The new National Living Wage will set employers back £804m in direct costs alone December 14, 2015 The National Living Wage will set private sector employers back £804m in direct costs alone, according to findings released today by the Regulatory Policy Committee. The independent verification body discovered that National Living Wage, which will be introduced in April 2016 at an initial rate of £7.20 an hour for those aged 25 and over, [...]
Just six per cent of the world’s top 1,500 companies have a chief digital officer, although Europe is outpacing North America December 14, 2015 The world may feel like it has been drastically digitised but that might not be true as far as the boardrooms of some of the world's largest companies are concerned. Research released today by Strategy&, PwC's strategy consulting business, has revealed that just six per cent of the world top 1,500 companies by revenue have appointed a [...]
London grandchildren more dependent on grandparents than anywhere else in the UK – with most of capital’s over-55s still providing support to adult children December 14, 2015 Bank of mum and dad has become bank of mum's mum and dad for many Londoners, as research from peer-to-peer lending service Zopa has discovered that those in the capital rely more on grandparents for financial and childcare support than elsewhere in the UK. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of grandparents in London are [...]
Over 7m workers will resolve to find a new job in the new year, and 54 per cent will make a career-related promise December 14, 2015 Employers be warned: a large chunk of your staff might be using New Year's Day not to nurse a hangover, but to polish their CV. Research published today by CV-Library has estimated 7.7m workers will resolve to leave their job in 2016. That's just shy of a quarter of the 31.2m people in work, according to Office [...]
Defined benefit pension schemes becoming less and less popular with FTSE 100 companies, as contributions for their provision falls by 13pc in a year December 14, 2015 Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have fallen further out of favour among FTSE 100 companies, as payments for their provision have tapered off. Research released today by JLT Employee Benefits has revealed that ongoing DB pension provisions among FTSE 100 firms fell 13 per cent in real terms to about £7.2bn in the 12 months [...]
Magic circle law firm Slaughter and May announces Christmas bonus bonanza December 13, 2015 Bankers are not the only ones who can dream of a bumper bonus this year, as law firm Slaughter and May has boosted its bonus pay. The magic circle firm revealed on Friday that its bonus for associates this year would be between nine to 16 per cent for those achieving a good or exceptional [...]
Towers Watson and Willis Group Holdings merger gets the green light from shareholders, with shares in both companies finishing on a high on Friday December 13, 2015 Shareholders gave the green light to the merger between Towers Watson and Willis Group Holdings on Friday. The merger between the professional services firm and the insurance broker, which was first approved by the companies’ boards of directors back in June, suffered a setback in November when key Towers Watson shareholders refused to back the deal, forcing [...]
First-time housebuyers in a festive frenzy, as number of valuations for this purpose rocketed up 31 per cent compared to last year December 11, 2015 Christmas may have come early for some first-time buyers, as the number of valuations for homehunters in this category jumped up last month. According to a report out today by Connells Survey & Valuation, the number of valuations carried out for first-time buyers in November was 31 per cent higher than the same time last [...]
Financial services firms could be doing more to safeguard against risks flowing from handling confidential information, says FCA review December 10, 2015 Financial services firms have further work to do to safeguard against the risks of handling confidential and inside information, according to a thematic review published today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Despite organisations being able to identify key risks that stem from working with sensitive information, the FCA concluded that not enough was being done [...]
Global law firm Pinsent Masons warns that proposed tax avoidance rules for large businesses could make HMRC “judge, jury and executioner” December 10, 2015 A global law firm has today criticised HM Revenue & Customs’s (HMRC) recently announced plans for cracking down on tax avoidance by businesses, saying that parts of the proposals would make HMRC the “judge, jury and executioner.” Further details on legislation that would allow the UK tax authority to place large businesses under special measures if [...]
