Yazaki has increased pension contributions to reward staff who stood by it during tough times.
The firm, which provides electrical distribution systems to the automotive industry, was hit hard during the recession, when many employees agreed to suspend their employer pension contributions and take temporary cuts in salary, to reduce the number of redundancies in 2009.
When business prospects began to improve in 2010, the firm rewarded its existing staff by increasing the employer pension contribution from 4% to 6% of salary. The pension is provided on a matched basis and contributions can be made via salary sacrifice.
Sally Kennedy, UK HR manager for Yazaki Europe, said: “After a turbulent 18 months, we were keen to reward staff who stood by us through tough times.
“It is important for us as a business that we retain our talent when times are both good and bad, and we felt that providing a better pension was one step that was achievable in the current climate.”
Yazaki saw an increase in the take-up of its pension scheme after increasing contributions, introducing salary sacrifice and undertaking an extensive communications exercise.
In September, the company worked with adviser Secondsight to communicate its improved pension scheme. Employees were offered group presentations on the scheme, as well as one-to-one meetings.
Now 91% of employees take up the scheme, compared with 81% previously, and 66% are on target for the pension they want, up from 9%.
- Sally Kennedy will speak at Employee Benefits Connect on 23 February 2012.
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