For many retired people, Inheritance Tax planning is not a major objective. Very surprising when you consider that the Treasury, in 2008, took over£4 billion pounds in a tax which is often known as a â?? voluntary taxâ?.

Why do people put off Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning? According to unbiased.co.uk 74% of people were not told about it !

Usually the single largest asset is the family home- and there are few simple, uncomplicated cheap ways of ensuring it can be eliminated from the estate.  Equity release can form one effective method of Inheritance Tax planning, but it is still tainted, in some eyes, with bad experiences of the past, before the regulators stamped out schemes which were subsequently proven to have big potential drawbacks.

Many people start their Inheritance Tax planning process by taking out life assurance to cover any liability, but of course, this does depend on the costs involved, which are directly related to the assurability of the elderly client. Age and ill health would therefore make it unaffordable.

The political impact on Inheritance Tax planning has also meant that action has been put on the back burner- but since the credit  crunch will be felt for many years, any raising of the bar on IHT allowances seem now to be very optimistic. IHT is the easiest tax to collect because estates are not distributed until after probate is granted, at which time, a liability is paid over to HMG.

One of the most common myths of investments is the statement that Individual Savings Accounts (ISAâ??s) are tax efficient. They are very Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax efficient, but are totally ineffective as far as Inheritance Tax planning is concerned. With clients having accumulated significant funds with ISAâ??s and their predecessor PEPâ??s. Reviewing the alternatives is a quite simple process of eliminating the 40% tax charge which would be take from it.

The starting point is the review ( or making!) of the family will. This will ensure that for a couple, both nil rate band allowances are utilized to maximum advantage, and that estates go to the people intended. The most recent celebrity example of this is Peter Sellers. His estate has now gone almost exclusively to the two children of one of his divorced wives- no direct blood relatives. His own children received very small bequests because his will was not set up to reflect his latter day circumstances.

Copyright © 2009

Life insurance provides financial protection to your family and dependents in case of any unforeseen event or your untimely death. To cover you under a life insurance policy, an insurance company will charge you a certain sum of money, called the premium periodically. The premium paid helps cover the risk that the life insurance company takes by insuring your life and in turn entitles your family to receive a fixed lump sum.

The premium you pay for the life insurance depends on a variety of factors including age, health and the amount of life insurance cover you want etc. However, life insurance premiums are typically lower for younger, healthier people, so starting early i.e. taking a life insurance early is always beneficial for you.

Types of Life Insurance Plans,

Term Plan- A term insurance plan is a pure risk cover for a specified period of time. What this means is that the sum assured is payable only if the policyholder dies within the policy term.
ULIP’s- ULIP’s are investment plans for those who realise the worth of hard-earned money. These plans help you see your savings yield rich benefits and help you save tax even if you don’t have consistent income.
Pension Plan- The purpose of this plan is to protect against risk as well as provide money in the form of pension at regular intervals.
Child Protection Plans- These policies are structured to provide sums required as anticipated expenses (marriage, education, etc) over a period of time.
Money Back/Endowment Plan- an Endowment is a combination of savings along with risk cover. These policies are specifically designed to accumulate wealth and at the same time cover your life.

Life Insurance is required because of the following factors -

Life insurance provides financial protection to your family in case of any unforeseen event or your untimely death.
After retirement, there is no guarantee of your ability to earn consistently for rest of your life.
The expenses you may incur in future will keep increasing due to inflation, thus even a fluctuation in your income may lead to a compromised lifestyle,
Limited access to information and the time constraints you have may lead to inefficient management of your investments resulting in grim returns.
Your limited appetite to take risk may hinder you from parking your savings into pure equity options.

AN OUTLINE OF THE TERMS WHICH SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ALL CONTRACTS of EMPLOYMENT

There exists a contract between each employee and employer which is not necessarily, but is preferred to be, in writing, not necessarily as a single, and often more than one, document readily accessible, containing in a written statement which must be issued to the employee by the employer within a period of not longer than two months from the date of the commencement of the employment, if the employee works more than eight hours per week and has continuously been employed for at least one month, which must contain the major terms of the contract of employment ~of which some are express terms and found also in itemised pay or salary slips and notices and in such other documents as work-rules and relating to any collective agreements affecting and not by the individual employee contracted with objected to -as well as in verbal exchanges such as oral instructions (if only can be proven, in practice), and some are legally bindingly implied terms in common-law and/or by custom and practice and increasingly by statute.

>>>Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended, treats the written two-month statement as being the most crucial and important source of the express terms of the contract of employment which the Act requires that must include the following:

i… The names of both the employer and the employee;

ii… the date of commencement of the employment;

iii… the remuneration -including the method of payment and at what intervals paid ~and in the case employment outside the UK longer than one month extra pay;

iv… the holiday and sick-leave entitlements;

v… pensions and pension schemes;

vi… notice requirements -or reference to statutory entitlements if not better;

vii… the area of employment -indicating if place of work is more than one;

viii… the job-title and description -which may be brief;

ix… details of the disciplinary and grievance procedures -ACAS’s are regarded the minimum.

