Nearly all employers (97 per cent) are planning on either maintaining or increasing their spending on employee benefits over the next two years, according to new research from the CIPD and LCP.

Of those surveyed, 25 per cent said that they were most likely to increase their investment in financial benefits, such as pension schemes.

Pension schemes, either trust or contract-based, were the most popular benefit offered to employees across all sectors, it was revealed.

CIPD senior reward and performance adviser, Charles Cotton commented: “Despite the recent economic and political uncertainty, employers are committed to investing in their employees and their future.

“It’s encouraging to see the benefits that have been earmarked for further spend in the near future relate to people development and well-being.”

It found that 81 per cent of employers planned to spend the same amount on employee benefits over the next two years, while 16 per cent plan to increase their investment.

However, the report also revealed that 16 per cent of employers do not always communicate what benefits are on offer and 1 in 5 (21 per cent) say their benefits are not easily accessible.

Additionally, 74 per cent of those surveyed said they do not currently conduct a review of their benefit spend.

LCP head of flexible benefits, Dipa Mistry Kandola added: “Our report reveals that more employers than expected don’t promote their benefits or make them easily accessible.

“Organisations could be wasting significant costs if their people don’t know about the range of benefits on offer, or are put off utilising them if they’re not easily accessible.”

The CIPD is calling for better analysis of benefits so that “employers can be confident they’ll contribute to the success of individuals and business as a whole” and for HR teams to be more proactive in promoting employee benefits.

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