Blog: Using the London Olympics as a motivational tool
With less than a year to go before London hosts the largest sporting event in the world, businesses in the UK are now starting to consider ways in which to increase staff motivation during the 2012 Olympics. The recent release of an article from the Telegraph titled ‘Sickies to soar during Games’ not only reiterated […]
Lincolnshire shared services deal to save £1.3m by axing 20 posts
Plans for North and North East Lincolnshire councils to enter into a shared agreement to jointly provide local taxation and benefits services could save taxpayers £1.3m, mainly by getting rid of 20 full-time equivalent posts. The agreement, which will cover housing and council tax benefits administration, collection of council tax and non-domestic rates and other […]
Tax relief cannot be claimed on car allowances, rules tribunal
A training provider plans go to the Court of Appeal over an upper tier tribunal ruling that tax relief cannot be claimed on car allowances. The upper tribunal ruling in the dispute between Total People – now called Cheshire Employer and Skills Development – and HM Revenue & Customs found that lump sums given to […]
Gloucester Council’s shared service centre to save local jobs
Gloucester City Council’s move to a shared services model for revenues, benefits and welfare rights-based services will safeguard local jobs and should even create more as other authorities sign up to the arrangement, it has claimed. The Council has outsourced the delivery of the services to outsourcing company Civica in a bid to make annual […]
Blog: Agency worker regulations and how legitimately to avoid them
As an HR type, I’ve used agency temps plenty of times. The main attraction of agency workers is the flexibility for employers, particularly in the current economic climate. They form a key part of the ‘flexible workforce’ which means that employers don’t have to commit to employing anyone, just in case the business goes […]
Blog: It’s not just about the money
Retaining your best workers during an economic downturn can make the difference between success and failure for any company. When pay is squeezed and standards of living seem threatened, people naturally focus more on salary and benefits and less on job satisfaction. In a recent survey by the Institute of Administrative Management, more than […]
Business has talent – and much of it over 65
Imagine you had access to the pick of global talent, to some of the most successful business people in the world. Imagine if, in your organisation, you could harness the abilities of any of the following business leaders: Warren Buffett, David Rockefeller, Amar Gopal Bose of Bose Corporation, Gordon Earle Moore of Intel, Bob Oatley […]
Virgin Media provides customer service-style Employee Services
Virgin Media has taken a leaf out of customer services’ book by centralising its HR, payroll and benefits units into a single Employee Services division in a bid to provide staff with a more consistent experience. The telecoms supplier brought the three previously separate teams together so that they could pool resources and share expertise […]
Blog: Is more home-working the Olympics’ legacy for employers?
‘Olympic legacy’ is a phrase mentioned on a daily basis at present. But what effect will London 2012 have on businesses in the capital? For starters, a meltdown of public transport according to Olympic Games organisers and Transport for London. There’ll be three million more journeys a day including one million more Tube passengers during […]
Update: Health unions plan first ever NHS-wide strike
Health service unions are planning to launch a series of targeted, rolling strikes this autumn rather than a mass walkout if pension negotiations with the coalition government fail as expected. The news came to light after Unison, which represents 460,000 NHS workers, hosted a meeting with other unions in London on Wednesday, in order to […]
Legal Insight: Where does long-term sick leave end and annual leave begin?
The boundaries between annual leave and sick leave and where they lie has been a growing issue in both the courts and employment tribunals over the last couple of years, points out Harriet Broughton, a solicitor at Bevans. The problem arises because the Working Time Regulations 1998 state that annual leave “may only be taken […]
Ask the Expert: How to stop a one-off lease car perk becoming a given?
The Question We have a lease car sitting in the car park as the employee left after only six month’s service and will not be replaced. I suggested using it as a pool car till the lease comes to an end but the MD wants to give it to one particular member of staff. […]
Benefits must be tailored to age to attract top talent
Benefits must be tailored to workers’ age profile if such packages are to help employers attract and retain top talent effectively, a study has shown. According to a survey among 2,000 UK adults undertaken by YouGov and commissioned by workplace consultancy Croner, issues such as flexible working, company reputation and workplace culture were highly valued […]
VAT changes could threaten salary sacrifice schemes
From January 1 2012, companies will have to pay VAT on non-cash goods and services provided to employees in exchange for some of their salary, HMRC has announced. According to Nick Huber, writing for our sister site www.AccountingWeb.co.uk, the change to the VAT treatment of salary sacrifice schemes, which often include such as bikes, […]
Whither employee benefits?
Has the provision of employee benefits passed its peak? The answer to the question depends on the reasons why benefits were offered in the first place. If they were constructed as part of a package to attract and retain employees, the recession and public sector spending cuts have probably stalled the momentum in benefits provision. […]
You need to insulate your car scheme from supply chain risks
Experts are warning that businesses face greater risks from complex service supply arrangements than they may realise. The issue isn’t confined to manufacturing: these days, almost everything from payroll processing to company cars reaches the end-user business at the end of an intricate supply chain. Everyone wants last-minute ordering and delivery because minimising slack means […]
Case in point: The importance of pay in lieu of notice clauses
The recent case of Societe General v Geys [2011] EWCA Civ 307 has highlighted the need for companies to check the existence of ‘pay in lieu of notice clauses’ (‘PILON’) in employment contracts and the effects they have on both the employer and employee on termination of a contract – the effects can be substantial. […]
Work smarter: Welcome to the office of the future
You probably didn’t think the office of the future would be in Wootton Bassett, but one tech company have made themselves a workspace that would leave Marty McFly in a spin… Plantronics have all the gadgets. They make headsets and other work-related electronics which turn workplaces into mobile work-anywhere spaces, and help mobile workers stay […]
Smartworking: the future of work
Do you spend your working day on conference calls? Are you a member of a couple of dozen LinkedIn groups, and several different teams? If it feels as though project working, and dispersed team membership, are becoming more common and more complex, it’s because they are. There has been a three-fold increase in the number […]
Payroll giving encouraged in ‘Big Society’ re-launch
The coalition government has unveiled a year-long awareness campaign to encourage employers to support payroll giving among their staff as part of the latest re-launch of its ‘Big Society’ concept. At an Every Business Commits Forum event in Milton Keynes yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron said that the aim was to make it easier for […]