>>>As to implied terms, there exist in common-law and by statute a number of duties of which some are on the part of the employee, and those binding on, or also on, the employer are…

i… Mutual respect.. in Warner -v- Barbers Stores 1978 refusal to give leave of absence to attend to a domestic crisis was breach of contract, as was to swear at the employee in Palmanor -v- Cedron 1977 but if in that particular trade in common use Futty -v- Brekkers 1975 might excuse it, and to have been heard by another speaking derogatorily of the employee also was a breach in Isle of Wight Tourist Board -v- Coombes 1978…

ii… Remunerating and paying wages so long as the employee is available for work, even if no work is provided -unless collectively or as guarantee payments in cases of short-time work or lay-offs…

iii… Provision of Work.. for.. in Devon -v- Roser & Son 1906 one might be on piece-work or Turner -v- Goldsmith 1891 commission-wise might suffer, at any rate Provincial Financial Group -v- Hayward 1989 is entitled to practise and retain his skill -Clayton -v- Oliver 1930 it may affect his reputation…

iv… Indemnifying.. any expenses employee reasonably incurred the course his job…

v… References.. if chooses to give about the employee to another, with care must do so, Spring -v- Guardian Assurance plc 1994 else he may be liable to the (former) employee for negligence or recklessness for any loss so caused…

vi… Confidentiality.. of the details furnished by the employee must not without his permission without a right in law to do so be broken, for they were not in Dagleish -v- Lothian Border Police Board 1991 in the public domain and an injunction prevented disclosure for identifying non-payers of poll-tax…

vii… Care in safety.. must be not less than reasonable in providing and maintaining a safe place of work as well as tools and equipment and competent colleagues -Walker -v- Northumberland County Council 1944: else may be liable to the employee for any physical injury or psychiatric harm.

viii… By statute implied terms include those below:

a… Paid maternity leave and job protection;

b… time off for union activities or to seek work if under redundancy notice;

c… a safe system of work;

d… guarantee and statutory sick pay;

e… equal opportunities regardless of race, gender, marital status;

f… not to dismiss wrongfully, nor unfairly -including constructively.

An employee has the right to ask an employment tribunal has the obligation to order an employer to issue these and, if the Written Statement is not in issued or not in full or clear, in case of employment termination or any other employment dispute to deem it issued as statutorily required and binding in determining the matter -as well as to hold the employer in breach of the laws relating to contracts of employment.

This is an outline –laws change, always ascertain current law.

It seems that life expectancy for Mr Average has risen by as much as five years in the past 12 years or so. This is brilliant news for the men, but there’s a sting in the tail. No longer can women claim that a more sensible attitude to a healthy lifestyle has put them way ahead in life expectancy stakes. It may not be true for very much longer. This could potentially mean that men could eventually overhaul women in the life expectancy stakes.

These figures are concerning life insurance companies as they grow more and more worried regarding ones referring to female mortality rates as it seems that the growth rate for female life expectancy has virtually reached a standstill. A representative of one of the main life insurance companies stated that although looking at the figures over the last 5 years, it first appeared like a blip, they now see it as start of a trend, and consider it the biggest issue in life insurance at present.

Men living longer will obviously result in greatly increased costs to pension providers, which will be millions of pounds in the long term. Therefore the implications for the insurance industry are enormous. There was a study published in an insurance industry publication which confirmed the view of the industry – in that in time, as the length of time between retirement and death grows longer, then the pensions being claimed will need increased funding. This has implications for more than the insurance industry, as most of us will be paying into pension funds, be they state or private schemes and some of us have both. Recent discussions re the raising of pension ages will obviously make a difference to the figures being toyed with.

The reasons for this life expectancy increase would seem to be due to changes in lifestyle, particularly in respect to younger women. Recent television programmes feature the behaviour of young women, showing that the numbers that smoke, drink to excess and generally behave like “ladettes” are rising fast. Binge drinking was once almost entirely the domain of younger males but women seem to be taking the lead and leading very much less healthy lifestyles. The consumption of alcohol by females has doubled over the past 20 years. It’s a fact that figures show that whilst 7 per cent of women owned up to drinking more than safe guidelines in 1987, by 2000, the number was more than 17 per cent. Government guidelines and advice seem to have been largely ignored by this group of people.

Cancer Research broadly agrees with these atrocious figures and say there are serious health and social repercussions. Going back some thirty years, twice as many men as women were smokers. It seems that women have now caught up and the figures are virtually the same. All this evidence adds up to the fact that millions of females, particularly younger ones, really need to stop and think about their lifestyles in general and hopefully will consider making a change in their drinking and smoking habits.

