the definitive guide to workplace benefits€¦ · survey write-up 05 expert view changing...

The definiTive guide To workplace

benefiTs

R e w a R d

employee fleet benefits

caR salaRy sacRifice

getting the best fit foR the woRkfoRce

w w w . r e w a r d - g u i d e . c o . u k

rom the 60s onwards, the company car has been a popular workplace benefit – for many years the preserve of senior executives, a perk to which only a few could aspire.

Nowadays, however, the car is popularly cited as the second

biggest expense in the average adult’s life, after a mortgage – and employers are listening more closely to their employees’ demands.

Cars are now being offered in many forms as an employee benefit, with the company car still existing as a benefit, but now joined by the relatively new phenomenon of car salary sacrifice. Employers also offer cash allowances for cars, as well as fuel allowances for business mileage.

Reward’s two surveys examined both fleet usage and the popularity of car salary sacrifice as part of the raft of voluntary employee benefit – examining how employers use cars in their business, and what challenges are faced – and asking how they can make the best choices to maximise workforce efficiency.

employee caR benefits and fleet

ReseaRch:

FpeTer crabTree

director, sales and customer service

Mobile: 07970 516293email: [email protected]

in association with reward

guy roberTsdirector, novalease

Telephone: 0121 227 2733 Mobile: 07824 374005

email: [email protected]

sgfleet uk limited / avon house, 435 stratford road, shirley, solihull, west Midlands, b90 4aa / www.sgfleet.com

04 employee caR

benefits Survey write-up

05 expeRt view

changing perceptions on the employee car benefit

08 expeRt view

getting the best deal for your workforce

10 voluntaRy benefits

and salaRy sacRifice Survey write-up

Intelligent Fleet Management

Innovative Fleet Management, Leasing and Salary Sacrifice

www.sgfleet.com0845 154 0721

• sgfleet combine international experience with local knowledge• 25 years experience in managing complex fleets of cars and light commercial vehicles with a fleet in excess of 80,000 vehicles • A focus on providing world class, flexible and innovative fleet solutions to a range of customers • sgfleet’s customer base includes large corporate organisations, small to medium enterprises and public sector entities• A full range of fleet funding and management products including a unique salary sacrifice structure, are underpinned by industry leading online reporting capabilities

www.reward-guide.co.uk JAN - FEB 2015 R E W A R D 19

Sg� eet and Reward’s survey shows that a large number of companies do not o� er car-related bene� ts to their employees. Often, the cause

of this is a lack of understanding of the advantages of employee car bene� ts and � eet management. For example, many HR departments are constantly looking for ways to reduce admin and time spent on managing a � eet internally, yet are unaware a company like sg� eet can assist with this in a direct and signi� cant way.

sg� eet focuses on the mid-sized corporate sector, and looks to add value for customers with � eets of approximately 50 to 300 vehicles. In our experience, companies of that size generally do not employ a dedicated � eet manager, leaving that responsibility to a HR manager who may lack the time or experience to e� ectively handle this task.

ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENOur aim is to become our customers’ professional � eet management, take away the hassle of running a vehicle � eet and proactively manage that � eet on their behalf.

The survey showed that many employers that do have car schemes have included maintenance and duty of care as part of the arrangement with their provider. Relying on an external provider for this makes sense as the task is transferred to an expert. In contrast, other companies appear to be unaware of their duty of care obligations and the knowledge gaps created by attempting to manage � eets internally can put the business at risk.

The grey � eet duty of care issue, for example, is important for organisations that use cash allowances. Are they covering risks in an appropriate manner, and if not, are there products on the market that can help mitigate those risks? Companies must ensure

the vehicle is � t for purpose, and has the correct business cover insurance, or repercussions could be enormous.

In providing a fully out-sourced solution, it becomes our job to provide the support and take the hassle and administrative burden away from our client. This gives them peace of mind and the assurance that risks are managed appropriately and their duty of care obligations are fully satis� ed.

