Information services company Informa has extended its flexible benefits scheme to 370 employees of the Institute of International Research, which it acquired last year.

It has also added a tax-efficient bikes for work scheme in order to support a more focused approach to occupational health.

Keith Brownlie, group HR director, said: "We think we're going to get a reasonable take-up, and I'd be pleased with 5% or 10%. We're espousing a healthy lifestyle.

The company is also planning to monitor sickness absence levels more closely. "The whole absence monitoring scene at the moment is quite key for us. We're keen to reduce our absence days. We didn't know whether it was a problem because we weren't monitoring it very well. Now we have got a system to measure it," said Brownlie.

He is also concerned about the rising costs of premiums for private medical insurance and income protection, which could affect whether cover continues to be offered to staff through flex. "We're looking at medical cover, we're quite concerned about the rates for private medical insurance and income protection. We haven't come to a decision yet but we're very much looking at rates."

The scheme's renewal period for employees to select their benefits began this month, and their choices will come into effect on 1 January.