Introduction

With a trend that has moved away from investing in equities and pensions to secure financial security in old age, there are a growing number of people relying on buy-to-let investments to assure their future financial stability. The problem is that as soon as a buy-to-let property is sold the difference between the purchase price and the sale price is subject to Capital Gains Tax. This article looks at the different tax efficient ways of unlocking equity in buy-to-let properties

Reducing Tax Liabilities on Buy-To-Let Properties

Recognising a changing market, several loan providers are now altering traditional equity release schemes to accommodate the rise in buy-to-let investment. The conventional method of taking out a lifetime mortgage against a person’s main abode has now been extended to buy-to-lets, holiday cottages and second homes for the first time. A lifetime mortgage is a loan where there is no periodic premium payable and the interest accrues until either the investor dies, is put into permanent care or sells the property.

The schemes available to the over sixties are likely to prove popular to people who want to get at the equity in their properties without having to sell. They also avoid big capital gains tax (CGT) bills they would have to pay if they sold up, although it has to be said they could be potentially passing on a capital gain liability to their heirs.

The sustained increase in property prices means that buy-to-let investors and second homeowners are sitting on substantial profits. At the time of writing, property prices have risen 8% over the last year. This means that someone who invested £400,000 in buy-to-let properties a year ago is already looking at a capital gain of £32,000. The average buy-to-let portfolio, worth around £1.5 million has been boosted by about £100,000 in the last three months alone.

A higher rate tax payer who has made a £100,000 gain on a £250,000 buy-to-let property over the last five years would face a CGT bill of £31,000 it is was sold.

The new buy-to-let lifetime mortgage loans take advantage of the Inland Revenue (IR) rule that profits are calculated at death. When people die and leave their belongings to their families or anyone else there is no CGT to pay at the time. The CGT is only payable on the difference in value (by market value) at the time of death and when the home is sold.

In the above example a higher rate taxpayer could pass the entire property to his or her family CGT free. A year later the inheritor might sell the property for £260,000 and for tax purposes would have only made a gain of £10,000 and the tax bill would be reduced from £31,000 to only £480. However, you would still have to note that inheritance tax (IHT) would still have to be paid if the total value of the estate went over the current threshold of £285,0000.

One of the attractions of using the lifetime mortgage method to release equity is that the owner would still keep rental income for the lifetime of the loan and interest on the loan can be offset against tax, even though the interest is rolled up and only payable at the end of the loan term.

Lifetime mortgages are already very popular with pensioners who want to unlock equity but still live in their home rent-free. The problem is that the total amount of interest payable could wipe out any profits made on the taking part in the scheme. Another word of caution is that the interest on lifetime loans is higher than mainstream mortgages and may come out at between 1.25 and 2.0 points higher.

However some providers like Life Mortgages offer ‘no negative equity’ guarantees which guard against the rolled up debt every being greater than the value of the property it is secured against. This stops the potential of actually passing on debt rather than equity to heirs and leaves a worse case scenario of leaving no assets rather than having to pay off an outstanding loan to the mortgage provider.

Many experts suggest that Lifetime mortgages are only really beneficial to people who have no other means of supporting themselves in retirement.

Your age determines how much you can borrow and starts from around 15% of the property value at age 60% up to 48% for those aged over 90. At the time of writing the minimum amount providers will lend is £26,000 with a ceiling of around £500,000. It is also worth bearing in mind there are early redemption penalties if the loan is repaid early and the loan must be repaid in full within a year if you are forced to move into long term care.

Lifetime mortgages can only be obtained from providers who are authorised to sell them by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Conclusion

The positives of using these types of loans are that people can release equity tied up in a second home or buy-to-let portfolio without having to sell, capital gains tax is deferred and there are no monthly repayments, as the loan is only settled at the end of the term. Negatives are that it is a costly way to borrow and, as there are no repayments made against the loan, you are charged interest on the interest accrued, so the schemes have the potential of eating into or wiping out your family’s inheritance.

With life insurance policy in hand today, you can provide financial security for your family, protect your home against loans, save for your child’s education and marriage, address your retirement and estate planning needs  and the list goes on. The choice is simple – do you wish for even one of the above? And if the answer is yes; then life insurance provides a customized solution for each of them.

Increasingly people are aware of life insurance and the important role it plays but choosing an insurance plan can be very challenging. Most people do not possess the experience they need and information to select the right plan for them. In addition, they have a great deal of trouble calculating how much insurance they need. Often, they underinsure.

This is where the need for a financial planner comes in, someone who can take into account your personal finance situation and help you decide which insurance you need, and equally important, how much you need. Many clients come in knowing they need insurance, but not knowing what kind. Other clients may have insurance but have unknowingly purchased the wrong cover or not enough and need to make changes. They are always grateful for the experienced help they get. A phone call can work perfectly well if a personal meeting is not possible.

