Back to Basics – What are employee benefits?

At Brunsdon Financial, we speak a lot about group employee benefits schemes and their importance in recruiting and retaining staff. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that employees would rather have additional benefits than increased salary and that a poor benefits package can be a real deal-breaker when recruiting new staff.

But what exactly are employee benefits? In the first of our new regular ‘Back to Basics’ guides, we talk you through the fundamentals.

Employee benefits, also sometimes known as perks, are incentives provided by employers over and above their normal salary or wages. Some benefits – called ‘core benefits’ – have to be provided by law, for example a workplace pension, minimum wage and holiday entitlement, whereas others are discretionary. It is important to note that all employees, no matter how long they’ve worked for you, are entitled to receive all core benefits.

The type and level of discretionary benefits offered by an employer will often be a key determining factor in attracting and retaining staff. The most common types of discretionary benefits are:

• Pension (additional contributions made by employer over and above their statutory requirement)
• Health insurance, including medical, dental and optical, and health screening
• Life insurance
• Income protection and critical illness cover

Other discretionary benefits can include subsidised gym membership, free food and/or drinks or bonus schemes. Lifestyle benefits, such as flexible working and help with childcare, are also becoming increasingly common.

Sometimes valuable benefits can be under-utilised because employees don’t know about or don’t know how to access them. Brunsdon Financial works with corporate clients to identify and deliver a package of group benefits that fits individual company needs. We’ll provide full scheme administration and support and recommend an employee communications strategy.

Please contact us for further information or visit our web page ( https://brunsdonfinancial.co.uk/corporate-services/employee-benefits ).