Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

ChildcareLatest NewsPay & benefits

Care vouchers most popular benefit with comp and bens managers

by John Charlton 28 Apr 2009
by John Charlton 28 Apr 2009

Almost two-thirds of those responsible for benefits and rewards provision polled in an exclusive survey for Reward & Benefits Today support extending care vouchers beyond childcare.

About 63% of comp and bens managers and HR directors polled said they were in favour of extending care vouchers beyond childcare, while 28% said they had no opinion on the issue, and 8% were against the idea.







Download the exclusive Reward & Benefits Today research, in association with Nuffield Health:  Research among reward and benefits professionals to measure attitudes towards rewards and benefits (613kB)


Research undertaken independently by Reed Business Insight


Our debate, featured on page 31,highlights the division of opinion on the issue. Iain McMath, managing director at Sodexho Pass, supports extending care vouchers, especially for those who have care responsibilities for the elderly.

He is in favour of a “generic care voucher” that would operate in a similar way to childcare vouchers.

However, the survey found that childcare vouchers were rated by just 8% of respondents as the most important benefit in the current economic climate.

Pensions were judged the most important benefit by 45% of those polled, with a sharp drop to other benefits such as employee assistance programmes (13%), financial education (10%), and life assurance (5%).

The research also found many respondents are facing pressure on their benefits budgets. When asked what was the extent of pressure they faced to reduce benefits budgets in 2009, 19% said a great extent, 47% some extent, and 35% no extent at all.

Car benefits were deemed the likeliest benefit to be cut or downgraded by 30% of those polled. Some 13% of respondents said that pensions were likely to be cut. Childcare vouchers and cycle schemes are, according to the results, among those benefits least likely to be trimmed.

Although respondents agreed pensions were the most important benefit, when it came to a free money-no-object benefits choice, they had other ideas. Some 25% said they would like private healthcare and medical insurance, 14% plumped for gym membership, and 8% wanted health screenings and assessments, while 6% would like a company car.

Only 3% said they would like an improved pension. The same percentage wanted a final salary pension.

One respondent said she’d like “unlimited swimming”, while another wanted “free chiropody”,and one desired “reflexology and massage sessions for all staff”.

The survey also emphasised the rising importance of stress as a workplace issue, with 37% of respondents saying it was of great concern, and 60% agreeing it was of some concern. Just 2% said it was of no concern.

There was also a public/private sector split on this issue, with 45% of public sector respondents saying employee stress was a cause for great concern compared to 36% of those polled in the private sector.

Avatar
John Charlton

previous post
Equality Bill will hit business, warn CIPD and EEF
next post
B&Q launches corporate gift card

You may also like

NHS to end full pay for Covid-19 sick...

4 Jul 2022

Government childcare plans aim to reduce cost of...

4 Jul 2022

Whistleblowing lawyer awarded £423k by Foreign Office

4 Jul 2022

Diversity and inclusion: where does the buck stop?

4 Jul 2022

Quarter of workers feel unsupported after bereavement

1 Jul 2022

Employment law changes for 2022 and beyond: update...

1 Jul 2022

BT workers vote for strike action over pay

1 Jul 2022

Chief financial officers now more involved in HR

1 Jul 2022

Top 10 HR questions June 2022: Former employees

1 Jul 2022

Pay all care workers a £10.50 hourly minimum...

30 Jun 2022
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+