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UK Employee Benefits Market

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    Report

  • 33 Pages
  • May 2019
  • Region: United Kingdom
  • GlobalData
  • ID: 4791967
UK Employee Benefits MarketSummaryThe proportion of UK Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that offer their employee's benefits is quite low, with only 26.3% of SMEs offering flexible working arrangements to all of their employees. The lack of benefits is even more pronounced when looking at Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) with less than one in five SMEs offering this benefit to all their employees. Three quarters of employers believe that they should be playing an active role in supporting their employees' mental wellbeing while 7 in ten believe they should help support employees' physical wellbeing.While employers recognize the need to support employees' wellbeing, there is a disconnect in providing benefits that address these issues. Only 19.4% of SME employers offer a cycle to work program and 11.7% offer some sort of gym membership to all their employees.One of the main reasons that people explore external job opportunities is for better remuneration and benefits packages they would receive from a different employer. People also believe that large corporations are more likely to offer a wide range of benefits compared to smaller ones, which poses a real threat to SMEs whose employees may be tempted to look for employment elsewhere.We live in an age where traditional career paths are not as prevalent and job mobility is much greater. People are more likely to make lateral job moves, especially in the younger generations. Employers need to ensure that their company remains attractive to current and potential employees by providing a tempting benefits package. This benefits both parties as employees are happier and healthier and therefore more productive.The report "UK Employee Benefits Market", provides a comprehensive analysis of the current employee benefits market, focusing on trends affecting this space as well as the challenges employee benefit providers and employers face. The report uses insight from our proprietary primary surveys of consumers and SMEs.Scope
  • Companies in the mining industry are more likely to offer a wide range of employee benefits, likely because of the high risk employees in that sector agree to take on.

  • Two thirds of employees not receiving a private pension would like one. Pension plans are one of the most important benefits to employees, so employers that provide this benefit will be more attractive than others.

  • Three quarters of employers believe they should play an active role in supporting their employees' mental health. However, only 17% offer an employee assistance program, which is an effective tool in helping employees deal with mental health issues.
Reasons to buy
  • Understand the employee benefits market landscape.

  • Discover how perceptions of benefits differ between employees and employers in order to tailor your offering.

  • Review your strategy by learning about key industry challenges and how to address them.

  • Remain ahead of your competitors by understanding how the employee benefits market will evolve in the future.

Table of Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Employee benefits are crucial to attract and retain staff
1.2. Key findings
1.3. Critical success factors
2. CURRENT MARKET LANDSCAPE
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Objectives of employee benefits
2.2.1. Increased productivity
2.2.2. Attract and retain top talent
2.2.3. Increase employee engagement
2.3. Types and uptake of benefits
2.3.1. Financial protection
2.3.2. Wellness
2.3.3. Retirement planning
2.3.4. Financial incentives
2.3.5. Career development
2.3.6. Travel
2.4. Benefits providers
2.4.1. Insurance providers
2.4.2. Insurance brokers
2.4.3. Employee benefits consultants
3. INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
3.1. Engagement between employers and employees
3.1.1. Employees may not know what benefits they have
3.1.2. Benefits offerings need to be aligned to employees' needs
3.1.3. Employers need to view benefits as a way to build resilience
3.1.4. Workplace demographics are changing
3.1.5. Benefits for gig economy workers are lacking
4. HOW THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPACE IS EVOLVING
4.1. Focus on wellbeing
4.1.1. Physical wellbeing
4.1.2. Mental wellbeing
4.1.3. Financial wellbeing
4.2. Using data to improve benefits offerings
4.2.1. Companies can benchmark their offerings against competitors
4.2.2. Aligning benefits offerings with employee wants
4.2.3. Using historical data to prepare for the future
4.2.4. Employers need to be wary about how data is collected, used, and stored
4.2.5. Aon and Reward Gateway are examples of how data can be used
4.3. New companies are innovating and challenging the space
4.3.1. Headspace focuses on mental health
4.3.2. Pensionsync helps reduce the burden of auto-enrollment
4.3.3. Perkbox wants to improve the employee experience
5. APPENDIX
5.1. Abbreviations and acronyms
5.2. Definitions
5.2.1. SME
5.3. Methodology
5.3.1. 2018 General Insurance Consumer Survey
5.3.2. 2018 UK SME Insurance Survey
5.4. Secondary sources
5.5. Further reading
List of Figures
Figure 1: The level of concern about staff retention among SMEs
Figure 2: Types of employee benefits
Figure 3: Protection policy uptake increases in line with the size of the business
Figure 4: Three quarters of people working in the mining industry receive a healthcare cash plan
Figure 5: Flexible working is popular across all SMEs
Figure 6: IT and business services employees are most likely to have flexible working arrangements
Figure 7: Manufacturing has the highest proportion of employees receiving NEST and private pensions
Figure 8: Almost 50% of SMEs in the mining industry offer cycle to work schemes
Figure 9: The different ways SMEs organize payroll and HR duties
Figure 10: Percentage of SMEs currently providing employees with an online hub or app for their benefits
Figure 11: Basic salary is viewed as by far the most important benefit by both employers and employees
Figure 12: Employment rate for people aged 65 and over, 1992-2018
Figure 13: Three quarters of employers think they should actively support employees' mental health

Companies Mentioned (Partial List)

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:

  • Unum

  • Aon

  • Willis Towers Watson

  • Mercer

  • PwC

  • Deloitte

  • Quantum Advisory

  • Reward Gateway

  • Perkbox

  • Headspace

  • Pensionsync