Guest Blog by Mike James
Are you considering introducing an employee benefit scheme to your business? Providing your staff with benefits has many advantages including increasing the appeal to potential recruits and to boost the morale and productivity of the team. But undoubtedly one of the most attractive things about them is their ability to help you retain your staff. Workers with more benefits are more likely to feel happy in their job and stay with the company.
It’s worth taking the time to decide on which benefits you want, as there are many schemes available to choose from. Remember that every business is different and will therefore have distinct needs and requirements when it comes to their employee benefits packages. This is why it is so important to take professional advice relating to your exact suit situation first. Find a specialist financial advisor like Reeves Financial that specialises in advice on employee benefit schemes and can provide you with tailored insight on what might be suitable for you before you make any moves. In the meantime here are seven employee benefits that can really help you to maintain your staff.
1. Pension
Firstly, it’s important to get this one in even though it can’t technically be seen as a benefit. It is now law that employers have to provide a workplace pension by 2018, so if you haven’t yet sorted something out for your staff you need to get it in place as soon as possible. The important thing to note here is that there are a huge range of pension providers so you need to choose one that suits your company – even if you have already signed up to a specific scheme it could be worth seeking financial advice to find one that is better suited.
2. Workplace investment schemes
You might think that the only kind of workplace investment scheme is the pension, but there are actually many different options available. One of the most popular is the Save As You Earn which is a monthly saving scheme that provides employees with a tax-free bonus and options to buy shares in the company. For a simpler option, the Workplace ISA can be a great perk for your staff. Being given these options as a helpful way to save money can be very beneficial to your staff.
3. Gym membership
Another staff benefit that is popular with both employees and employers is a free gym membership. It is often available at a discounted rate with local gyms. This can be a great way to help your staff stay healthy, potentially reducing the number of sick days taken. And as many of your team may have gym memberships anyway, this is likely to be popular with them as it will save them money.
4. Private medical insurance
Perhaps it is no surprise that private medical insurance is far more popular in the US than it is in the UK because we have the NHS. However, as waiting lists begin to grow for routine operations it is becoming more beneficial than ever. As with gym membership, this has the dual benefit that it should keep your staff healthier and less likely to require time off with illness.
5. Dental and optical insurance
Even more popular than private medical insurance is that of tertiary medical insurance, such as dental or optical insurance as these are often not covered by the NHS meaning it is an out-of-pocket expense for your staff. Optical insurance will help staff pay for eye tests as well as glasses and contact lenses, while dental insurance will cover may treatments that the NHS will not such as routine examinations, fillings and crowns.
6. Sick pay
In the majority of businesses, staff are entitled to statutory sick pay (which is often far below their standard pay) if they are off sick for more than four days. This can be a worry for members of staff who might face significant financial challenges if they are sick for a few weeks out of a month and therefore see a drastically reduced payslip at the end of the month. Offering sick pay insurance can provide workers with short-term financial support so that they are not put in financial difficulty by illness.
7. Income protection
Income protection runs along the same lines as sick pay insurance, except that it provides for your staff if they suffer from a long-term illness or injury. Typically these are combined with sick pay insurance so that there is no ambiguity over which policy needs to pay out. Having these policies in conjunction can be a real positive for your staff.
The post Seven employee benefits that help you retain staff appeared first on HR News.