News
Low and irregularly paid workers may become “accidentally” caught up in auto-enrolment provisions, warns Helm Godfrey.
Employers could face unexpected additional administration and contribution costs for low-paid...
Businesses paid out more than £692 million in expenses last year for claims that were outside of the company policy.
A report from Concur highlighted that nearly £10 out of every £100 reimbursed was spent on...
Large-scale tax disputes will face new governance rules from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as it seeks greater transparency over tax deals.
Following a damning report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which accused...
An investigation into the Government’s involvement with pay and bonuses at state-backed banks is to be launched.
The Treasury Select Committee wants to ensure that “interference” from the Coalition is not...
Unpaid overtime has increased for older employees but has reduced for the rest of the workforce, according to an analysis.
The sharp rise for those in their late 50s and early 60s, which has been detected over the past decade, was...
Controversial plans to allow employers to “hire and fire” staff at will may be revived by the Chancellor in the Budget.
As part of George Osborne’s “go for growth” package, to be announced next...
HSBC has decided to sell shares in order to fund non-deferred bonus payments.
In a pay deal agreed in conjunction with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the bank will create new shares which will be sold to reward its...
Less than one-third of Europe’s executive workforce is made up of women, according to research.
Findings from Mercer’s TRS system, which provides salary benchmarking, highlighted that the issue of gender diversity...
Cutting consultation periods for group redundancy risks unemployment, warns the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The Government is considering scaling back the 90-day time frame to make the process of dismissing staff easier,...
The two largest banks in France are to halve the bonuses awarded to their traders, following a drop in year-on-year profits.
Societe Generale revealed that it had suffered a 39 per cent drop in yields, and its investment arm...
The Chief Executive of Cable & Wireless stands to make £600,000 after working for the company for less than three months.
The technology company could be sold to Vodafone, which would reportedly trigger a clause in...
A “race to the bottom” for pay could be created if the Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations are changed, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Following a call for...
Uncertainty remains over the interaction of salary sacrifice and flexible benefits schemes with auto-enrolment requirements, according to Barnett Waddingham.
Despite the recent publication of information from The Pensions...
Public sector departments, including taxpayer-subsidised entities such as the BBC, have been asked to review their bonus structures.
Cabinet Office Minister, Francis Maude, and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander,...
The inaugural Pay & Benefits Awards 2012 took place in London on 9 February to celebrate the best in the industry.
More than 200 payroll and benefits professionals attended the glittering ceremony, which was hosted by...
Employee morale falls as businesses keep a tight rein on pay due to faltering confidence, according to Hay Group.
The majority of companies stated that they intend to increase remuneration, although at a rate below inflation....
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been given powers to tackle employers that try to avoid paying Pay As You Earn (PAYE) or National Insurance contributions (NICs).
From April 2012 HMRC will be able to insist on a security...
Network Rail’s executive team will forgo their right to a bonus following political pressure over the payouts.
The rail infrastructure firm has postponed its Friday meeting so that remuneration proposals can be further...
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has decided that instead of introducing a “leaver’s statement” the P45 will remain in place.
As part of Real-Time Information (RTI) HMRC had proposed that a leaver’s...
The Transport Secretary is to vote against Network Rail’s £20 million bonus pool, but Labour argues that she is not utilising her powers to prevent the payouts.
Justine Greening has vowed to attend the annual...
More regulations have been announced just nine months before the first employers start introducing auto-enrolment, but research suggests that many are still unprepared.
The Department for Work and Pensions, which released the...
The boss of the Student Loans Company (SLC) will have his Tax and National Insurance deducted "at the source” said Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, after to emerged that he was being paid via a private service...
Cutting the cost of benefits is top of the agenda for employers, according to research from Mercer.
Due to the financial instability in 2011 many organisations are now questioning the feasibility of maintaining their workplace...
Remuneration reforms announced by the Business Secretary have not gone far enough according to Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC).
Vince Cable has revealed a range of measures to curb unwarranted executive pay awards...
The consultation into draft legislation for Real-Time Information (RTI) has now closed, but concerns remain over implementation timescales.