COST CONTROL A large number of the survey respondents expressed their concerns about end-of-contract costs. Indeed, it is not unusual for some of the larger players in the market to compete very aggressively on headline price, and to try to claw back that lost income subsequently at various stages of the service agreement, for example by applying various ad hoc administration charges and penal end of contract charges. Our average is £174, against an industry average of circa £400. This shows that, when selecting a provider, it is key to ensure that price consistency and transparency are core aspects of the proposition.

Cost control can also be achieved via tax and NI savings. Signi� cant progress continues to be made with

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS ON THE EMPLOYEE CAR BENEFITEvery employer can establish a car provision that adds real value for employees

Peter Crabtreesales director

sg� eetsg� eet

EXPERT VIEWEMPLOYEE CAR BENEFITS

the production of more fuel-e� cient and environmentally-friendly cars. This means that the bene� t in kind tax liability is reducing. From a salary sacri� ce point of view, employees can get the tax bene� ts of exchanging salary for a bene� t, while employers save on NI contributions.

The survey showed that at this stage, the number of people taking up salary sacri� ce bene� ts is still quite low. However, now that we are coming out of the recession, more organisations are focusing on the people agenda. Salary sacri� ce bene� ts represent an excellent and cost e� ective way to enhance the overall employee bene� ts package. Using a Novated Leasing structure also has the added bene� t of not creating scheme risk for the employer – if an employee leaves a company, they will take their car with them.

CHANGING PERCEPTIONSA company vehicle remains an attractive bene� t and providers such as sg� eet are keen to educate employers on the value it can represent to employees.

Many employers felt their company was too small or too young to implement a scheme. From our point view, if it’s a small or recently formed company that is growing, it should look at putting in place a robust car company policy at an early stage. By working with us, we can advise companies on the right vehicle to meet the needs of both the business and the drivers and we can deploy our buying power to source vehicles in a more cost-e� ective manner. Growing companies require the full attention of their management on operational matters. Leaving the management of their � eet to experts ensures time and requirements are correctly matched with core competencies.

At the moment, there appears to be a lack of understanding about what is available in the market and how specialist providers can provide value. Moving into 2015, car bene� ts will increasingly become a more important part of overall employee bene� t arrangements as they are a cost e� ective reward tool both for the employer and employee.

reward carried out a survey asking employers what fleet, vehicle and car salary sacrifice benefits they offer. Helen Swire looks at the results

the car. An average UK professional’s second biggest expense after the

mortgage. Car packages in various forms have been popular as an employee benefit for many decades, though how those perks have been set up has varied over time.

These include the ever-popular company car given to executives, set-ups that allow employees who drive for business purposes to have some form of fleet provision, and firms allowing all of their staff the chance to have a car.

The possibilities are numerous: com-pany car, fleet, grey fleet, salary-sacrificed cars, cash allowance... businesses have plenty of choice when it comes to a vehicle offering.

Reward and sgfleet surveyed HR direc-tors and employers on what they offered – if anything – and what the reasons behind their decision was. We also asked why they believed these trends occurred and what the future is likely to hold for the company car.a vehicle offeRingWhen asked if they operate a company car fleet, cash allowance, car salary sacrifice or other form of car provision, the majority of those surveyed (58%) said they offered at least something.

Looking specifically at those employers with some form of staff car benefit – exclud-ing grey fleet and car salary sacrifice – the fleet size is, on average, 109 vehicles.

And of those employers that do have a vehicle provision, an overwhelming 89% do not operate car salary sacrifice, suggest-ing that a large number are either

An indicAtor on employee cArs

special RepoRt: eMployee car benefiTs

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special RepoRteMployee car benefiTs

understanding of the range and variety of employee car benefits on the market for corporate use: in fact many packages are suitable for smaller or new companies.