We at InvestmentYogi,  are an online personal finance service that offers financial planning, tax planning, budgeting and more, has a different approach. We have developed a software tool which can calculate how much insurance you need automatically, and tell you if you are underinsured or not. This is all online and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.Below are a couple of calculators:

http://investmentyogi.com/cs/widgets/ExpenseProtectionCalc.aspx

http://investmentyogi.com/cs/widgets/InsuranceHumanLifeCalc.aspx

Most Indians are underinsured and do not understand the right amount of insurance for their situation. In fact, insurance is looked upon as a tax saving and investment avenue rather than a cost to provide financial security to oneâ??s family. The country has thus seen a high demand for products like endowment, money-back and unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) vis-à-vis term plans. This is  despite the fact that the premium payable for a pure term plan is just a fraction of other plans. What this leads to is underinsurance to sustain affordability of such savings plans.

According to the annual report of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA), the total amount of sum assured (life cover) taken by all citizens of the country together is just about Rs 23,96,646 crore as on March 31 â??08 which is accounted for by 26 crore odd life insurance policies. This means that on an average, sum assured per policy is just a little over Rs. 90,000. What is even more disheartening is the fact that even those who are insured are covered for sums too petty to be called an insurance cover for life.

Individuals must do accurate calculations of how much insurance they need and purchase sufficient cover to match that. If insurance as an investment is not an option due to cost (or objectives, or other issues) then term insurance can often meet their needs. Term is not yet popular in India and not well understood but often it may be the best option.

The need for life insurance can be traced through every stage in a personâ??s life. From Term Insurance or Pure Risk cover, the cheapest and purest form of life insurance which addresses loan protection and financial loss on death, to Endowment Plans, both traditional and market linked, that help in savings and investment for future goals and events, to Pension Plans that look after post retirement income replacement, Life Insurance products can offer solutions for comprehensive financial planning.

Because of the ongoing need and changing situations, it is helpful to have a financial planner assisting clients in making the right choices, and making changes when needed. A helping hand will always help the client buy whatâ??s right for him. The following is a typical evolution of life insurance needs:

Early 20â??s – Single and starting a career â?? at this stage in life, where one is free to fend for himself/herself, the need for life insurance is low. However, with age on oneâ??s side and the anticipation of responsibilities and liabilities that are about to start shortly, a term plan can be considered as an initiative for the future.  With income not sufficient to support a savings plan, term plans will provide the right cover with a more affordable premium. Late 20â??s & 30â??s – Marriage, liabilities and setting goals â?? at this stage, life insurance plans can provide both protection as well as an investment avenue for future goals. Liabilities are at the forefront when thinking of securing the familyâ??s future. One needs to ensure that liabilities are covered so that the family is not bogged down with the burden of paying them off with the loss of their earning member. Next step is to take sufficient insurance to ensure that the family will be provided for, continuing the same lifestyle that they are accustomed to. Term plans, even though possessing no maturity benefits, can provide just the right amount of protection needed for this. To protect and save towards future goals, one can look at a combination of endowment or childrenâ??s plans (depending on the goals) and term plans, depending on the affordability of the same. Late 30â??s till retirement – in addition to all that is mentioned above, one also needs to start planning for the retirement years. Although it is advisable to invest in a myriad of avenues to save towards oneâ??s retirement, 10 to 20% of the corpus is recommended to be met though pension/annuity plans which can provide for a steady and reliable income post retirement.

Introduction

The Company to be examined is Marks and Spencer Retail Company. It is one of the largest retail chains in the UK with over sixty thousand employees under its wing. Employee relations within this company are a combination of both positive and negative aspects. (M&S, 2007a)

Organisational background

Marks and Spencer is largely a UK based organisation. Consequently, the employee relations adopted by the Company were British style.  In the eighties and early nineties, the company was characterised by a tense relationship between members of the organisation and their superiors.

However, with fast technological developments and greater linkages between various countries around the world, there was greater competitiveness in the retail sector thus creating a need to adopt less adversarial approaches to employee relations. The Company realised that they had to engage their employees a little more. This led to some of the present staff management practices adopted by the company.  The company has tried instituting some sound principles within management but there are still certain problems here and there. (M&S, 2007b)

Past external influences

Changes in working hours

In the past, there were no cases of Sunday trading. Workers in the retail sector counted on the fact that their work arrangements did not necessitate additional efforts. However after introduction of Sunday trading in the UK, there was a need for all retail companies to adjust their employee schedules to suit this change. Marks and Spencer was no exception; in response to this change, it created flexible hours for its employees so that it could allow employees to balance their social life with their careers.

In the early nineties, most workers within the retail sector used to work for a period of thirty six to thirty eight hours per week. In Marks and Spencer, eighty percent of their employees used to comply with this rule. But currently, most workers need to put in more hours in order to meet demand. M&S have adjusted to this through employment of more workers and through better employee schedules. (Mellahi et al, 2002)

Trade Union Actions

The TUC is one of the most influential bodies in the United Kingdom especially when it comes to protecting workers rights.  Marks and Spencer has had to watch out for the activities and protests conducted by some trade Unions. One such example occurred in the year 2001. Marks and Spencer has opened up some stores in different parts of the world including France. The Company had made the decision to close all the stores in Europe and halt operations immediately. This was one of the most controversial issues the retail giant has ever faced. In a speech made by the TUC General Secretary, the Union highlighted the fact that Marks and Spencer were not really faced with financial difficulties in those operations. The Union also asserted that the closures were simply and endeavour by the organisation to impress City sentiments rather. They believed that the company was not really concerned with issues surrounding profit making.

