June 2022 - Corinthian

29 June 2022

Maintaining high levels of employee satisfaction is key to reducing staff turnover and attracting top talent to your business, and one way to do that is to ensure that your workforce is receiving the benefit, perks, and pensions that they deserve.

We take a closer look at how to simplify the process of providing the best possible package for your team while also reaping maximum benefits for your company.

The Benefits of a Good Workplace Pension

These days, all workplaces must enroll their employees in a pension scheme by law, however, it’s important to make sure that you’re choosing the best workplace pension for your team that gives them the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their retirement will be comfortable and happy, while also helping them to feel valued and appreciated by your organisation.

Different businesses have different pension scheme needs, so it’s important to select the one that’s most appropriate for your requirements. That’s where we can help. We give ongoing support and advice to enable you to select the optimal pension scheme for your workforce that runs smoothly and minimises your management time while also helping you make considerable savings.

Furthermore, we can also do the hard work of communicating the benefits of the scheme to your employees so that they can understand the advantages for themselves and appreciate the investment that you’re making.

Offering Employee Perks

Attracting talent and retaining existing team members these days often requires business leaders to offer something a little more than just a basic salary package. Company perks are a great way to make your workforce feel appreciated and happy, and not only that, but they can help your business to save money too in the long run.

Happy staff are productive workers, and they’re more likely to remain loyal to your brand. That means a lower staff turnover and less need to fund costly recruitment and training drives. There are many different employee perks that you can offer your team, from private medical insurance to free gym membership. The key to success is choosing the right perks to suit your company’s requirements.

This is something that we can also help you with. We take the time to really get to know your business and its needs. Once we know what you need to achieve, we can put forward our proposal for company perks that meet your budget and key objectives.

We know that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to keeping your workforce happy, and that’s why we take a creative and individualistic approach to find just the right perks package for your organisation so you can achieve maximum benefits for you and your workforce.

The Importance of a Happy Workforce

It has been proven time and again that happy workers are productive workers, and a productive workforce is always going to be good news for your business. We’re here to help you keep your team satisfied by offering them the pension and perks packages that keep them loyal today, tomorrow, and in the future.

Discover your Happy Employee Score via our free tool https://scorecard.corinthianbenefits.co.uk/

If you want to chat about this further email: [email protected], or call 0202 189 6100

24 June 2022

A Safe Pair of Hands Charter

As professionals working in or with the UK Personal Finance Sector:

1. We acknowledge that as our services often involve the application of specialist and technical financial knowledge, this places many clients in a position of dependency and as such imposes upon us a greater moral duty to act in their best interests and as a ‘safe pair of hands’ , especially to those who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances.

2. We accept that our professional obligation to use ‘best endeavours’ and place our clients’ interests above our commercial interests have a greater significance to clients who are in vulnerable circumstances and, therefore, at greater risk of detriment.

3. We recognise that vulnerability can manifest itself in either physical, mental or emotional form (knowingly or otherwise), is dynamic in nature (short lived or longer term, sometimes permanent, transient, recurring or fluctuating over time) and may be hidden.

4. When working with clients who seek to access our services, we treat all fairly, regardless of their identity, age, gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, religion or belief, and guard against making assumptions about individuals.

5. We believe that language and terminology is important. Vulnerability relates to circumstances and not a category of person. As such, descriptions such as ‘those in vulnerable circumstances’ should be used at all times instead of ‘vulnerable individuals’, except when only referring to individuals or groups of individuals where vulnerability is permanent.

6. We recognise that people in vulnerable circumstances are often unaware of their vulnerability and, if they are aware, might not acknowledge it nor wish to be described as vulnerable. We, therefore, accept our heightened professional obligations towards clients in vulnerable circumstances; and the need for raised awareness, greater sensitivity, and additional technical competencies.

7. We seek to recognise clients in vulnerable circumstances and encourage all to self-declare if appropriate, safe in the knowledge that we will:

a. adapt our business processes and professional services, so our clients do not suffer detriment at any point as we seek to deliver outcomes at least as good as for those who are not in vulnerable circumstances

b. maintain confidentiality and ensure our behaviours are fully compliant with all relevant legislation including The Equality Act (2010), Consumer Protection regulations, The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and data protection including GDPR.

c. We see application of the above as ‘business as usual’, part of our raison d’être and not part of a separate compliance or ‘stand-alone’ exercise.