There is still work for providers to do in changing perceptions about what is on offer on the market and how it is managed.key pointsWhat have we learnt from the survey?• While over half of those surveyed have some form of provision, the employee car benefit is still a growing product, for the reason that the benefit is still surrounded by misconceptions and concerns.• Salary sacrifice, an increasingly popular way of offering an employee benefit, only accounts for a tiny proportion of car schemes at present: however, providers are unsurprised by this – it is a very new approach to car salary sacrifice that they anticipate growing in 2015.• For those employers that offer employee car benefits, maintenance, insurance and duty of care are key factors in their man-agement of the scheme – and many try to work with providers that help with these aspects.• For those employers that offer vehicles to their staff in some form, key concerns focus on charges and costs of offering a scheme: particularly legalities surrounding termina-tion charges.

Transparency around this and under-standing of costing is also an important factor in choosing a scheme provider for the majority of employers.• For those employers that do not offer employee car benefits, the main barrier is more a matter of perception.

Concerns about the risks involved with a scheme and the tax implications indicate a need for further communications to make schemes more accessible to a greater number of businesses.

Equally, the reason that many employers gave for not choosing to include vehicles in their benefits package – i.e., that their com-pany is too small – shows that there is a tendency towards a lack of understanding of the variety of packages on the market for them to choose from.

cars, and keep fleet numbers and costs limited.

However, despite 89% of those surveyed saying they did not have car salary sacri-fice, some employers flagged this up as a priority to be considered over the following year – to move into either salary sacrifice cars, or a cash allowance – both of which would offer more flexibility to a wider number of employees.

In addition, some commented that it was important to them “to remain competitive with their travel allowance” – suggesting that whatever provision they choose to take, it is important to them to retain a car in their employee benefit package.why not?Of course, there will always be some companies for whom a car scheme is simply not relevant – for employers based in the City of London, for example.

However, key concerns raised their head for HR directors who have perhaps been put off employee car benefits either anec-dotally or when looking into a scheme. Much like employers already offering a car benefit, costs and risk were cited as major concerns.

Respondents stated that they believe they do not have full understanding of such schemes, but are aware of the high risk levels, and do not understand fully, or are nervous about, the tax implications sur-rounding car benefits.

Furthermore, there are concerns that the benefits or HR team would become de facto fleet managers through a lack of help with the administration.

Another key reason behind employers being unwilling to take on an employee car benefit is the size of company.

Respondents made comments such as: “We are a relatively new company and any form of car provision has not needed to be part of our reward strategy” and “Our ben-efits are currently being reviewed, however we are only a small business so have not offered employee car benefits in the past.”

Another said: “Few employees require cars for official business, and those that do only travel very small distances.”

Such responses suggest a general lack of


offering company cars to executives as just that, or making a fleet provision for busi-ness drivers.

However, it should be noted that of those HRs that offer a vehicular benefit to employees, on average they dedicate only 12% of their role to fleet management, which on average run on three-year con-tracts – indicating that car providers take on the majority of the management and organisational work for employers.funding and managementThe idea that providers bear much of the administration effort is borne out by the responses we received when employers were asked how they maintain the vehicles.

Among the most popular responses were having maintenance contracts in place alongside finance leases, or having maintenance agreements on top of lease costs. Those with car salary sacrifice schemes also responded that maintenance is included in the lease.

Again, there was an entire spectrum of responses, from employers claiming that they dealt with maintenance, through to those who put the responsibility of main-taining the vehicle with the employee.

Placing the responsibility on the member of staff, however, does not mean that com-panies are not aware of their duty of care. Many employers stated that they ensure a regular review of driver behaviour, with in-car training available for those operating company cars.

Documentary checks – for example of licences – are also run by many companies, as well as comprehensive vehicle policy checks that outline the responsibilities on the part of the staff member.

Many employers expect a close relation-ship with the provider, as well as with external legal teams when it comes to ensuring full compliance with duty-of-care issues around maintenance and health and safety in car schemes.

Much of how a scheme is managed, of course, comes down to how it is funded. Finance lease and contract hire were by far the most popular methods, each being chosen by a third (33.3%) of the

respondents. The next most popular method, cash

purchase, was chosen by only one in ten (10%) of employers.

However, while none of the respondents evaluated the visibility or transparency around contract hire schemes, the fees and charges were major causes of concern.

