Employee benefits: staff don’t appreciate the extras

UK employees have no idea how much employers spend on benefits each year, research has found.

A survey of 1,300 people, conducted by consulting firm Aon, revealed that just 2% of adult workers believe their employers spent the equivalent of at least 20% of their salaries on benefits. More than two-thirds believed their employers spent just 10% on benefits, and almost half thought the figure was less than 5%.

Gareth Ashley-Jones, head of flexible benefits at Aon Consulting, said the statistics show that HR professionals need to make employees more aware of the benefits they receive.

"Employers are underselling themselves," said Ashley-Jones. "They must do more to get the message across that benefits should be taken seriously as an important and substantial part of remuneration packages.

"If employers are to be genuinely valued by staff, then employees need to understand the scale of investment being made on their behalf."

Employee benefits include non-wage compensations given in addition to salaries such as private medical and life insurance, disability income protection, holiday and pensions.

Typically, where an employee earns £26,000 a year, a sum equivalent to 21% of their salary is spent on benefits. Similarly, where an employee receives £60,000, a further 39% is spent on benefits.