TUC also said that they were trying to protect foreign worker’s rights in general. Marks and Spencer tends to export their bad employment practices into other countries. The Trade Union brought to the forefront the issue of complacency prevailing in M&S stores. The Company had not been very considerate at some stage in their firing and hiring processes. These practices are quite common in the UK despite their notoriety. But in some European countries like France, these employment practices are quite unlawful. The trade Union spoke about how M&S has been sacking employees without notice in those countries and how it faced the full arm of the law. (Storey et al, 2005)

TUC advocated for more dialogue and consultations between employees and employers at all times and not when issues have spiralled out of control.  The actions of this trade Union and others have caused M&S to change some of its employment practices and hence its employee practices.

Internal situation

Partnership agreements between management and staff

The Company has tried instituting a sort of partnership agreement between its employees and management. The main factor that has caused this is the fact that there is a substantial level of women among the members of staff. This means that the retail chain has been characterised by a common sense approach. This is especially so when different groups have to communicate between each other for example when staff re communicating to consumers. (M&S, 2007a)

Additionally, most staff members are expected to communicate with their consumers directly.  When doing this, employees usually employ communication skills and other forms of interpersonal skills.  These skills re necessary in establishing an atmosphere filled with commitment and trust. These perceptions are trickled to the relationship between employees and their employers. One can say that Marks and Spencer Company has tried creating an atmosphere of openness in most but not all of its stores.

There area always opportunities within any one company for advancement either vertically or horizontally. Consequently, employees need o be assured of the fact that they will get fair opportunities in the event that there are any openings. This is why the Company has tried to advertise most promotional opportunities within the company in an open and transparent manner. It is one of the foundational principles behind the organisation’s training and development strategies. (Storey et al, 2005)

In their efforts of trying to create a climate of flexibility and trust, the Company has been creating task forces to address some of the following issues;

complaint procedures
customer demand
ideas in enumeration
recruitment patterns
staffing within departments

While these may be very constructive and rich idea, there may be cases of conflict of interest. This is because some trade unions are already charged with these responsibilities and the task force will simply be repeating what trade unions can do. This is an issue that needs to be addressed adequately.

Current Trade Unions

Currently, Marks and Spencer employees are not involved in Trade Unions. This was brought to the forefront by the fact that numerous trade unions have been trying to convince the retail company allow trade unions within its operations. In the year 2005, Trade Union Usdaw (it mainly focuses on employees within the retail sector) was quick to show how the retail chain was making its workers suffer adversely. The Trade Union was launching a drive to recruit members from M&S. The trade union started its campaigns in The North western division of the Marks and Spencer stores. They were informing most of the workers about some of the benefits that come with joining trade unions. Some of the issues they highlighted include; (Staff writer, 2007)

independent advice
understanding the law
expert knowledge
failure of the current arrangement

During the campaign, Usdaw told M&S workers about the issue of independent advice; trade unions were not operated or paid by any company. This means that they had the capacity to deal with issues regarding employment contracts in an open and unbiased way. Workers who had their employment contracts needed to seek independent advice from a neutral party and which better organisation was more equipped to do this than trade unions.

The campaigns also informed employees about some other benefits that trade unions can add to their work situations. For example in instances when employees were subjected to certain changes in their workplace, they may not understand what these means in the eyes of the law. Some of them may not be aware of some of these implications. Trade unions would serve as a vast source of knowledge.

Marks and Spencer has employed a consultation system to deal with matters revolving around employee relations. The group is called Business Involvement Group (BIG). It is comprised of employees form the organisation. (M&S, 2007b) This method of consulting with employees has proved to be quite inefficient because of the fact that most of these employees are not trained in legal matters or even in human resource issues. Therefore such a group is not at a position o meet all the needs and issues put forward by the employees. They may not understand them fully consequently offering mediocre consultation services to employees. Marks and Spencer is not doing very well in the trade union arena and definitely needs to improve.