While ad hoc administration fees, inflex-ibility and inconsistent pricing were cited as the element of contract hire that employ-ers liked least (by 12.5% of respondents), an overwhelming majority – 62.5% of respondents – cited end-of-contract charges as what they disliked the most.

Providers can learn from the results of the survey, insofar as the pricing and charges were also key to how employers choose a fleet management provider.

Of the employers, 14% said that consist-ent and transparent pricing was their prior-ity, while 12% preferred providers who had a “fair and consistent approach to end-of -contract charges”.challenges and pRioRitiesIt seems that the key challenges that employers consider they face when putting an employee car proposition in place are not just confined to the charges associated with schemes.

There are also issues around communica-tion and ensuring that staff understand the complexities of the benefit.

They included managing the expecta-tions of the workforce, managing drivers’ mileages and ensuring that the drivers know how to deal with incident claims and maintenance, even when this is all covered by the scheme.

Time and resources for the management of a car fleet or salary sacrifice scheme have also been a problem for some employers – many providers are looking to help with this, along with the costs and charges asso-ciated with a scheme.

When asked what their priorities would be for their schemes over the coming 12 months through into 2015, many employ-ers said that they would be looking at improving cost effectiveness and adminis-tration efficiency around their car benefit, as well as trying to curb the mileage of fleet

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www.reward-guide.co.uk MAR - APR 2015 R e w a R d 31

vehicle fleet and leave you more time to run your business”. In the corporate contract hire market, we focus on working with mid-sized corporates, where they may not be a large enough fleet to warrant having a full-time fleet manager. This is where we believe we can add the most value to our clients and in turn develop long-term partnership based relationships.

Reducing the cost and Risk of opeRating a gRey fleet The survey found that 42% of respondents operate a grey fleet, with an average size of 79 vehicles. It was also established that 70% of respondents who operate a grey fleet do not cap CO2 emissions and 65% of respondents reimburse business mileage at AMAP rates. Offering purely a cash option not only creates risk for the business but may prove to be more expensive than initially expected and be at odds with any sustainability agenda. Including this population as part of a fleet review process will enable the establishment of an optimal solution. It may make sense for elements of this population to go back to a company car or be provided with access to a vehicle for their business trips. The solution for low business mileage drivers may not be a company car or cash allowance. Looking at the nature of the mileage they actually do could suggest a different solution altogether. This could be through a well-structured salary sacrifice scheme such as Novalease, re-visiting re-imbursement rates or short term vehicles.

the ‘sacRifice’ optionPart of the overall assessment is also to examine if salary sacrifice might be the best option for a company, particularly in our examination of the personal usage versus business usage split. Our experience to-date suggests that the optimum solution is often a combination of corporate contract hire for the essential users and salary sacrifice for cash allowance drivers and the wider staff population.

However, Reward’s survey on voluntary benefits and salary sacrifice

revealed that 80% of employers still don’t have a salary sacrifice car scheme in place.

This isn’t altogether surprising as car salary sacrifice is still a fairly new product, and many organisations are still developing their knowledge of the product and an awareness of the benefits that a well-structured scheme can deliver for both the employer and employee.

Some organisations have been put off by scheme risks for the employers in the event that an employee leaves. However, there are other options such as Novalease which does not create scheme risks for employers and provides a better solution for employees.

In terms of both the risk of employee attrition and the burden of the management and administration of a car scheme, sgfleet addresses these challenges by contracting directly with the employee.

Those administrative concerns relating to speeding fines, congestion charges, parking tickets and so on, are managed between us and the employee.

The burden and hassle of administration does not fall back on the employer for either car salary sacrifice schemes or fleet provision.

educating the woRkfoRceIt’s not all down to just changing employer perceptions. You have to get staff to buy into and understand the value of whichever car provision they have on offer – which is why we spend a lot of time making the employee communications work efficiently.

The communications have to be ongoing – the car is a benefit that employees must be able to buy into when they require it in their lives, not just in one annual enrolment window. Ongoing communications and road shows keep the benefit at the front of their minds, so that when they need it,

expert viewEMPLOYEE CAR BENEfITS

they know they can opt in. It’s about trying to build and create

awareness about the scheme being available, but once it’s in place, it’s also about ongoing marketing to maintain the awareness.

