension Funds’ (NAPF) ...
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Article
Trinity Mirror increases pension take-up to 45%
Trinity Mirror Group more than doubled the take-up rate of its defined contribution (DC) pension scheme, from 20% to 45%, following an employee communications campaign designed to boost engagement.Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference and exhibition 2013 on 17 October, David Astley, group pensions manager at ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment delaying HR initiatives
Human resource initiatives are being delayed because of pensions auto-enrolment, according to Vicky Wright, immediate past president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference this week, Wright (pictured) said: “The technicalities of auto-enrolment have used up an awful lot ...
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Analysis
The pros and cons of salary sacrifice training benefits
If you read nothing else, read this…Work-related training offered through a salary sacrifice arrangement brings national insurance savings for employers and employees.The training must be work-related, but it can be extended to include language or IT courses, for example.Offering training in the workplace can boost employee engagement and motivation.In the ...
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Article
NAPF launches Stewardship Disclosure Framework
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has launched a Stewardship Disclosure Framework.It aims to provide pension funds with greater transparency around the stewardship policies and activities of the 206 asset managers who are signatories of the Stewardship Code.The framework, which is based around the seven principles of the Stewardship ...
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Article
Only 49% are motivated by pay
Almost half (49%) of respondents are motivated by how much they are paid, according to research by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).Its Beyond the bonus: driving employee performance research, which surveyed more than 1,000 employees, found that performance-related bonuses were considerably less effective as a motivator, with only ...
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Article
Sofitel hosts global talent competition for staff
Hotel chain Sofitel has hosted a ‘Sofitel’s Got Talent’ competition for its global employees.The event encouraged all employees to demonstrate their artistic talents by expressing the cultural link of their hotel, city or country within Sofitel’s three brand pillars: design, gastronomy and culture.First prize was awarded to staff at Sofitel ...
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Article
3% pay rises in UK for third year
British employers are planning to maintain this year’s average 3% salary increases in 2014 for the third year running, according to research by Towers Watson.Its biannual Salary budget planning report, which surveyed 10,500 employers across 100 countries, found that this level of salary increase is broadly in line with other ...