Adviser - Winter 2018

The benefits of communication Do your employees understand and use the benefits you offer? Do the benefits you provide match what you promise your employees and list in the contract/staff handbook and on your website? Are they available to review, choose and promote via a modern online platform? How do you communicate your benefits to your employees both at inception/renewal and throughout the benefit year? Presentations and one-to-one meetings can be a great way to discuss and promote the benefits you offer. Check your costs Do you know how much you are paying for the benefits you offer your employees? Are these costs giving you and your employees good value for money? When were the premiums last reviewed in the market? Are you getting the best value out of your employee benefit spend? What are the alternatives?

What about pensions? All employers now have to offer a workplace pension, but it’s worth checking what you are paying for it. Pension provider charges can vary from a 0.75% annual management charge (AMC) to as low as 0.2% AMC and some also include a monthly employer charge. It is important to understand precisely what your employees (and potentially your business) are being charged and how it compares to the wider market. Where are you getting your advice? It is important to know if your financial adviser can look at the whole market for you, or if they are restricted in terms of the providers they can use, or policies, products and investments they can offer. Is your adviser and/or their firm Chartered, meeting the stringent requirements and upholding the standards expected of Chartered professionals? Also look at what you are paying your financial adviser? Is it competitive? Are you paying by fee only, or an element of commission too? A fee basis may be more transparent and offer better value for money.

Setting up and reviewing your employee reward and benefit schemes can seem a daunting task. If you have an existing scheme or are considering implementing an employee benefits strategy, contact Scrutton Bland who have a team of experienced Employee Benefits consultants ready to help you through the process. Contact Steph Gordon at steph.gordon@ scruttonbland.co.uk or 0330 058 6559.

E M P L O Y E E B E N E F I T S | S C R U T T O N B L A N D | 2 9

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