8. We seek to enable all members of our organisations to deal compassionately, empathetically and effectively with those in vulnerable circumstances by raising awareness of vulnerability and by providing training to all within our organisations in appropriate methods of engagement and the effective discharge of our professional services.

9. When we encounter clients in vulnerable circumstances and recognise that they may be in immediate danger of significant abuse or harm, or may need immediate support, we will take action to contact the appropriate authorities to mitigate the risks they face.

We are committed to helping our clients through challenging and difficult financial situations, if you are affected and would like to speak to us please call: 0208 189 6100 or email: [email protected]

15 June 2022

Although the people of the UK are constantly being warned that they are facing a pensions crunch in the future, in fact, hundreds of thousands of them are owed money in “lost” personal and company pensions.

The world of work has changed significantly over the past few decades. These days, the “job for life” concept has long gone. Now, people switch employers on a regular basis, and this has led to most people having multiple small pensions that are all too easy to lose track of.

Many pension providers are simply sitting on those assets, often long after those who are entitled to claim them reach the age of 75 or older. The problem is compounded by the fact that people change address relatively frequently, so it becomes difficult for those providers to make contact.

Yet, since only 40% of people aged 55 or older expect to be comfortably off during their retirement, it’s never been more important to locate that lost pension money. Fortunately, there are ways to do this by spring cleaning your finances to find your hidden treasure.

How can I find my missing pensions?

If you believe you have money in missing pensions out there, there are a few ways that you can track them down. If you’re rapidly approaching retirement, locating this hidden treasure could give you a valuable financial boost once you quit work, and if you’re still saving up, you may be able to find a higher-performing scheme that could put your existing funds to better use.

Speak to our team at Corinthian Benefits. Our dedicated team can do the hard work for you – in finding old pensions and advising you on your options for what to do next. Our pension management service my corinthian, enables you to keep all your pensions together in one place.

Not Too sure if you have missing pensions?

We can still help! Thanks to the Pensions Tracing Service, we can simply supply a few details such as the name of your scheme provider or employer and preferably an address. The service will search its database of personal and occupational pension schemes to locate the contact information for the scheme’s administrator so we can then get in touch with them to find out more about how much money you have stored away.

If you want help, drop us a line at [email protected], or call 0208 189 6100

1 June 2022

Every month one of our team at Corinthian Benefits answers a question from an employer, or employee, seeking clarity on pensions and benefits. If you have something to ask our team, submit your question to [email protected]

As an employer, I am seeing the costs of everything go through the roof. For my business to survive, I do need to keep and attract great talent. Can employee benefits help and can I afford them?

So – are employee benefits worth the investment?

When you are a business owner, one thing that you won’t want to have to do is spend too much money on something that you may not think are a worthwhile investment. You may not always need many things when it comes to running a successful business, but there are also equally some things that are 100% must-haves.

A great team working for you is just one example of this. For your business to survive, especially in a competitive world, you need the right people working for you, which means that you need to find a way to attract the best talent to your business.

There are several ways that you can do this. However, one that you should never underestimate is employee benefits.

So, why are employee benefits worth the investment, and can you really afford them?

The perks of having employee benefits

The first thing that we need to look at, is what exactly are the advantages of having employee benefits on others within your business? Of course, the main reason has to be that it rewards those staff members who work so hard for your company.

For you as the employer, it helps you to appeal to the best talent out there on the job market. When you show that you care about the people who work for you, then those looking for the best place to work will want to work with you.

Not only this, but when they start to work for you and know that these great employee benefits will continue, they are much more likely to want to stay with you, meaning that you retain your staff.

Can I afford it?

The next question is whether or not you can afford to pay out for employee benefits. The answer to this is yes. However, you may want to be able to work this out for yourself.

Look at it this way. The cost of recruitment is enormous, not only the obvious costs but also those you may not always think about. This applies to what you need to pay out to bring in the potential candidates and what you may lose in the staff member ready to move on to something new.

They are likely to take time off to head to interviews for new jobs, but they also may feel unmotivated and dis-engaged whilst they work and, therefore, be less productive.

If you are not sure whether or not this is a cost you can pay out, then why not come and see us here at Corinthian? We have put together our very own staff turnover calculator which is designed to weigh up the cost of employee benefits against the real impact of having them in place.

We hope that it shows you that not only are employee benefits something that you should do but also that they will be much more cost-effective than you may realise.

If you want help, please don’t hesitate to email: [email protected], or call: 0208 189 6100