And once employees understand the benefit, it is hugely engaging.

The offer of a car in a more cost-effective way is the most valuable employee benefit you could have. funding and maintaining a vehicle is the second biggest expense for employees after putting a roof over their head. Doing that in a tax-effective way, packaged up and paid for in one monthly payment is very attractive to people.

In sgfleet’s scheme, we don’t limit employees to one car, so there is also a real value to them and their whole families. The benefit is a lot wider than people realise – and that’s what makes it so powerful.

gRowing the tRendSalary sacrifice isn’t the utopia that will replace company cars – if people are doing a lot of business mileage then the company car is the most cost-effective solution. In effect, it’s a matter of building awareness of what product structures are available to meet both employer and employee needs.

As we emerge from the recession, it is inevitable that cars will be a benefit that is going to be valued more highly. Companies are seeing the competition for staff increasing, and the result is that more people are focussing on the people agenda and looking at how they can attract and retain staff.

sgfleet can help support staff attraction and retention through enhancing the value of the employee benefits package that’s on offer, and the more that this can be done in a cost-effective way to the employer, the more attractive it is for all concerned.

The role that cars have to play as an overall employee benefit within an organisation – whatever kind of scheme that is through – is growing. Over the next 12 months, vehicles will become increasingly recognised as an invaluable reward tool.

“Let us focus on running your vehicle fleet and

leave you more time to run your business”

30 R E W A R D MAR - APR 2015 www.reward-guide.co.uk

Sg� eet and Reward’s survey revealed that one huge challenge for employers in running a vehicle � eet was the dichotomy of choice for drivers

versus cost control for the company.Companies are increasingly moving

towards funding and managing their � eet externally. Many organisations are operating on a user-chooser basis, where employees have a monthly rental limit and a wide choice, often with a trade-up and trade-down capability as well. Only 55% of the survey respondents restrict choice.

This is great for the driver, because it means their choice of vehicle becomes much wider. However, the challenge for employers is that increasing that choice reduces their buying power and therefore results in increased � eet costs.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A FULL FLEET REVIEW AND PARTNERING WITH AN EXPERTOnly 8% of the survey respondents’ time was spent managing the � eet. This highlights the importance of working with a professional � eet management company. They can identify trends in your � eet and opportunities to improve both the bene� t to employees and running costs of your � eet. sg� eet’s approach is to really understand the composition and needs of the workforce and the utilisation of the vehicles.

By providing a free-of-charge � eet review to clients, we are able to obtain a better understanding of the make-up and usage of their existing � eet, the speci� c needs of their employee population, what level of business mileage is being undertaken and what grey � eet risks are present. From the review process, we can take our

assessment back to the employer and propose a more optimal solution in order to reduce risk and cost.

It is key to remember that one size does not � t all – and that choosing what is great for the employee may well not be what’s best for the employer.

For example, having all sta� operating on a user-chooser basis might not be the optimal solution. One option is to o� er contract hire for the essential user element: those people who are doing higher business mileage. Reducing manufacturer choice for this category of employees to a dual or even a sole badge arrangement makes it possible to maximise manufacturer discounts and reduce � eet cots.

We add value by looking at the segments of the overall driver population and putting in place a scheme that will meet drivers’ needs and maximise the buying power of the employer.

Putting in place our unique approach to salary sacri� ce alongside corporate contract hire gives employees more choices without impacting costs. If

GETTING THE BEST DEAL FOR YOUR WORKFORCEReviewing the � eet needs of your business and your workforce can create an attractive and cost-e� ective vehicle solution, says Peter Crabtree, director, sales and customer service at sg� eet

Peter Crabtreesales director

sg� eetsg� eet

EXPERT VIEWEMPLOYEE CAR BENEFITS

they so desire, they can opt out of the company car scheme, take the cash allowance and select a vehicle of their choice through Novalease.

