News: Tower Hamlets implements ‘Smarter Working’ initiative
Tower Hamlets Council is enabling its entire workforce of more than 4,000 personnel to work from any location, using any computing device, as part of its ‘Smarter Working’ initiative. The borough expects its carbon footprint to reduce by over 300 tons per annum as a result of the move, which will see it introducing […]
News: HMRC to probe recruitment industry’s £390m tax avoidance scheme
HM Revenue & Customs is to crack down on UK recruitment industry practices following allegations that hundreds of agencies across the country are running multi-million pound tax avoidance schemes. The organisation plans to launch an investigation into claims that agencies are using “travel and subsistence” expenses systems for temporary staff, which are believed to both […]
Blog: How to offer a benefits package that staff actually want
If your company has an employee benefits package, is it offering your employees what they really want? For employers finding the right employee benefits scheme that helps to motivate and retain staff and that employees actually want can be quite a difficult task, particularly when there are discrepancies between what employers care about and what […]
HRD Insight: BP Exploration’s Jane Burt on being a charity trustee
Becoming the trustee of a charity is the kind of volunteering work that can complement your career and help you to develop new personal and professional skills. Being a trustee is not only a valuable way of contributing to the third sector, it can also be an interesting and rewarding experience, helping to broaden your […]
Ask the Expert: Is someone sacked for gross misconduct entitled to unused leave?
The question Reviewing an employee handbook, I noticed that it includes a clause to the effect that an employee summarily dismissed for gross misconduct will forfeit entitlement to payment for unused leave. Can you advise me as to whether this is lawful? The legal verdict Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar […]
Blog: RTI and auto-enrolment – Would HMRC like to join us in real-time?
PAYE has remained largely unchanged since it was introduced in 1944 and HMRC believes it needs to be updated to meet the needs of the 21st century. The forthcoming introduction of Real Time Information (RTI) will mark the biggest change in Pay as You Earn (PAYE) for over 60 years. It will impact upon […]
Expert voice: reaping the value of soft benefits
It’s a basic fact of human nature that we all like to feel valued and nurtured. But with tight budgets making it increasingly difficult to reward staff with big pay rises, organisations are, in many instances, looking at offering so-called soft benefits instead. And office perks such as sporting activities, gym membership and in-house […]
Blog: Are you paying enough attention to staff health and well-being?
A couple of month’s ago the nation’s hearts sank at the sight of Bolton’s Midfielder Fabrice Muamba being resuscitated after collapsing at the FA Cup Quarter final due to a sudden cardiac arrest. The 24 yr old football star took 78 minutes to regain breathing and has bought new awareness to Sudden Cardiac Death Syndrome this […]
Ask the Expert: What is the holiday situation for sick workers going through redundancy?
The question An employee of ours has been on long-term sick leave since May 2011 until the current time. We have just confirmed her redundancy. But she has now asked a holiday-related question about which I would like clarification. She did not take any holidays last year (the holiday year is from January […]
Blog: Six rules to govern company car etiquette
Providing employees with a new company car, new truck, or van is not just a practical move. It can go a long way towards helping employees feel nurtured and respected. It’s also often essential for business operations, especially when a company is sales-based. However, when you put keys into an employee’s hands, you’re not […]
Talking Point: Would you want to live in an ‘anywhere working’ city?
A study last year by the TUC found that employees in the UK spend almost 200 hours a year travelling to and from work. While an average of approximately four hours a week may not sound like a huge amount, it is the equivalent of around five weeks extra work per year. I remember […]
Blog: Will pensions auto-enrolment hit the spot?
With pension auto enrolment due to come into effect towards the end of this year, businesses need to start planning now if they want to get themselves in order ahead of the big switch. If planned correctly the impact on resources for your business required to put the workplace pension scheme into place can be […]
The value of flexible benefits
Recent figures have shown a considerable rise in the take-up of flexible benefits packages lately. In part, this situation can be attributed to factors such as the difficult economic climate and changing employee demographics. Add to these issues the HR community’s growing interest in the subject and it is likely that we will see flexible […]
Flexible benefits revealed: CIPP report
More than seven out of ten employees are offered salary sacrifice schemes by their employers, with the most popular options being either pension contributions or childcare vouchers. These are the key findings of a Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals survey conducted among 213 people during December and early January to establish what type of flexible benefits […]
Blog: Making your employee benefits count – and not just the financial ones
Make your employee benefits count! I am not talking here about financial benefits. If you are a great employer you know the market levels of financial reward and presumably you are paying a fair salary in return for the work of your employees. Pensions are another financial reward which I know is subject to […]
CEO Insight: Sinead Hasson on Hasson Associates’ CSR programme
The arrival of 2012 brought with it the news that there are still 2.65 million people out of work in the UK. Widespread redundancies, salary freezes or even cuts as well as the increasing loss of employee benefits are not only hitting employers hard, but also causing employees to question their job security. And […]
Ask the Expert: Should car allowances be included in sick pay?
The question I have a case of someone who is taking long-term sickness absence (eight months). They were paid a combination of statutory sick pay and company sick pay for the first six months, which included their monthly car allowance in full. Their manager has now decided to stop paying the car allowance, saying […]
Blog: How to help staff get in better financial shape
Saving more money is the one piece of advice personal financial experts are putting a lot of stock into, especially these days as the economy remains shaky. Likely there are many employees dutifully putting in their hours who are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living continually rises. For this reason, it […]
Tube maintenance staff to strike next week
London Underground maintenance staff will go on strike for 72 hours next Tuesday because of a row over pensions and benefits. The Rail Maritime and Transport Workers union, which represents about 1,000 staff who work on the Tube Lines contracts, said that personnel had voted four to one in favour of industrial action, which will […]
Talking Point: Why are there still so few women in the workplace?
Once upon a time, real work was for men and women were expected to stay at home and look after the wellbeing of their families. If anything, they were regarded as the ‘silent reserve’ of the labour market. In the 21st century, however, policy makers and businesses no longer need the devastating impact of the […]
