EXCLUSIVE: Information company IHS Global has completed its latest benefits harmonisation project, investing £250,000 to give 90 staff in the UK access to flexible benefits following its acquisition of IMS Research in April.
IMS Research’s UK employees will now have access to a range of benefits funded by salary sacrifice and salary deduction arrangements, including a group self-invested personal pension plan (Sipp), private medical insurance (PMI), a health cash plan, gym membership, an employee assistance programme, dental insurance, childcare vouchers, holiday purchase, life assurance and critical illness insurance. Previously, these employees only had access to a stakeholder pension scheme and life assurance.
This is the latest project to harmonise benefits for IHS Global, which has 6,000 staff, after it unified benefits across new acquisitions in Germany and Switzerland. In each case, it brought newly acquired staff in line with local packages.
John Whitaker, senior benefits consultant, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at IHS Global, said: “All of the tax efficiencies are different. It is a very interesting landscape. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We are looking to complement the social security systems in various countries, to understand what the systems are, and what benefits we can offer to enhance that for staff.If a local hospital equivalent isn’t there, then PMI would be more of a priority. It all influences how we structure our reward packages.”
IHS Global has also reinvested £340,000 back into its UK flexible benefits scheme it launched three years ago. This was made possible by employer national insurance (NI) savings from salary sacrifice arrangements. Its 1,300 UK staff were each awarded an extra £300 to spend on benefits during the flex enrolment period in March.
Whitaker added: “I am keen to understand our demographics so we can offer maximum choice to cover all generations and ensure there is something for everyone. We want to innovate and meet the needs of our diverse employee population.”
Read also the Mergers & Acquisitions supplement 2011
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