Four steps to keeping older employees happy and motivated
With an ageing population in the workplace, promoting policies and behaviours that support health and engagement can lead to a happier, more productive workforce. Read more to find out what you can do to make sure older workers remain motivated and content in their roles.
Are you GDPR ready?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU-wide law on data protection that will come into effect on 25 May 2018.
GDPR should now be a key compliance issue for all employers. If you were to breach GDPR regulations, you could face a maximum penalty of €20 million, or 4% of worldwide annual turnover (if higher).
Make sure you’re compliant with GDPR by assessing the data you hold and how you hold it:
1. Review the way employees and future employees agree to share their information with you
2. Make sure any employee data that is outsourced to data processors, for example payroll providers or benefits providers are protected by new/revised GDPR-compliant contractual agreements
Tax-Free Childcare - your latest update
The childcare voucher closing date has been announced
The government has announced that from 6 April 2018, childcare voucher schemes will close to new entrants.
So what does it mean?
> Parents registering for childcare vouchers for the first time will need to join your scheme and receive a voucher by 5 April 2018
> Parents who are already registered on your scheme will remain eligible for childcare vouchers after 6 April as long as they’ve received a voucher within the last rolling 12-month period
> If it’s more than 12 months since their last order, they need to receive a voucher by 5 April to remain on your scheme
From 6 April 2018, if they haven’t received a childcare in the last 12 months they’ll no longer be eligible for the scheme and TFC will be their only option (assuming they’re eligible).
Read our blog for more information
TFC toolkit for your employees
Over the last couple of years we’ve been updating you on all things Tax-Free Childcare (TFC). To help your working parents understand everything there is to know about TFC we created a dedicated website, with lots of helpful information and tools for you to share with them – we hope you found it useful.
Now that we know the closing date for childcare vouchers and that parents need to receive a voucher by 5 April, there’s a very small window remaining to get new joiners onto your scheme.
For example, if you have a monthly payroll paid at the end of the month, it’s likely parents only have until the end of February to register on your scheme to ensure they receive a voucher in their March pay.
To help, we’ve created some copy you can simply drop into an email and send out to your staff – you just need to add your payroll cut-off dates and scheme IDs.
Travel loans: don't let your employees break the bank getting to work
With train fares increasing by 3.4% last month - the biggest rise in five years - the average season ticket will now set your employees back £2,888*!
Help your employees spread the cost of their commute by talking to us about our travel loan scheme:
> An upfront interest-free loan, with no credit checks or fees
> Employees can spread the cost over the length of the agreed loan period
> Can also help increase employee engagement
For more information about our Travel Loan scheme visit our website or send us an email.