Did you know you could offer DVD rental and wine as a benefit?
Flexible benefits (also known as ‘cafeteria benefits’ or ‘flex plans’) are not new – in some organisations they have been available for 20 years or more! However, recent research by the CIPD and others shows they are experiencing a surge in popularity.
In the past 1-2 years, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of employers offering flexible benefits schemes, plus an even greater number of organisations actively investigating the possibility of introducing a flexible benefits scheme for their employees.
Flexible Benefit schemes work either by specifying a part of people’s salary that is made up of these benefits with each member of staff choosing which benefit they want, or they can include salary sacrificing.
There are a number of tax-advantages linked to benefits that it may be worth considering providing as an employer, including pensions; childcare vouchers, financial advice, and bicycles. Some employers are also offering other diverse options on their flexible benefits schemes such as car rental, eye care, hairdressing, DVD rental, and wine!
The upside of flexible benefits schemes is that they can offer tax benefits to both staff and employers. They also mean that staff receive benefits that are relevant to them, and therefore appreciated. The downside to flexible benefits is that they can be complex and time-consuming to administrate. And although Cintra Payroll Services cannot manage a flexible benefits system for employers, they do offer as part of Managed Payroll a P11D service to help you with the payroll complexities that arise with these schemes.
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