Drivers continue to be demanding about choice but employers want to control costs – two elements that are at odds with each other. However, undertaking a � eet review and establishing the optimum solution keeps both the HR Director and the Finance Director happy.

It’s not just about choice – our assessment can also change employers’ understanding of the true cost of the � eet. We include the opportunity costs from potential improvements which helps bring the opportunities to life.

The survey revealed that many employers have moved towards cash allowance because they believe there’s less administration involved and it is the most cost-e� ective solution. However, when you assess how many employees are taking the cash allowance and then using that car for business, what level of business mileage is being incurred, and what level of fuel reimbursement rates are being paid by the employer, the employer is often paying twice – both a cash allowance and expensive mileage rates. Reviewing the utilisation of the vehicles and the level of fuel reimbursement will help to quantify the true level of expenditure and the level of grey � eet risk the employer is incurring.

Operating a company vehicle � eet can be an administrative burden that many organisations are keen to reduce. We add value to our clients by managing the vehicle � eet on their behalf and operating as their professional Fleet Management partner – “let us focus on running your


technology, which are constantly in flux.Employers commented that in providers

they look most of all for cost-effective and administration-effective providers, and also rely on tendering, brokers and industry reviews to find the right provider for their workplace scheme.

Reviews are equally important from the point of view of assessing employee engage-ment with schemes and individual benefits.

“Employers need to decide how they manage and measure success,” comments Mason, Personal Group. “They have to look at usage, but also be realistic in their expecta-tions. Discounts provide tangible savings for employees, but they’re voluntary, so it’s about encouraging employees to engage with them.”

Communications are, as ever, the key. The most popular communications as cited in the survey are via email (71%) and company intranet (61%). Only 31% do face-to-face communications, while even fewer (24%) use total reward statements.

Carman, Edenred, says: “It’s about doing a combination of things – and managers getting involved as well. Champions are a good way of keeping the scheme alive throughout the year. And face-to-face communication is invaluable – it appeals across all generations.”

the new yeaRThe coming year for employers is all about simplicity: survey respondents want to see a general simplification of administration and cost management across voluntary benefits, discount vouchers and salary sacrifice. Specifically to salary sacrifice, they also want to see a simplification of HMRC tax rules and guidelines.

For providers, then, 2015 will be about dispelling some of the myths around cost and administration of schemes.

But more is expected: as risks are mini-mised and regulations explained, there is likely to be an increase in salary sacrifice uptake. “There’ll also be an increase in volun-tary benefits generally, but technology of all natures will come more into the frame,” adds Mason.

It goes beyond the voluntary benefits and salary sacrifice schemes: “There is a growing movement around employee engagement,” says Morgan, People Value. “It will be about having a clear strategy, communicating that to employees, and having line managers doing more around reward and recognition.”

sacrifice is likely to see a huge increase in inter-est this year.

challengesEmployers cited their biggest challenges across the piece of voluntary benefits, discount vouchers and salary sacrifice as finding a selection of benefits to meet employees’ needs (41%), management and administration (31%) and communications (39%). The management of enrolment windows was cited by the fewest employers (7%) as a challenge.

Specifically in the realm of salary sacrifice, key costs included payroll complexities and salary sacrifice tax rules – as well as cost.

However, the challenges around cost and administration of schemes are more often than not misconceptions that providers are working on changing. “The cost of a voluntary benefits scheme is a drop in the ocean in terms of what employers are spending on benefits in gen-eral,” argues Carman, Edenred.

Mike Morgan agrees: “The perception that this is a higher per head benefit is wrong. If an employer gets a provider to put a system in, they do all the work – the communications plans and outbound comms, the templates for how to get maximum engagement, design work, and so on. The employer actually doesn’t end up doing a great deal – but it’s a percep-tion that these schemes have high overheads and a lot of administration.”

The main challenges for voluntary benefits in 2015, Morgan adds, will be around examin-ing the scheme communications, and finding benefits to fit all employees’ needs. Organisa-tions are now looking to providers to offer new benefits that will appeal to all the generations in the workplace.

communications and ReviewsTo find the benefits that suit, a review process is key. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of employers review their benefits annually, compared to just 5% who review every half year. However a quarter (24%) review their benefits less than once a year.

