Voluntary Benefits
Voluntary (or affinity) benefits are common terms for products and services
on which employers negotiate discounts on behalf of their employees. There
are varying levels of sophistication:
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at the lowest level, the employer advertises the discount, and employees
contact the provider directly and quote a special number;
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at the next level, the employer bundles together all the information on
the various discounts, or has a special brochure printed;
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the highest level is the intranet-based system that looks like a full
cafeteria flexible benefits scheme, but to which the employer makes no
financial contribution.
Affinity benefit schemes offer employees the chance to purchase a wide
range of products and services at discounted rates, negotiated by the
employer. The main aim is to add value to the existing benefits package for
minimal cost and effort. Benefits typically fall into three categories:
Health benefits
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Health Benefits include private medical insurance, health screening,
hospital cash plans, dental insurance, optical benefits, stress
counseling, income protection insurance, critical illness insurance, life
insurance or accident insurance.
Financial benefits
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Financial benefits include financial advice, taxation advice, legal
advice, mortgages, conveyancing, house valuation, household insurance,
loans and banking facilities, credit cards, pet insurance, or holiday
insurance.
Lifestyle benefits
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Lifestyle benefits can include on-site créche facilities or assistance
with childcare, local retail discounts, retail catalogues, vouchers,
restaurant deals, travel deals, massage, aromatherapy, gym membership,
vehicle purchase plans, vehicle breakdown cover, vehicle warranties,
computer discounts, mobile phones, magazine subscriptions, wine club
membership or emergency home assistance.
Providers can help source benefits and promote them to employees. This can
remove the administrative burden of ensuring that the employees have
up-to-date information on the benefits that are currently available under
the scheme - voluntary benefits will rapidly lose their attraction if the
employee contacts the provider only to be told 'we don't offer that
any more'.
