EXCLUSIVE: Holidays Extras has achieved an 82% take-up in its online flexible benefits scheme since it was launched in June.
The most significant increase was in the take-up of the online holiday booker’s group personal pension (GPP) plan.
While 99 of its 400 employees were members of the scheme prior to the flexible benefits launch, that number has doubled to 197.
The plan is offered via a salary sacrifice arrangement with employer national insurance (NI) contributions going straight back into employees’ pensions.
The scheme, provided by Thomson Online Benefits, was introduced to increase employee engagement and reduce the administrative burden of a manual benefits process.
Anouk Agussol, head of people at Holiday Extras, added: “We’re quite a technological business. To have the benefits online and have everyone in charge of their own benefits and selecting what they want, when they want, made sense.”
The benefits are divided into three main categories: My Extra Wealth, My Extra Health and My Extra Lifestyle.
Employees can make choices from 15 different benefits, which include: a GPP, life assurance, which used to be available at two-times salary and can now be flexed up to six-times, group income protection, critical illness insurance, private medical insurance (PMI), a health cash plan, dental insurance, health screening, holiday purchase up to three days a year, childcare vouchers, a bikes-for-work scheme, a payroll-giving scheme, an employee assistance programme (EAP), discounts at local retailers and gyms, and an employee discounts scheme.
Agussol said: “What we really wanted to do, even though the company couldn’t afford any additional costs, was to provide everyone with options they could pay for at a corporate rate to make their lives easier.
“In these tough economic times, if you can do anything to make it easier for people and cheaper, without incurring significant costs for the business, it’s a win-win.”
The launch was communicated via Holiday Extras’ interactive intranet site, posters and presentations.
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