Even though many providers work on a contract of every two years, with some employ-ing contracts of up to five years, industry experts advise that employers should review their voluntary benefits at least annually, to ensure that they are getting the best rates – and most innovative products on the market, particularly in areas such as healthcare and


reward asked employers about their voluntary benefits, discount vouchers and salary sacrifice offerings. helen swire reports on the findings

voluntaRy benefits, discount vouch-

ers and salary sacrifice are the traditional means by which employees can choose their own benefits and make considerable financial savings. Reward’s survey examined what trends are currently being seen across these benefits.

While many employer-supported benefits, such as private medical insurance and life assurance, remain popular, voluntary benefits allow employers to extend offerings across their whole workforce.

Meanwhile, benefits such as discount vouchers, reloadable cards, and salary sacri-ficed employee benefits enable employees to make considerable savings on important aspects of their lifestyles – from cars to shopping.

However, there remains a “fear factor” – Steve Mason, business development director at Personal Group, argues that “smaller compa-nies may not use discount cards or salary sac-rifice because they think they are only financially viable for bigger companies – or they don’t have the HR systems in place.”

Equally the lack of prevalence of some ben-efits could be that they are simply due to see growth over 2015: “There’s huge industry buzz around car salary sacrifice, but the survey shows there’s little penetration at the moment,” comments Mason. “This suggests it will grow over the next year.”

So what did the survey reveal?voluntaRy benefitsThe majority of employers do offer voluntary benefits – a staggering 88% said that they offer them in some form or other, with over

so much tochoose From

special RepoRt: eMployee car benefiTs

half (59%) offering voluntary benefits as part of a total reward strategy. Conversely, less than a third (31%) offer them as part of a flexible benefits strategy.

It is hardly surprising that so many employ-ers offer voluntary benefits – the majority (80%) who do, feel that such benefits impact positively on employee engagement. Ongoing engagement could also be a contributing factor to employers now favouring rolling windows for enrolment into voluntary benefits, with 65% offering these windows compared to the 35% who have one annual enrolment window.

The most popular voluntary benefits on offer were generally unsurprising – childcare vouchers were most popular, offered by 73% of respondents, followed by cycle-to-work (56%) and discount vouchers (47%).

salaRy sacRificeSalary sacrifice benefits are almost as popular as voluntary benefits, with 83% of employers offering them.

As with the voluntary benefits, childcare remains top of the list, with 78% of employers offering their staff the opportunity to salary sacrifice their childcare vouchers – and the majority also consider this the salary sacrifice that employees value most highly.

Other popular forms of salary sacrifice – with both employers and employees – include pensions contributions and holiday trading, while the benefits of staying fit and healthy are reflected in the 51% of employers who offer cycle-to-work schemes.

Surprisingly, despite the aforementioned “industry buzz”, only 20% of employers offer car salary sacrifice, perhaps due to employee popularity – according to respondents, it is not particularly popular among employees.

However, industry experts disagree – sug-gesting that the costs and risks associated with cars are still putting employers off. Early con-tract terminations pose concern to employers who imagine that they will be taking on the cost and risk of an unwanted car.

However, with the rise of plug-in hybrid cars at 5% BIK, and companies such as sgfleet removing the risk around leavers, car salary


Intelligent Fleet Management

Innovative Fleet Management, Leasing and Salary Sacrifice

www.sgfleet.com0845 154 0721

• sgfleet combine international experience with local knowledge• 25 years experience in managing complex fleets of cars and light commercial vehicles with a fleet in excess of 80,000 vehicles • A focus on providing world class, flexible and innovative fleet solutions to a range of customers • sgfleet’s customer base includes large corporate organisations, small to medium enterprises and public sector entities• A full range of fleet funding and management products including a unique salary sacrifice structure, are underpinned by industry leading online reporting capabilities

the definitive guide to workplace benefits€¦ · survey write-up 05 expert view changing...

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