 Greetings!
Today more than ever, it is imperative to have a good return on investment for relocation dollars spent. Since your policy drives the course of the relocation, ensuring that it supports a successful program in this economy may necesitate a review. See considerations below as well as new restrictions affecting transfers to the U.K.
Sincerely,
Susan Bender
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 Is it Time for a Tune Up?
Was your policy written more than two years ago? The world has changed and our economy does not allow us to predict with any certainty how much the next relocation will cost, or how long it's going to take. Your employees may be facing home sale losses that make their relocation extremely difficult, expensive, and maybe, impossible. Are your policies addressing the issue? Today's real estate market requires a new approach and your policy is the key driver for a successful relocation program. |
Ask yourself:
- Is the cost of your policy stopping you from relocating key employees?
- Can you afford not to have a Loss on Sale provision?
- Is your policy cost effective in it's allocation of benefit dollars?
- Are you working with "yesterday's" motivation in "today's" real estate market?
- Is your policy a victim of today's economy?
- Is your policy offering the right type of assistance?
Here are some ideas:
- Update your policy with best practices.
- Create a Loss on Sale program - consider sharing the burden with your employee.
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Offer an allowance to be used for repairs, improvements or staging to increase buyer interest and offers.
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Shift some of the "nice to have" benefit dollars into more critical areas.
- Support a Buyer Value Option program for several months then offer a Guaranteed Buyout with restrictions.
Does your policy need to be reviewed to make certain that it is supporting the motivation of your program? Whether you find that your policy needs a jump start or a full overhaul, staying ahead of the curve will help ease the transition in difficult times. NRI can help. Contact us, you'll be glad you did! |
| Tougher Guidelines for the UK |
| The United States is not the only country facing difficult economic times, the challenge is global. In the UK, there has been a major reduction in the workforce and unemployment is expected to reach three million. With growing unrest, the UK has been compelled to take urgent action to protect the domestic labor market and restrict overseas nationals from working there.
In the past, the UK requirement for a skilled or very skilled position was that the recruit had an undergraduate degree and the company applied for a Certificate of Sponsorship stating that the position being filled was a skilled position. As of April 2009, the requirement has been raised to a masters degree for a very skilled position and for a skilled position the employer must first advertise for a period of time with a government job center to establish that there are no applicants in the UK to fill the position.
Additional restrictions are being considered. Currently, dependents of foreign workers are allowed to work in the UK and this has made the UK very attractive to foreign workers traveling with their families. This benefit is in jeapordy of being eliminated given the high unemployment rate.
Tighter restrictions will limit the number of workers that will be sent to the UK from any country. Although the doors are not closed, it will take more time, more effort and more resources to arrange a transfer to the UK. Considering a transfer of an employee to the UK? Our advice is to commence the immigration process as soon as possible. |
