Employee Benefits

One of the effects of auto-enrolment is that it has brought employee benefits to the forefront of the minds of employers and employees alike.

Offering a competitive salary is only part of the picture when looking to retain staff but if your competition is offering a good mix of benefits, and you are not, you will probably lose the battle for talent.

Mix and match

A full suite of employer-paid benefits is going to be the most appealing option for employees, but possibly not for your finances! However, you could try offering a blend of a couple of employer-paid benefits (and you have to offer a pension now!), one or two wellbeing benefits and also mix in some employee-paid options.

Four approaches

In the main, you have four options.

1. Core benefits
   Benefits that the employer pays for and employees cannot opt out of.
2. Flexible benefits
   A menu of benefits that the employee can choose from. Usually, employers will provide a base level for certain benefits, like life insurance. Employees can then choose to buy extra benefits or top up the basic benefits at certain set times in the year or after an important event in their lives – such as the birth of a child.
3. Voluntary benefits
   Employees choose and pay for these benefits out of their net salary.
4. Salary sacrifice
   This is where employees can sacrifice some of their gross salary to pay for tax-efficient benefits. This is often used to reduce NI contributions for employees and employers whilst boosting pension contributions.

Most employee benefits are viewed as trading expenses by HMRC and the cost of a good employee benefits package can usually be offset by a reduction in the costs associated with staff turnover. You will certainly stand out from your competition when seeking quality staff.

Call us on 01206 823953 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange an initial discussion

We can help you to get the pieces in the right place