Quarterly Poll Question
April 14, 2011
Default Retirement Age
April 11, 2011
By Kirstie Johnson, Associate Solicitor in the Employment Department, Lamb Brooks, an established legal practice for over 200 years offering a traditional service with a modern touch. www.lambbrooks.com
Employers are no longer able to use the default retirement age to compulsorily retire employees and, unless a retirement procedure was commenced on or before 5 April 2011, retirement can no longer be relied on as a potentially fair reason for dismissal.
For those employers who did give lawful notice of retirement to an employee on or before 5 April 2011, they will be able to continue with the procedure under the transitional provisions and there is some flexibility in these provisions which allows an employer to agree an extension with the employee.
Where an employer gave 12 months notice of retirement, the employer will be able to agree to an extension of up to 6 months under the employee’s ‘right to request’ to carry on working; as long as the latest date of retirement is 5 October 2012. However, where the employer gave 6 months notice of retirement, the employer will still only be able to agree an extension of up to 6 months – even if a longer extension would still result in an earlier retirement date than 5 October 2012. This is because, under the statutory procedures, where an employer agrees an extension of more than six months, it has to issue a fresh notice of intention to retire – which it now cannot do!
If an employer wants to retain a compulsory retirement age in its contract then it will have prove that this is objectively justified as being ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. It will depend on the circumstances of the employer and the nature of the job in question but the general consensus is that this is unlikely to be an easy test to pass. Otherwise employers who want to dismiss an older employee will have to treat them the same as any other employee and show that they have a potentially fair reason for doing so.
Employers should also bear in mind that they can no longer refuse to recruit an employee aged 64 ½ or more. Job applicants will have to be evaluated equally, regardless of their age, unless a difference in treatment can be objectively justified.
Is Your Website Attracting Parents or Putting Them Off?
April 11, 2011
By Danny Bermant, Director, Brainstorm Design Ltd, an internet consultancy which specialises in converting website visitors to customers. www.brainstormdesignltd.com
During the current recession, many businesses have abandoned traditional advertising and have focused on their websites instead. They have done this for a number of reasons:
- The cost of promoting a business online is significantly less than the cost of traditional advertising.
- You can measure how many visitors/enquires you are getting and then see the return on your investment.
- Unlike a traditional advertisement, websites are interactive. For example, you can invite people to subscribe to your newsletter or to fill in your enquiry form.
If you’re looking to advertise your school to prospective parents, how do you go about it?
The main piece of advice is: Keep it simple!
- Your home page is the “shop window” of your school so don’t over-clutter it. If your primary objective is attracting new pupils, this should be the main focus of your home page. Don’t fill it with lots of other messages.
- Every website needs an effective “call to action” in order to succeed. A call to action is an objective for users to complete whether it is filling in an enquiry form or signing up for a newsletter. Your call to action needs to be compelling. Make sure you have a hook e.g. “80% of our A-level pupils received places at the University of their choice – Click here to find out more”.
- Keep the message simple – website visitors have a short attention span. Limit the text to a couple of sentences and use visual imagery to help interpret the message.
- 80% of website visitors only view the area of the home page above the fold (i.e. they won’t scroll beyond the bottom of the screen), so make sure that the key messages are at the top of the page.
- For those visitors who do scroll below the fold of this page, this area can be more focused towards reinforcing your credibility as well as promoting return visits to the site e.g. a brief summary of the school, a link to a news item, information about extra curricular activities.
- If visitors can’t find what they want on the homepage make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for elsewhere on the site. The top right hand side of the home page (and all pages) is where you should put the most commonly required information: your phone number, email address, and a search box (users will often go directly to the search box before clicking on any links).
Remember that first impressions count. If you’re looking to attract new pupils to your school, your home page may be the first (and last) opportunity you get to sell your school to the parents of those pupils.
