{"id":1553,"date":"2019-07-13T13:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T12:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-employee-benefit-scheme\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:23:19","slug":"how-to-choose-the-right-employee-benefit-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-employee-benefit-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose the right employee benefit scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to choose the right employee benefit scheme\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tBryan Collins<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve decided to introduce an employee benefit scheme, or if you’d like to swap suppliers, there are several factors that need to be evaluated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, it’s important to select a benefits package that will not only be cost-effective but will also be simple to manage and help increase employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types of employee benefit schemes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First of all, think about what type of scheme is right for your business, depending on company size, level of investment and employees’ expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several different options available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Core package: <\/strong>A standard package offered to all employees. Staff can’t opt out or change which benefits they receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flexible benefits: <\/strong>The employer pays for this type of package. Staff can switch between benefits and choose the ones they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voluntary benefits: <\/strong>Employees pay for this out of their salary. The employer negotiates a discount with suppliers so that employees can access the benefits at a reduced rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salary sacrifice:<\/strong> Employees choose to sacrifice part of their gross salary in return for benefits that their employer buys on their behalf. This is a tax-efficient way of accessing benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Becoming a people company: The way to unlock fast track growth<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Want to know how to put your people first in your business? Download our research to discover common traits of People Companies and turn your business into a People Company.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What to consider when choosing a supplier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you start looking for suppliers, be sure you know what type of benefits your employees would like you to provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider your workforce:<\/strong> For parents with young families, Tax-Free Childcare<\/a> is likely to be popular. Older workers may be more focused on healthcare and pensions<\/a>. Picking a scheme that offers some flexibility is a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask your employees which incentives they prefer:<\/strong> However, be aware that there may be a discrepancy between what employees say they would like and those they actually choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review uptake in other businesses:<\/strong> Take a look at our article about investing in an employee benefits scheme<\/a> – it includes information about the most valued benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortlist potential benefits suppliers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To help you find a supplier, use an online service to find a benefit scheme to match your business needs. And to help you make a decision about which one suits your business, think about the following criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do they have a proven track record for providing employee benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Check their credit rating and financial stability to ensure your employees’ investments will be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can they offer everything you need?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It may be easier to have a single supplier to manage all aspects of your benefits package, rather than using multiple companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get full details of all the benefits available, as there may be subtle differences between schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are they familiar with working with your size of business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Are they reputable? Who are their other clients? Ask for references and take them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do they offer support to your employees?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Phone up their support lines and see how quickly they answer and how well they handle queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there a website or portal to manage the process<\/strong>?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Test it to see how easy it is to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do they have the right security in place?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

They will be holding sensitive information about your employees, so check that they follow data protection and have good online security measures. Additionally, ensure they provide reliable employment verification<\/a> to confirm the accuracy and legitimacy of employment records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What level of reporting do they offer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This will be useful so you can track which benefits are the best performers and which ones have less demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much would their service cost?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Try to negotiate the best deal and make sure it’s possible to review the contract within a year. This way you have an opportunity to change supplier if the one you choose isn’t a good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a scheme in-house<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In general, it’s easier to find a supplier to manage your employee benefits for you. However, there may be some benefits that are specific to your company and will need to be managed by your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Holiday trading:<\/strong> Employees can buy or sell holiday time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Car parking:<\/strong> Allocated spaces or subsidised on-street parking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bonus schemes:<\/strong> Employees receive a set sum or percentage of their wages when the company hits a particular target.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Make sure you have an allocated member of staff to manage these schemes and that they have enough time to do this. Having a poorly managed scheme can be worse than not offering these benefits at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Communicating with your employees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Once you’ve chosen a scheme, it’s important you let your employees know about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Make a big splash to launch new schemes and speak to staff about what’s available.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Keep reminding your employees of the benefits on offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Make the sign-up process as simple as possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Build a conversation around benefits into your annual review process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Record the number of staff who opt-in so you can measure the success of your employee benefit schemes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The cost of keeping quiet about your benefits scheme<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Cass Business School estimates that failing to tell employees about benefits schemes costs UK companies \u00a32.7 bn a year through increased staff turnover and sickness absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      The guide to people and payroll<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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      Want to motivate your employees, manage the run-up to payday and improve your payroll processes? Get you free guide and use it to get your people and payroll processes working effectively.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      If you’ve decided to introduce an employee benefit scheme, or if you’d like to swap suppliers, there are several factors that need to be evaluated. Remember, it’s important to select a benefits package that will not only be cost-effective but will also be simple to manage and help increase employee engagement. Types of employee benefit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":3781,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[39,45,37],"business_type":[4,3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[69,73,74],"imagine_tag":[163,92,96,109],"coauthors":[398],"class_list":["post-1553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","tag-employee-benefits","tag-employee-engagement","tag-payroll","business_type-small-business","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Bryan Collins","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/02\/GettyImages-484658220_super.jpg","imagine_tags":{"163":"Employee benefits","92":"HR and Payroll","96":"Medium businesses","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1553"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}