Retail vouchers, experience days, cycle-to-work schemes, iPads, free gym membership. The benefits market has devised numerous new perks in recent years, but which are most effective? Emma Page reports. Benefits are evolving, albeit slowly, in respons  More...
03 December 2012 08:06

On 1 January 2012, new rules on the VAT treatment of certain benefits provided under salary-sacrifice schemes will come into force. The changes follow a ruling in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that, where an employer operates a salary-sacrifice  More...
31 December 2011 13:50

Incentivising staff in these challenging economic times is more important than ever as employers look to increase productivity and get more "bang for their buck". Similarly, the cost of recruitment often means that it is more cost-effective to retain ex  More...
01 August 2011 09:52

The number of working parents in the UK is on the rise. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2010, the employment rate for lone parents with dependent children was 57.2%, for married or cohabiting mothers was 71.3% and for m  More...
06 June 2011 15:15

The number of employees donating to charity through their employer's payroll scheme has risen by more than 150% over the past 10 years, figures have revealed. Last year, £81 million was donated to charity by the 500,000 employees who give every   More...
22 September 2010 14:50

The reduced company car tax on low-emission cars has suddenly made salary sacrifice attractive for both employers and employees. Company car schemes have recently become a hot topic among employee benefits professionals. The very low company car tax  More...
16 August 2010 14:05

Giving employees a company car allowance instead of a car can help employers avoid company car tax. A company car allowance, also known as 'cash for car', is, put simply, cash paid to the employee instead of a company car. The company benefits  More...
16 August 2010 14:05

Employers are being urged to review their salary-sacrifice retail voucher arrangements following a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that VAT must be paid on vouchers handed out to staff. The ECJ has followed the Advocate General's opinion  More...
03 August 2010 14:26

Cycle to Work schemes present various legal questions, the answers to which Ben Stepney and Megan Fradgley provide below. This article is part of a Personnel Today Buyers' Guide, a free, independent resource for employers thinking of impl  More...
28 May 2010 13:55

This article is part of a Personnel Today Buyers' Guide, a free, independent resource for employers thinking of implementing a scheme. Register now to access all cycle to work content. Cycle to work schemes offer employers and employees a raft  More...
28 May 2010 09:00

Employers are facing up to far higher childcare voucher costs than they anticipated, but lack of government clarification means confusion continues to reign over salary sacrifice during maternity leave. John Charlton reports. Update o  More...
09 July 2009 15:44

Employers remain confused about whether they are required pick up the bill for childcare voucher schemes when their employees go on maternity leave. Bob Fahy, a solicitor at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP , answers some of the key questions employers   More...
09 July 2009 15:40

One relatively pain-free way for staff to increase their pension contributions is through salary sacrifice. Ian Bird details what this involves for employees and employers, and points out the downsides. 2012 will see a huge change in the pensions la  More...
06 July 2009 12:22

Many UK employers either don't consider using salary sacrifice in pension plans or ignore it, claims actuarial consultancy Punter Southall, following a survey of more than 300 UK organisations ranging from charities to manufacturers. It found   More...
03 July 2009 12:38

Closing final salary pension schemes and offering new starters a different rewards package in a bid to save costs risks causing a divide between new and existing employees who believe the changed deal is more appealing, employers have been warned. O  More...
05 June 2009 10:53

HR managers should be telling high earners in their organisations how to take advantage of salary sacrifice to boost pension contributions and cut tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions. Changes to taxation on annual earnings of more th  More...
11 May 2009 11:00

T-mobile has stepped up efforts in its corporate social responsibility agenda after the firm introduced a bus-pass incentive scheme for employees to increase their use of public transport. Staff at the mobile phone giant can shave up to 40% off the   More...
11 May 2009 09:29

Now, as the UK economy falls into the doldrums, is the time for innovative thinking around benefits provision. And this applies as much to providers as to users. Periods of doom and gloom tend to be perfect hunting ground for the opportunists of this  More...
28 April 2009 12:05

The new Zenith Provecta Salary Sacrifice scheme for cars has proven popular with employers. The scheme, designed to reduce costs for all parties within the framework of an environmentally aware car policy, took more than 350 orders and processed 20,0  More...
28 April 2009 09:05