Employee Benefits

A high-profile report calling for universal state-backed childcare has put the government's impending tax-free childcare scheme back in the spotlight. Owain Thomas investigates.

Do employers really need to use a benefits consultant? Nick Martindale investigates what consultants can add to a benefits package or if it can all be done directly with providers.

The Health and Work Service has been formally unveiled alongside official figures that show almost one million long-term absences occur each year. Owain Thomas examines the statistics and the reactions.

Managing liabilities and reducing risk are among the more pressing issues facing defined benefit pension schemes. Jack Jones looks at steps employers can take to tackle these.

The employment tribunal fee system is under review, says minister for employment relations Jenny Willott, as the government does not want a system that ‘puts people off'.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has welcomed the requirement for employees to pay fees when bringing a claim to tribunal, saying the old regime encouraged a "payoff culture".

Hospital group HCA has promised a "vigorous" legal challenge to the ruling of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that it must sell some of it's central London hospitals.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is reducing some of its demands on private healthcare providers and practitioners to address lack of competition and consumer detriment issues in the market.

Private medical insurers (PMIs) are promising to pass on any savings made from the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA) final remedies for the private healthcare market to customers.

Recommendations to increase transparency and market plurality could have a significant effect on employers providing healthcare benefits to their staff. Owain Thomas assesses what the likely impacts are