Political influences

Currently, the UK government has been very keen on activities in the retail company. First of all, the government has regulated the number of retail stores offering food. There have been problems with public health hence the need for more emphasis in the retail sector. The government has been scrutinising Marks and Spencer with regard to the number of food outlets created. The reason why the retail company was targeted is because it is one of the largest employers within the region. Increased scrutiny leads to better employment practices by the retail chain since it would not like to be caught off guard. (Mellahi et al, 2002)

Besides targeting food retail stores, the government has also been keen about employment practices currently in place. This comes in the wake of globalisation. Most countries in Europe have tight labour laws and the UK needs to follow suit. For example, the issue of firing employees without notice through closures of stores is frowned upon in the European Union. This even led to the creation of a law to deal with such an issue specifically. All these laws have affected employee relations in Marks and Spencer in a positive way. Employees are now placed at a fairer bargaining position than they were before. (Euractiv, 2007)

The government has also been tough on development activities within the region. In the past, there were off centre business activities i.e. creation of businesses in a decentralised manner. However, with the institution of new laws, entrepreneurs and other developers like Marks and Spencer cannot open up businesses in off centre regions or places that would affect green cover. This means that M&S has very few options to choose from when trying to expand. This has limited employment opportunities for a vast number of people who would have benefited if more M&S retail outlets were allowed.

Additionally, the Marks and Spencer retail chain has had to comply with some of the prerequisites passed by the government. The government came up with a Turnbul report in the year 2006. According to the report, companies are expected to do internal controls and risk assessments. This is quite helpful to employees within the company because some of their problems can be detected during the monitoring process and steps taken to address those issues. Marks and Spencer complies with this regulation very keenly. (UK Government, 2007

Lastly, the government has also brought in new laws that are aimed at preventing corporate scandals. This is quite instrumental in the process of maintaining employee relations because most corporate scandals are usually caused by employer’s failures to meet the needs of their staff members.

Competition

Despite the fact that M&S is one of the most reputable retail chins in the UK and in other parts of the world, this does not undermine the fact that there is still competition out there. The world is becoming increasingly global and most countries like the US and China are bringing their businesses to the UK. This means that M&S has to stay on their toes. They have achieved this through the introduction of knowledge management practices. (Storey et al, 2005)This is especially beneficial to employees and affects employee relations because it gives employees an opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills and they become better at their jobs.

Recruitment practices

In the present day, there have been problems between the retail chain’s employers and their staff when there is a need to introduce new changes. This is because the company has been in the habit of recruiting young personnel straight form universities or colleges. These personnel usually grow and develop within the company and become part of it.  While this may be beneficial in terms of organisational climate, there may be problems that arise from the institution of such a system. Employees may get accustomed to doing things in a certain manner and whenever there will be problems and resistances whenever there are new changes. This could be the reason why some of the staff members within the organisation usually rub their employees the wrong way from time to time.

Pension schemes

In the past, the retail chain used to adopt a paternal attitude in the process of running its pension fund. The Company used to provide pension schemes in a rigid manner. Profits were not directly linked to employees.  But the company realised that it needed to cut costs and transferred liability to its employees. This is something that some employees have not taken well and it has strained their employee relations. (Staff writer, 2007)

Supplier relations

Marks and Spencer (M&S) is at a point where it has to deal all the stakeholders around it in a very careful manner. This is because the Company faces the danger of ruining its reputation in the retail sector just because of the employment practices adopted by its suppliers. M&S needs to make sure their suppliers have good employee relations because this could affect the level of attention they give to their employees. Poor employee relations among its suppliers could trigger numerous cases in court by Unions and human rights groups. (Storey et al, 2005)

This wastes company resources that would otherwise have been used to develop employees within the organisation. One such case was reported by ingretail.com on 28th February this year. The Company was facing allegations from a trade union called Unite. The latter group was opposing the employee relations adopted by M&S meat suppliers. The group claimed that its meat suppliers were discriminating against meat suppliers. In response to this allegation, M&S, deputy secretary general claimed that those assertions were not founded and that they are committed to verification of labour standards among their suppliers.

One can argue that this is the duty of their mangers; to defend the company’s position. However, there is rarely smoke without fire, Unite is a reputable Union and is it very likely that they had well founded arguments. M&S needs to be aware that consumers and the general public are now well informed about good company policies. This refers to the relationship with all stakeholders in the retail sector. Since these groups are interrelated, the company is wasting resources on such court cases yet they could be directing it towards staff development and other company issues. (Mellahi et al, 2002)

Future external influences

Effects of technology

The technological bubble was visible in the nineties. The twentieth century will witness the effects of these adoptions and this will definitely affect employee relations in the organisation under study. For example, the retail sector might be characterised by more internet purchases than actual visits to the stores. This means that there will be no need to recruit as many employees as before. Consequently, the issue of employee relations will not become such a priority for the retail chain. There will be more focus on other aspects of the business such as supplies or delivery.

Many companies are embracing technologies such as laser technology and self scanning in their operations. Marks and Spencer might also adopt these methods. Employees will not be a vital part of the business and the company ill not focus on methods to boost employee relations.