The New Rules for Pensions and The Teachers Pension Scheme
April 11, 2011
By Alastair Lyon, Partner, Crowe Clark Whitehill, audit partner and member of the firm’s Not for Profit unit. Alastair acts for several schools and has been involved in the sector for over 20 years. www.crowehorwath.net/uk/
As a bursar, you are expected to have a good understanding of the Teachers Pension Scheme. It may help in your dealings with teachers to know about a couple of changes that are coming in that affect all teachers but particularly those who have recently had a substantial pay rise or promotion.
On 6th April 2011 the Annual Allowance for pension contributions, and the amount that can be built up in pension arrangements, are being reduced. These changes can be summarised as:-
- the Annual Allowance for each tax year (6th April – 5th April) will be reduced to £50,000, with an ability to ‘carry forward’ unused relief from the preceding three tax years.
- the Lifetime Allowance will be reduced from £1.8 million to £1.5 million from 6th April 2012.
What is the Annual Allowance calculation?
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme, uses a formula to calculate the deemed contribution for any tax year. In simple terms this is the difference between someone’s pension entitlement at the end of the year less their entitlement at the start of the year, all multiplied by 16. This is not the same as the contributions actually paid! If this movement strays over the new limit of £50,000, then the excess will be taxable. So for example if a teacher’s pension entitlement moved from £25,000p.a. to £28,000p.a. in one year, then the deemed contributions are £28,000-£25,000=£3,000 X 16=£48,000 which is just under the limit.
What is the Lifetime Allowance (“LTA”)?
At the point of retirement, the pension entitlement will be multiplied by a factor of 20 e.g. a pension entitlement of £10,000 equates to £200,000 when tested against the LTA.
Should retirement benefits from all sources exceed the LTA then the excess can be returned to them less a 55% tax charge, or, if taken as income it would suffer a 25% tax charge.
The above is just an overview, and there are a lot more detailed rules. If you would like to know more it is recommended you contact a professional advisor.
The Commercial Benefits of Sustainable Print Procurement
April 11, 2011
By Sara Brown, Senior Account Manager, Greenhouse Graphics an award winning graphics company specialising in graphic design, commercial printing, web design & development services, digital marketing and signage. www.greenhousegraphics.co.uk
‘Green’ products are sold as an ethical choice and, because they have added value, often attract a price premium. Businesses create the idea that a ‘green’ product offers more than the standard version of this product. Therefore there must be a charge for this additional offering. In many cases there is no additional cost base to justify this pricing. It is based on what consumers will expect to pay.
The psychology of the consumer has been trained to expect this. Organic foods are sold on this basis. So when you are buying ethically you are often put into the predicament of having to pay more to satisfy your conscience.
In terms of print procurement this mindset is problematic. It is problematic because printing sustainably reduces your cost base and allows your products to be more price competitive. However, as most marketers will tell you, what individuals perceive to be true is the truth. When you advertise a greener printing choice you have to beware of the perception that this will create in the minds of print buyers as to what the implication is for your prices.
It is a battle to educate customers about the real commercial benefits of sustainable print procurement. Better pricing results from less waste produced, reduced waste disposal costs, reduced insurance risk (and therefore premiums), improved production efficiency, less resource usage, reduced energy costs and improved staff morale and motivation.
Sustainable print procurement can therefore be based on sound commercial decisions rather than purely ethical choices and should not be discounted when considering your options.
- Yay! I've just won a pair of CB40 cricket tickets for the #rosebowl thanks to @thewowcompany They're at #BizSouth tomorrow, go see them!
- School Procurement News Weekly is out! http://t.co/YmsYN2aC
- A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him ~David Brinkley <like this one. Very apt!
- Office wall starting to resemble a shrine to @nigelbotterill Thanx @ReallyFlyBiz for my new poster! http://t.co/yvkGJWWS
- "@thewowcompany: To celebrate #BizSouth at #rosebowl, we're giving away 5 pairs of CB40 tickets to watch @hantscricket. RT to enter"
- My #ff this week is @BravoBCoT for his great work in the education sector and for maintaining his sense of humour during our Twitter debate!
