The business case for voluntary benefits

Research and the experience of major UK employers supports the business case for voluntary employee benefits. Salaries are clearly the most expensive form of reward and obviously very necessary!  But voluntary benefits have a perceived value for many employees that is far in excess of the very small cost to the employer for providing them.

Some government supported voluntary benefits, such as childcare vouchers, bike to work schemes and other salary sacrifice initiatives result in a saving to the employer in national insurance contributions. Although many of these initiatives will only be relevant for a small number of your workforce, they are highly valued by those employees that do take them up.  And the savings generated can be used to fully or partially fund wider voluntary benefits such as staff discounts that reach all of your staff.

The key message to consider is that if you are rewarding your staff by salary alone, you are only using the most expensive form of reward. A good voluntary benefits / employee discount scheme will cost the equivalent of just a few pounds per head per year and will create loyalty, motivation and goodwill well in excess of the cost.

We work with all types of organisations - public, private or third sector, large and smaller employers - and there is a need to deliver strategies that achieve the highest level of employee engagement and loyalty for the lowest possible cost. Therefore voluntary benefits such as staff discounts must be a serious consideration as part of an integrated reward and benefit strategy.

Key figures

80% of a company's value is driven by off-balance sheet assets, most commonly the quality of an engaged workforce (source : Deloitte & Touche 2005)

25% of an average total paybill is spent on employee benefits (Source : Origen Employee Benefits Survey)

70% of employees would prefer to work for an organisation offering a choice of benefits (Source : You at Work survey, 2006)

88% of employees say they would use an employee discount scheme (Source : Asperity survey for the BBC 2006)

54% of HR managers working for companies without a benefits package thought that their company would benefit from implementing one  (source : Employee Rewards Watch 2006)

51% of HR managers without a benefits package cite "Enhanced employee motivation" as the most likely improvement they would see from introducing a benefits programme (source : Thomson Online Benefits - Employee Rewards Watch 2006)

84% of companies planning a revamped benefits programme included discounted shopping and discounted retail vouchers as priorities for their new scheme. (source : Thomson Online Benefits - Employee Rewards Watch 2006)

© Asperity Employee Benefits Ltd 2007

Asperity Employee Benefits Ltd is registered in England at 90 Westbourne Grove, London. W2 5RT. Registered company number 05696250. Telephone 020 7229 0349.

Asperity Employee Benefits provides the UK's largest staff discount product designed for easy integration into an employer's existing employee benefits package. The level of staff discounts available is higher than in any other employee benefits scheme in the UK. Combined with the biggest range of staff discount providers, Asperity offers employers maximum value from their investment in employee benefits. Level of employee discounts and the number of participating suppliers offering an employee discount are key factors in driving usage of a staff discount scheme. Asperity delivers market beating results on both the level of staff discount and the number of suppliers offering an employee discount, ensuring high value payback for employers.