John Harding, Tax Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has welcomed the modernisation of Pay As...
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has shown “an incredible lack of judgment” after deciding to appeal a First-tier tax Tribunal decision over the issuing of penalties.
In HOK v Revenue & Customs a £500 penalty was...
More than 24,000 former Woolworths employees will share £67.8 million in compensation, after administrators failed to consult before making redundancies.
Following the collapse of the company in late 2008, shop workers union Usdaw...
Royal Dutch Shell has announced that it is closing its final salary pension scheme to new members, making it the last FTSE 100 company to do so.
The oil firm made the decision to withdraw its defined benefit (DB) offering next year in...
A landmark Supreme Court age discrimination case has the potential to dramatically change how employers deal with retiring employees.
Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes Ltd considers whether it is fair to force an individual to...
Research has found that childcare provisions are only offered by 10 per cent of employers, contradicting other studies.
The results from Maris Interiors revealed that only eight per cent of staff had the opportunity to take up childcare...
The new two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will only apply to staff who begin work on or after 6 April 2012.
The Government has confirmed that those who are already employed or start a job before 6 April will still...
The Government has launched a multi-million pound campaign to inform employers and employees alike about the introduction of auto-enrolment.
Adverts will outline the fundamentals of the reforms and will point people to the Directgov...
Pay rises in January 2012 were at their highest level since December 2008.
The average increase now stands at 2.8 per cent, although this is limited to the private sector as the public arena has little bargaining power at this time of...
Mediation training will be offered to a group of 24 small and medium-sized enterprises in Cambridge and Manchester.
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills will fund the initiative as part of a pilot to provide a network of...
Maximum compensation limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy payments increased on 1 February 2012.
Falling under the Employment Rights Act, from February onwards the weekly wage limit for calculating redundancy pay will rise by...
David Cameron has admitted that the National Insurance (NI) holiday for new businesses was not as successful as he had hoped.
The Treasury has revealed that only 10,000 companies have taken up the scheme which provides a deduction of up...
Employment tribunal claims dropped by 30 per cent between July and September 2011, compared with the same time the previous year.
Latest Ministry of Justice figures reveal that the number of these cases could be levelling off, according...
More than £153 billion was paid in Income Tax last year – an all-time high, according to HM Revenue & Customs.
Tax as a whole, including elements such as VAT, alcohol and tobacco duties, raised more than £450...
Employee share schemes are a “hugely underused tool in unlocking growth,” said Nick Clegg in a recent speech at Mansion House.
The Deputy Prime Minister has revealed plans to reform the tax system and to cut red tape in...
A third of employees believe that their flexible benefit provision has increased.
The popularity of this type of reward has been highlighted by 85 per cent of employees who rated benefits as important or very important.
The...
Only six per cent of people believe pensions to be straightforward, highlighting that employers will face an uphill communication battle.
A National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) study found that many individuals are confused about...
Businesses are failing to prepare for the rise in absence requests over the Olympic Games period.
Nearly a third of companies have not planned for the disruptions associated with the event, according to Geoffrey Mead, Partner at...
Employers should be wary of making too many employees redundant, argued Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that 2.68 million are now unemployed. However,...
Ahead of the reward season Bob Diamond, Chief Executive of Barclays, has been warned against excessive bonuses.
Vince Cable, Business Secretary, is understood to have advised the banking giant to show restraint during the upcoming round...
Employees are more likely to attend work while ill as a result of the downturn.
A study by Nuffield Health has shown that of those who would consider going into their workplace when sick, around half said that fears over job security...
Traditional employee benefits may not best suit today’s workforce as employees want financial savings products, according to Towers Watson.
The Future of Workplace Savings research found that more than 86 per cent of employees...
Fewer than a third of workers are anticipating a pay rise in the coming year, according to research from uSwitch.
The findings revealed that those who had received a salary increase only got an average of 2.1 per cent, which is still...
Workers want more flexibility in order to avoid taking time off.
Findings from Canada Life Group Insurance show that nearly 60 per cent of employees have taken a day off despite not being ill. A significant proportion of them stated...
