Are the benefits you provide employees valued?

It is obviously important that a benefits package is valued by employees and that employers get a good return on their benefit spend. If employees are not using the benefits that are offered to them then it is very likely that they either don’t understand them, don't value them or in some cases, don’t even know they exist! Employers should look at how they communicate benefit programmes to employees. Technology can play a great part in not only helping you to communicate your benefit offering, but also to fully engage with employees so that they understand and truly value the investment that is being made on their behalf.

In some instances, employers are doubling up on the benefits they are offering employees without even realising it. For instance, most Group Life Assurance and Group Income Protection plans offer Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), however many employers are still either purchasing a standalone EAP or are not actually educating their employees that they have assistance available to them should they require it. It therefore makes good financial sense to cross check the benefits you are offering to ensure the same benefit is not being purchased twice!

Benefits need to be appropriate and relevant. Looking at a changing demographic of employees is vital to ensure that your benefit offering remains both current and cost effective. With an ever-ageing workforce, the cost of some benefits, for example private medical insurance, can become cost prohibitive over time. Why not look at an alternative or additional type of plan that covers the cost of seeing a physiotherapist, osteopath or acupuncturist (to name a few) instead? As these are often the types of claims employees make on their private medical insurance - which in turn increase your annual premium!

With employees working longer and often past state pension age it's important to see when certain benefits such as income protection insurance cease to provide a benefit? If they cease at state pension age do your employees know this? How does this affect your contractual obligations?

The pensions Lifetime Allowance is a serious area to consider if you have a Group Life Assurance scheme, if this allowance is breached or a member of your workforce has a form of lifetime allowance protection then this may trigger a tax charge for them personally or their beneficiaries. There are ways of setting up Group Life Assurance schemes to stop your employees' beneficiaries paying unnecessary tax on death or triggering a tax consequence for your employee when they draw benefits from their pension fund.

Harding Financial provide a tailor-made audit of your current benefits package. The audit is designed to ensure that the schemes and arrangements you have in place satisfy your regulatory and legislative commitments, provide a valuable employee benefit to your staff and remain fit for purpose (whilst being as cost effective as possible for the business).

Contact Jennie Wise, our Corporate Adviser today on 01483 802010 to discuss the value of a benefits audit for your business.