All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 705
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OpinionMatthew Webb: The joy of DC investment loss
But is positive return really the zenith of DC investing? In the long term, perhaps, but in the short term, especially in the early years of DC build-up, there is a strong case to suggest a DC investor should look for funds with a decreasing unit price. Why?First rule of ...
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AnalysisWhat makes an organisation a family-friendly employer?
If you read nothing else, read this…Retail or leisure discounts help put money back into families’ pockets.Healthcare benefits, such as private medical insurance and health cash plans, may allow staff to extend cover to family members.Changes to the childcare vouchers scheme and shared parental leave, both coming into force in ...
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Article
Employee Benefits magazine – February 2014
The workplaces in which we do our jobs affect our productivity as well as health and wellbeing. So this month we explore what benefits and HR managers can do to maximise the positive aspects of the physical work environment. Read our coverstory Creature comforts (page 22)East Coast Mainline is keeping ...
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AnalysisHow workplaces can affect employee health
If you read nothing else, read this…Good office design can boost employee health and wellbeing .But corporate culture is just as important and must be driven from chief executives down through organisations.Offices that encourage physical activity can help combat disorders such as obesity .For example, the design features of Long ...
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Article
Ikea pays pension contributions as bonus
Ikea Group became one of the first organisations to take this approach with the launch its reward programme Tack! at the end of last year. Through the scheme, Ikea will pay a total €100 million (£83.6 million) in pension contributions to reward employees with at least five years’ service, assuming ...
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Article
Debi O’Donovan: Positive work spaces have great benefits
Over the years I have worked mostly in offices and have only had a couple of roles that were public-facing across a counter. I have never worked in a manufacturing or construction environment. So my experience of workplaces is narrowly confined to the pokey, dusty office, the open plan office, ...
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Case StudiesEast Coast Mainline keeps reward on track
It is in the process of being re-franchised but will have to wait until October to learn which bidder from a shortlist of interested parties has succeeded. The re-franchising process will be completed in February 2015.John Hayhurst, head of HR at East Coast Mainline, aims to keep the organisation’s benefits ...
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Article
Stay ahead of top trends at Employee Benefits Connect
How the role of the benefits manager is evolving.What impact will 2014 tax changes have on salary sacrifice?Retaining talent with a limited budget during a changing economy.Evolving technology: future view of how benefits will be delivered.What is down the road for salary sacrifice car schemes? Dealing with cancer in the ...
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Article
26% of HMRC staff satisfied with their benefits
Just over a quarter (26%) of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff feel satisfied with their total benefits package.HMRC’s People Survey 2013, which surveyed more than 30,000 employees as part of the Civil Service People Survey, also found that only 25% feel their pay reflects their performance.In addition, 23% said ...
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Article
BT and BBC top pensions league table
BT and the BBC have topped a league table of the UK’s workplace pension schemes for responsible investment, according to research by charity ShareAction.BT and the BBC came joint top with a score of 35 out of a possible 40, followed by the universities’ superannuation scheme in third place.In contrast, ...
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Case StudiesNicolas Tye Architects supports staff with environmentally-friendly office
The glass box-shaped building’s stone flooring and the employer’s footwear-free office policy (staff wear slippers) helps to minimise allergies.The office optimises its air quality with a mechanical cooling system, which provides comfort cooling in summer and pre-heats cool air coming from outside in the winter. The air is filtered, providing ...
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Case StudiesStaff wellbeing underpins building design at Great Ormond Street Hospital
The building, which opened in 2012, has seven floors, one of which is the staff restaurant, which has wall-to-ceiling glazed windows and runs along the entire length of the building.Unlike the traditional hospital set-up, there is a staff room away from the ward area, with views over Coram’s Fields, an ...
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AnalysisEmployers’ legal requirements for workplace management
Welfare provisionsToilets.Hand basins with soap and towels or a hand-drier.Drinking water.A place to store clothing and somewhere for employees to change/lockers.Somewhere for employees to rest/eat food, which could be their desk.Health provisionsA supply of fresh, clean air from outside, either from open windows or via a mechanical ventilation system, such ...
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Article
Mixed messages on 2014 pay landscape
However, the same report also found that just 7% of its 325 respondents intend to raise pay by more than RPI, while 39% intend to raise pay below RPI.The trend towards pay stagnation is also evident among very senior staff. Consultancy EY’s research Into the light: a look back on ...
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Article
Get up to date on tax compliance at Employee Benefits Connect
To help attendees stay on the right side of the tax man, Lesley Fidler, associate director at Baker Tilly, will give an update on the latest tax issues around salary sacrifice arrangements.She will:recap why salary sacrifice provides tax and/or national insurance contribution (NIC) savingsexplain what is expected to happen to ...
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Opinion
Shawn Healy: What quick win tax changes mean for employers
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has identified quick wins to simplify the administration of employee benefits and expenses, nine of which went live in January.HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to allow reimbursements by employees of fuel used for private motoring or in a company car made after the ...
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Article
Mobile-based benefits communications on the rise
But the growing predominance of these types of working patterns means employers must be more creative how they communicate benefits to increasingly mobile workforces, for example using mobile-enabled technology and SMS text messaging.Alex Thurley-Ratcliff, innovation and business development at Shilling, said: “All the work we’re being asked to do is ...
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Article
Citigroup to part pay bonuses in cash
Banking group Citi is to pay a portion of bonuses awarded to employees for 2013 in cash after linking pay to performance.Bankers in the organisation’s Europe, Middle East and Africa units, who have been awarded bonuses of $5 million (£3 million) are in line to receive 40% of this in ...
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ArticleEmployers tackle defined benefit pension deficits
Its Pensions risk survey found that the accounting deficit for FTSE 350 companies stood at £97 billion at 31 December 2013, compared to £72 billion at 31 December 2012.Employers are using a variety of methods to fund, de-risk and manage these pension deficits.Ali Teyyebi, head of DB risk in the ...
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Supplier article
Health Shield launches home assistance benefit for corporate members
The non-profit-making Friendly Society has become the first health cash plan provider to include the benefit in its product portfolio, providing enhanced cover for corporate members.The benefit, which will also be rolled out across tailored schemes later in 2014, covers 14 hours of home assistance cover after a pre-planned hospital ...