Flexible benefits
What are flexible benefits?
Flexible benefits are a type of employee benefit. They’re when you provide your team with different kinds of employee benefits in a package. So they have the freedom to pick and choose what suits their needs and wants.
Flexible benefits schemes can come in different forms depending on what you can give and what benefits your employees want. Not to be confused with voluntary benefits, when staff members spend money on extra employee benefits outside the traditional salary.
You should remember that providing flexible benefits requires consistent care and attention to ensure you get the best value from your company's benefits spend.
What are flexible allowances?
A flexible allowance is a specific amount of money you give to your employees. Your team will use the money to spend on one or multiple employee benefits from the package you provided.
You set the budget for the allowance, but you can discuss with your team if you want to adjust or change the amount to see what fits you and your employees.
If you want to learn more about our flexible allowance, check out our page.
What makes benefits flexible?
Employee benefits aim to retain your team while keeping them healthy, productive, driven and valued. To do that, you must provide them with employee benefits that suit them best.
You can do this by using a flexible benefits scheme. This type of benefits offers a choice to your staff, giving them a sense of control since they can tailor their employee benefits package.
This scheme is a way for you to guarantee that your team is getting employee benefits they value the most. It's like they're customising their own benefits package.
Who can use flexible allowances?
Flexible allowances are for employees who are a part of the flexible benefits scheme. You give your team money, and they choose to spend it on what benefits they want from the employee benefits you have set.
The allowance itself is also very flexible; your team can use it for various purposes. For example, they can use them to pay for health insurance, child care, or travel expenses.
Types of flexible benefits
You can offer many kinds of employee benefits in a flexible benefits plan, which you can customise to fit the needs of your employees.
Of course, every flexible benefits plan differs from one to another, but in general, they mainly include the following:
- Health insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision insurance
- Prescription drug coverage.
You can also choose to offer other types of benefits, such as:
- Child care assistance
- Flexible spending accounts
- Health savings accounts
- Life insurance
- Long-term disability insurance
- Retirement savings plans.
Remember that these are just a few examples - you can create a plan specific to your own company and employees.
Advantages of flexible benefits
What's great about flexible benefits plans is that they provide perks and advantages for you and your team.
- Providing a choice
A flexible benefits plan allows your employees to personalise their own benefits package. This experience empowers them since they get to control what they choose.
Your team will appreciate this kind of freedom, making them want to keep working at your company.
- Retain and attract employees
Offering a flexible benefits plan shows that you're committed to providing a comprehensive package of benefits that meets the diverse needs of your staff.
Doing that will strengthen your employees' loyalty since they are satisfied and feel valued and appreciated.
Besides, In today's competitive marketplace, offering a flexible benefits scheme is a smart way to differentiate yourself and attract top talent.
- Improve employee engagement
Since your staff gets more control and flexibility over their employee benefits, this will lead to satisfaction and generate more engagement.
Your team's engagement will impact the work environment significantly, where they will be more motivated and productive.
- Saving costs
If you decide to provide a flexible benefits plan, you will spend at first. However, in the long run, it will actually save you money through salary sacrifice and the purchase of extra benefits.