All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 686
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Article
HMRC offers tax settle opportunity on EFRBS
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has offered employers the opportunity to settle the tax arising on employer-financed retirement benefit schemes (EFRBS).The settlement opportunity is open until 31 December 2013, with enquiries to be settled by 30 June 2014.EFRBSs are discretionary trusts set up by an employer to provide benefits for ...
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Article
Top 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read articles on employeebenefits.co.uk from 14-21 November:1. How to measure workplace stress2. QVC reduces group risk costs by 63%3. BT Group expands global pay review process4. Buck Consultants and Wragge & Co launch auto-enrolment initiative5. Britvic recognised for employee engagement 6. Norton Rose Fulbright hosts wellbeing ...
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Article
DOD’s blog: Cycle to work safety is vital
When employers know that staff cycle to work do they do enough to promote safety on the roads, I wonder.I only ask because, although I am a strong advocate of treating staff like grown ups and not being an employer nanny, I see too many drivers and cyclists behaving in ...
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Article
Only three hours of productivity a day
Something for the weekend…How much time a day do your employees actually spend working? It seems that the average office worker spends only two hours and 53 minutes a day being productive.According to research by Vouchercloud.com, most of us spend the working day procrastinating, discussing out-of-work activities with colleagues and ...
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Article
David Lloyd Leisure launches corporate gym benefit
David Lloyd Leisure has launched a corporate gym membership called DL Flex.The scheme can be offered by employers to employees through a flexible benefits package, via a salary sacrifice arrangement, as a net pay gym loan deduction or as an employer-paid benefit.The corporate gym membership includes:A session with a personal ...
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Article
Scottish Widows partners Gallagher Employee Benefits for auto-enrolment support
Scottish Widows has partnered Gallagher Employee Benefits to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through auto-enrolment legislation.Gallagher Employee Benefits has developed a service, called GroupSure, which provides access to a range of employee benefits, including a workplace pension. It offers simplified administration aimed at SMEs.A key focus of the service ...
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Article
Line managers too stressed to help staff
Line managers are too stressed and have little time to help employees deal with stress, according to research by health insurer Bupa.The research, which was conducted to support Bupa’s Healthy Minds programme, surveyed 6,000 employees across a range of industries and job titles.It found that more than half (51%) of ...
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Article
Raphael Healthcare launches smoking cessation plan
EXCLUSIVE: Raphael Healthcare has launched an initiative to support employees who wish to give up smoking.The initiative, called New Leaf, was introduced in September and communicated via newsletters, team briefs and staff forums.Esther Josiah, HR manager at Raphael Healthcare, says: “Employees attend a meeting with a practice nurse who provides ...
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Opinion
Suzanne Hughes: Embedding wellbeing and engagement in the workplace
EXCLUSIVE: As a major employer in the UK, understanding levels of employee engagement and wellbeing at Santander is critical. It’s well known that better engaged people are happier people, and the bonus is that the research tells us happier people are more productive too.To help us continue to track and ...
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Article
Zoe Lynch: Will the government's proposed 0.75% pension charges cap be enough?
Since the advent of automatic-enrolment, the government is rightly concerned to ensure that pension scheme members are getting value for money.As a result, we have seen a dizzying number of initiatives and consultations launched in the last few months on workplace pensions, with everyone from the Department for Work and ...
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ArticleWorkplace pensions report 2013
Read the digital edition of the Workplace pensions report 2013.The supplement includes the following articles:Facts and figures on pension schemesHow much do staff need to contribute for a comfortable retirement?Helen Powell: Employer’s role in improving members’ outcomes Molson Coors Brewing Company seeks pensions understanding Contract-based pension scheme comparison table How ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to corporate gym membership 2013
Organisations are recognising that corporate gym membership can help to produce more engaged employees who tend to be happier and have more energy and motivation in the workplace.Signing up to corporate gym membership can save staff money, especially if it is fully funded by the employer. It can be offered ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to healthcare trusts 2013
A cost-effective alternative to private medical insurance (PMI) is for an employer to provide medical cover for staff through a healthcare trust. This can be particularly beneficial for organisations with more than 500 employees and a medical benefit spend exceeding £250,000 a year.Healthcare trusts, which first appeared in the 1980s, ...
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Opinion
Helena Davies: Employer duties surrounding disability and sickness absence
The claimant in HMRC v Whiteley suffered from asthma and had taken 15 days of sickness absence during a 10-month period, 14 of which were for viral and/or chest infections. The employer’s absence management policy was triggered because, even allowing for three days of absence discounted by the employer, she ...
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AnalysisKey healthcare benefits for an ageing workforce
If you read nothing else, read this…Older workers may be healthier than their younger peers.But employers should be mindful of any specific health issues.Training and development can help to optimise cognitive abilities.Lamb believes the offer of companionship from a neighbour could go as far as to give an elderly person ...
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Article
Three pensions consultations announced in November
Consultation on defined ambition pensionsThe Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) proposal to introduce a defined ambition pension was first mooted in November 2012.The consultation, which will close on 19 December, proposes a defined ambition pension to create more certainty for employees, share investment risks more equally and help employers ...
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AnalysisTop five long-service awards for employees
The days of carriage clocks and gold watches as long-service awards are fast disappearing, replaced by gift vouchers and electrical goods as the top gift choices for loyal employees. If you read nothing else, read this… Long-service awards vary across different organisations. The most common long-service awards tend to be ...
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Analysis
Back to basics on balanced managed pension funds
If you read nothing else, read this…Balanced managed funds invest across a small range of asset classes.Transparency in financial services has led to many providers closing or rebranding their balanced managed funds.Balanced managed funds are gradually being replaced by the likes of diversified growth funds.Employers have, by and large, complied ...
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Case Studies
Guernsey Post provides fully-funded healthcare benefits for older workforce
Mary Hurrell, head of HR, says: “We like to look for a mature attitude. Even when we recruit people, we don’t necessarily want to be bringing in lots of young [employees] because, generally speaking, they will come in and do three or four years’ service, maximum, and then they’ll be ...
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AnalysisHow do bespoke and off-the-shelf default investment strategies compare?
If you read nothing else, read this…Off-the-shelf default investment strategies are more common in contract-based defined contribution schemes.Off-the-shelf plans have less governance responsibilities for employers.Bespoke strategies give employers more flexibility in their investment management.The structure of a default strategy is determined by various factors, such as whether a pension scheme ...