Other retail outlets

In the past, London has been the hub of most M&S stores or activities. However in the wake of e-commerce and increased access to international markets, it is possible that more and more stores will be located in different parts of the world.  This means that the organisation will be characterised by a diverse workforce. Managers and other employers who will be transferred to those locations have to learn new methods of communication and working well with people form totally different cultures. It is also likely that there may be friction if these differences are not addressed or dealt with carefully. (Mellahi et al, 2002)

Recommendations

There are numerous companies within the retail sector that have embraced the issue of trade Unions. Numerous campaigns have characterised the retail sector especially by trade unions. They complain about their benefits and about the approach Marks and Spencer is using currently. The company should buckle under the pressure and allow its employees to join trade unions. It should also discharge the group that deals with employee relations currently- BIG. It has been established by employees and other stakeholders that this group is not addressing their needs. (M&S, 2007b)

The Company needs to be more consultataive.  It should not assume that it can conduct decisions on its own yet these will impact upon the lives of its employees.  There is a need to create mechanisms to address employee’s problems through frequent meetings done in an open manner and through a neutral body.

Conclusion

The Company has tried establishing a good reputation and normally boasts of good employee development strategy. However, some negative media reports, campaigns from trade Union associations and complaints from workers may be denting this well manicured image. The external influences surrounding employee relations in Marks and Spencer in the past and present surround the fact that M&S has a poor record of consulting with its employees. If it addresses this issue, it will become even more successful.

Reference:

M&S (2007a): Marks and Spender Annual report Retrieved from: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/02/00/00/00/32/14/12/32141262.pdf?mnSBrand=core accessed on 8t May 2008

Euractiv (2007): Marks and Spencer closures fuel EU labour law debate Retrieved from http://www.euractiv.com/en/general/marks-spencer-closures-fuel-eu-labour-law-debate/article-11350 accessed on 8th May 2008

Mellahi, K. et al (2002): An exploratory study into failure in successful organisations: the case of Marks and Spencer; British Journal of Management, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 15-29

Storey, J. et al (2005): The barriers to customer responsive supply chain management; International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25, 3/4, 242-261

UK Government (2007): Turnbull report. Retrieved from http://www.frc.org.uk/corporate/internalcontrol.cf accessed on 8th May 2008

M&S (2007b): Your M&S: How we do business, 2007 report, Retrieved December 1, 2007 from: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/02/00/00/00/32/17/82/32178202.pdf?mnSBrand=cor accessed on 8th May 2008

Staff writer (2007): Marks and Spencer: neat pension fund arrangement; Insurance Business Review

(M&S, 2007b): Mark and Spencer to revamp final pension scheme, retrieved from http://www2.marksandspencer.com/thecompany/mediacentre/pressreleases/2007/fin2007-01-23-00.shtm accessed on 8th May 2008

AGE & TERM:

 

While purchasing life insurance policy, age means age at last birthday. It age has four dimensions

Minimum Age at Entry: The completion of 30 days to a child is eligible for taking insurance policy, the parents of the child can purchase. For pension/annuity policy the entry age is 18 years completion.

Maximum Age at Entry: Many life insurers in India extending the maximum age at entry up to 65 years.

Maximum Maturity Age: Some plans of many companies offers 80 years maximum maturity age.

Vesting Age: The age at which the policyholder willing to purchase pension/annuity.

 

Policy Term: Is the contract period between the policyholder and the insurance company.

Premium Term: It describes the premium payment to the policy term. Single Premium (SP) is one time premium paying option. Limited Premium (LP) restricts the premium payment to 5 or 10 years and so on. Regular Premium (RP) allows paying entire policy term.

 

SUM ASSURED:

The minimum Sum Assured for single premium is 125% of premium paid and 500% is the maximum limit. As per income tax rules, if the premium paid for a policy is more than 20 per cent of the sum assured in a year, then deduction from taxable income will be allowed only up to 20 per cent of the sum assured. In other words, to get the entire premium deducted from taxable income under section 80C, make sure the cover is at least five times the premium.

 

POLICY BENEFITS:

 

Death Benefit: On the death of the Life to be assured before the maturity date, while is in the policy in force, the company, subject to section 11 and 18, shall pay higher of Sum assured or Fund value for type-I ULIP. Type-II ULIP policy can fetch both sum assured and fund value. While paying death benefit the nominee of the policyholder, the partial withdrawal made from the basic policy fund during 24 months preceding to the death will be subtracted from the Sum Assured. The same formality is followed for top-up cover. For Zero Death Benefit policy this is not applicable only the fund value is provided.

Maturity Benefit: If the life assured is alive on the maturity date, the fund value relating to the basic policy fund value and the top-up fund value if any will be paid to the policyholder. The policy terminates on payment of the maturity benefit.

Surrender Value Benefit:  If the policyholder wants to surrender his policy, it is allowed after completing 36 months from the risk commencement as per section 5 (b).

Rider Benefit: The additional rider benefits, if any, as specified in the policy shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the respective riders and payable at the time of contingencies arisen.

Settlement option: Some policies offer the policyholder to take the maturity proceeds in periodic installments within a maximum of 5 years from the date of maturity.

Partial Withdrawal: Partial withdrawal is allowed after 3 years from inception or on attainment of age 18 by the life insured whichever is later. The minimum of Rs. 5,000 and maximum of 25% (varied from policy to policy) of the fund value is allowed to withdraw.

