Employee Benefits

If your firm doesn't offer benefits such as life protection to your employees then you are not maximising the value-for-money opportunities in your staffing costs.

It pays to consider the cost benefit analysis of the various options for your particular set of employees.

In many cases your employees will understand the value of the benefit to be more than it is, this makes such benefits a useful tool in remuneration negotiations with either individual staff or groups.

The benefits also assist in the efficient management of your firm by providing essential cover for certain risks.

• Life Insurance: Setting up a group life insurance can be a good idea (it's normally part of a pension), and if you have key staff with health issues it can be a way to give them insurance they'd otherwise not purchase.


• Income Protection: When a valued employee is unable to work any longer due to ill health, it can be very difficult. But if the employee has income protection as part of their package, then their salary is largely protected by the insurer. This alleviates much of the risk associated with losing key staff and is better for everyone concerned.


• Critical Illness Cover: Staff can be provided with a lump sum payment (usually equal to two years' salary) if they get a serious, but not immediately fatal, listed illness (e.g. some forms of heart attack, stroke and cancer).


• Medical Insurance: It's always useful having access to private health cover. Employees' productivity can be impaired when they are waiting for the NHS to address non urgent yet debilitating illnesses. It is always of benefit to the company if employees can get health issues dealt with sooner by having private health cover.


• Pensions: Employers are able to set up schemes that offer better value for money for the employees than if they all set up their own - groups can often get discounts which individuals can't. Better for both employers and employees.

The FCA does not regulate employee benefits.