Increasing numbers of small businesses are offering flexible benefit schemes for their employees, according to research from professional services firm KPMG.
Research carried out for KPMG by Opinion Leader Research showed that 25% of small companies offer flexible benefits with another 18% planning to introduce such a scheme in the next 12 months.
KPMG partner, Ian Hopkinson, said: “These statistics are encouraging as it shows an interesting change in attitude towards flexible benefits. This has to be good news for the UK workforce and is a sign that such schemes are more widely recognised as effective recruitment and retention tools.
However, 74% of the employers surveyed do not offer flexible benefits schemes, and of those, more than three-quarters have no intention of introducing one.
“The results of the survey show there is some way to go to help the remaining companies understand the true value of such schemes,” said Hopkinson.
He believes this is down to the myth that these schemes are costly or impractical and that some still confuse flexible benefits with flexible working hours.
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