In addition to the above some insurers offer varied facilities like systematic transfer plan, exchange option facility, premium redirection facility. Thanks to their initiative towards strengthening insurance market.

FUND SWITCHING:

The policyholders have the option to switch between the funds as per conditions imposed in the policy. The company expects written notice about the proposed amount of the switch, the funds to be switched from and the funds to be switched. If the switching requisition is made before 3.00 p.m. the closing unit price of the day shall be applicable, if it is made beyond 3.00 p.m. the closing unit price of next day shall be applicable.

Any successful investing system which is value investing involves buying undervalued stocks cheaply and waiting until they rise substantially before selling out.

Random Walk theory, which suggests if you select stocks at random, that will perform and choose the value standard. So, investing system works better than walk theory.

Stock market isn’t for playing with the cash that you need.

At first, you should have some of the essential things in your life like: an own house, a pension, life assurance and rainy-day or times of trouble money- perhaps £ 5000 stored in the high-interest account.

An investor in value stocks observes growth in the stock market online investing.

Selecting bargain which is you needs courage for buying a share when it decreases in price. A value investor must have understanding of the basics of accounting and ratio analysis in an online stock market investing.

A capable manager should be honest and consider qualitative factors that the gap between price and true value become closer. If the underlying company has a franchise and a manager should have a growth prospects in the stock market online investing.

The more extensive market should not important for you because every bad and good news tend to balance out in a long term.

City professionals are more successful at stock picking than most and savvy about investment strategy.

They know to buy when the markets have rock-bottom and to sell before a bull market has risen too high.

They select their own stocks and are comfortable using online brokers, which normally are cheap but do not offer advice.

To decide when to sell is an art and not a science, like most investing decisions.

Commodities and some emerging markets stocks fell up in some years ago. Some of the newly established funds waited for rising temporary markets that give them a chance for profitable selling.

Pharmaceuticals are a place that anyone who wanted invested in a slumping market could buy defensive stocks. But after that, the market recovered in an online stock market investing.

Many stocks were overvalued on fundamentals and buying was sustained often on bid speculation, sometimes with a limited basis in reality. The market was showing further symptoms of a tired bull market.

To Read more about investing online see: The Stock Market Online

Author: Dot Piper

Life insurance, term assurance, critical illness cover, level term, pension term and Uncle Tom Cobley and all!

Confusing, isnâ??t it? Despite all the different names, insurance policies are all there to protect you. Some insurance products are designed to help when things go wrong, like payment protection which will cover your credit payment commitments when your earnings fall or stop. You make payments in the form of premiums and in return you have the assurance that, whatever else, your financial worries will be addressed. Other products are designed to put your house in order when the inevitable happens.

Car Insurance, house insurance and critical illness insurance are in the first category. Hopefully, with the latter, having taken this invaluable cover out, youâ??ll never have any need to make a claim on it.

The life-threatening diseases and conditions covered by critical illness policies are the familiar ones of cancer, stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis and coronary artery by-pass surgery. These are what are known as the â??coreâ? conditions. Increasingly there are policies that will cover other conditions too. All conditions should be clearly listed in the policy document. If you are diagnosed with any of these conditions you will receive a lump sum payment.

There may be some sort of exclusion within the range of conditions. Some cancers, caught and treated at an early stage, usually by screening techniques, are not in the life-threatening category and may not be covered. If initial treatment was unsuccessful and the condition developed severely, then the cover would apply.

As far as the amount insured is concerned, at a minimum you should aim to be able to fully repay any loans as well as your mortgage. More cover on top of this could be used to cover day to day expenses. Up to date treatments mean that you have much more chance of surviving these critical illnesses but treatment and recovery can be prolonged. Sometimes a critical illness can mean a different lifestyle, with possibly a change of career, home and car being needed, in addition to help within the home or with the family. Make sure you take out sufficient cover to keep everything up and running until your recovery is complete. A diagnosis of leukaemia could involve up to two years of treatment and even then a return to full time employment may well be a gradual process.

It is critically important that you are completely honest and open when filling in your application form for critical illness cover. Leave nothing out. If you do, you could inadvertently put your claim at risk. The first thing that will happen if you need to make a claim is that your insurance company will go through your medical records. If it is found that you have not disclosed information regarding past illnesses, diagnostic tests or operations then your claim may be at risk. The illness that you are making the claim for doesnâ??t have be connected with the illness or test that you have omitted from your information, nor does it have to be what you would class as serious.

Companies vary in their claim rejection rates, with one leading insurer rejecting as many as 30% of claims simply because of non-disclosure of information on the original application form. With payment protection policies there are likely to be a number limitations which need to be carefully considered before signing up.

Critical illness insurance costs will vary according to your individual circumstances. Previous medical history will obviously come into the calculation as well as your age and amount insured.

Contact an on-line broker for a range of quotes â?? youâ??ll get all the help you need and theyâ??ll offer you a range of options at the best possible price.