VOLUNTARY BENEFITS
Half of employers offer voluntary benefits
Voluntary benefits are widespread with 52% of employers surveyed by Employee Benefits magazine offering discounts on products or services to all of their staff.
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The 378-employer survey found that:
The two most commonly-provided voluntary benefits continue to be gym membership (offered by 35% of employers) and a healthcare or hospital cash plan (27%).
All the personal insurances - travel, dental, motor and house insurance - continue to feature quite prominently among the voluntary benefits offered by employers.
Childcare vouchers, however, are a much more widely-offered benefit than three years ago, with 24% of employers now giving staff the chance to buy them.
Salary sacrifice
More than 70% of employers offer benefits through salary sacrifice to all, or some, of their staff. Says Employee benefits magazine: “This is not surprising as there are great tax and national insurance savings to be made not only for staff but also for employers.”
Of those respondents that offer perks on this basis, 42% pass their savings on to staff, while 18% split them with employees and 39% keep them.
Want to know more?
Title: “Research: Salary sacrifice and voluntary benefits”, Employee Benefits, April 2007.
Survey methodology: The survey was conducted during January and February 2007. Questionnaires were sent to the readers of Employee Benefits magazine to complete. Users of www.employeebenefits.co.uk were also invited to fill in the questionnaire online.
Survey sample: This research is based on 378 complete replies. Respondents were drawn from all types of organisations, 55% of which were privately owned and 17% were from the public sector. Three-quarters of respondents were from organisations with 5,000 employees or fewer.
Availability: You can access this report on the Employee Benefits web site at www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/2545 and www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/2538
Employee Benefits magazine was launched in February 1997 as the first UK magazine to help companies align their benefits strategy with their corporate objectives. It’s the only publication to examine the full spectrum of benefits – from pensions and health insurance to company cars and crèches. To find out more visit www.employeebenefits.co.uk.