Employee Benefits
The businesses that attract and keep the best people are not always the ones that pay the most. They are the ones that look after their employees properly. A well-structured benefits package tells your team that you take their wellbeing seriously, and it does it in a way that is tax-efficient for both you and them.
Most businesses we speak to either have no benefits beyond the legal minimum, or have a package that was set up years ago and has never been reviewed. Premiums drift upward, cover drifts out of line with what staff actually need, and the tax advantages that should make benefits a smart decision for the business get missed because nobody is paying attention.
We design, implement, and manage employee benefits packages for businesses of all sizes. Whether you are putting something in place for the first time or reviewing what you already have, we make sure the benefits work for your people, your budget, and your business objectives. The result is a package your employees genuinely value, structured so you get the most from every pound you spend.
Group Protection
Group protection gives your employees financial security that most of them could not afford or access on their own. It is also one of the highest-value, lowest-cost benefits an employer can offer.
Group Life Insurance
If an employee dies in service, group life insurance pays a lump sum to their family, typically a multiple of their salary. It is the benefit employees are most likely to be aware of and the one their families will rely on if the worst happens. For the business, it is relatively inexpensive and the premiums are a deductible expense. For employees, there is no benefit-in-kind tax. We help you set the right level of cover and find the best terms from across the market.
Group Critical illness
A cancer diagnosis, a heart attack, a stroke. Group critical illness cover pays a tax-free lump sum to the employee when they are diagnosed with a specified serious condition. It gives them financial breathing room at a time when money should be the last thing on their mind. As a business, offering this alongside life cover and income protection creates a comprehensive safety net that sets you apart as an employer.
Group Income Protection
If a member of your team is off sick long-term, what happens to their income? Statutory sick pay runs out quickly. Many businesses continue paying salary for a period out of goodwill, but that is a cost the business absorbs with no certainty about how long it will last. Group income protection replaces a proportion of the employee's salary if they cannot work due to illness or injury. It protects the employee and takes an open-ended financial risk off the business. Many policies also include rehabilitation and early intervention services that help people return to work sooner.
Private medical insurance
Private medical insurance is consistently one of the most valued employee benefits. It gives your team fast access to diagnosis, treatment, and consultants without waiting for the NHS. For the business, it means less time off sick, faster return to work, and a benefit that employees and their families genuinely appreciate.
The market is competitive and the options vary significantly. Cover levels, excess structures, mental health provision, dental and optical add-ons, and whether you include family members all affect the cost and the value your employees get. We review the market regularly, negotiate on your behalf, and make sure you are getting the best cover at the best price. If you already have a scheme, we can benchmark it against alternatives to see if you could do better.
Employee Assistance Programmes
An EAP gives your employees access to confidential support for personal and work-related issues, from mental health and stress to financial worries and legal questions. It is typically available 24 hours a day, costs relatively little per employee, and can make a real difference to wellbeing and productivity.
For many businesses, an EAP is the foundation of a broader wellbeing strategy. It shows your team you care about more than just their output, and it provides early intervention that can prevent small problems becoming bigger ones. We can help you choose the right provider and make sure the programme is communicated effectively so your employees actually use it.
Workplace Pensions and Auto-Enrolment
Every employer is required to provide a workplace pension and automatically enrol eligible employees. That is the legal minimum. But the quality of what you offer varies enormously, and for many businesses the pension scheme was chosen quickly at the point auto-enrolment became mandatory and has not been looked at since.
A good workplace pension does more than tick a compliance box. It helps your employees build a meaningful retirement, it positions you well in a competitive jobs market, and if you are offering enhanced contributions above the minimum, it is one of the most tax-efficient ways to reward your team.
We review workplace pension schemes, make sure they are compliant, assess whether the investment options and charges are competitive, and help you communicate the value to your employees so they understand what they are getting. If you are starting from scratch, we set the whole thing up.
How BSG Helps with Retirement Planning
Benefits cost money. The question is whether you get more back than you put in. The businesses that structure this well see lower staff turnover, fewer sick days, easier recruitment, and a team that feels genuinely looked after. The ones that do not offer benefits, or offer the bare minimum, spend more replacing people who leave.
The tax position matters too. Employer-funded group protection premiums are a deductible business expense. Pension contributions attract corporation tax relief and no National Insurance. Private medical insurance, while a benefit-in-kind for the employee, is still deductible for the business. When structured properly, a benefits package can deliver significant value to your employees at a lower net cost than an equivalent pay rise.
We help you see the full picture so the decision is based on what actually works for your business and your people, not on assumptions about what it might cost.
Retirement Planning for Business Owners
Most businesses do not have an in-house benefits specialist. The HR manager, the finance director, or the business owner ends up dealing with renewals, provider changes, and employee questions alongside everything else they do. Things get missed, premiums creep up, and the benefits package quietly becomes less effective than it should be.
We take that on. We design packages that match your budget and your objectives, we handle the procurement and implementation, we manage the renewals and negotiate with providers on your behalf, and we are there to answer questions from your team when they need help. You get a dedicated adviser who knows your business and your people, not a call centre.
The result is that your employees have benefits they understand and value, your costs are controlled, and you are not spending your own time trying to navigate a market you did not choose to be an expert in.
FAQs
Q: What employee benefits should a small business offer?
A: At a minimum, you are required to provide a workplace pension with auto-enrolment. Beyond that, the most impactful benefits for a small business are typically group life insurance, which is low cost and highly valued, and private medical insurance, which helps with recruitment and retention. Group income protection and an employee assistance programme add further value without a large cost. We help you build a package that fits your budget and makes a genuine difference to your team.
Q: How much do employee benefits cost?
A: It varies depending on the benefits you choose, the size of your team, and the level of cover. Group life insurance can cost as little as a few pounds per employee per month. Private medical insurance is more expensive and depends on the level of cover, excess, and whether family members are included. We benchmark the market and find the best value for your budget, and we are transparent about costs before you commit.
Q: Are employee benefits tax-deductible?
A: Most employer-funded benefits are deductible business expenses. Group life insurance, group income protection, and employer pension contributions all attract tax relief. Private medical insurance premiums are deductible for the business but create a benefit-in-kind for the employee. We help you structure your package to maximise the tax efficiency for both the business and your employees.
Q: What is auto-enrolment and what are my obligations?
A: Auto-enrolment requires every UK employer to automatically enrol eligible employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and make minimum contributions. The minimum employer contribution is currently 3% of qualifying earnings. You must also re-enrol employees who have opted out every three years. We make sure your scheme is compliant and help you manage the ongoing administration.
Q: Can you review our existing employee benefits?
A: Yes. We regularly review existing schemes for businesses that want to check whether they are getting value for money. This includes benchmarking your current providers and premiums against the market, reviewing the level and quality of cover, and identifying any gaps or areas where you could be getting more for your spend.
Q: What is the difference between group life insurance and relevant life insurance?
A: Group life insurance covers all eligible employees under a single company scheme. Relevant life insurance is an individual policy for a specific person, typically a director or key employee. Both are paid for by the company and both are tax-efficient, but they work differently and suit different situations. For smaller businesses with a few directors, relevant life policies are often more cost-effective. For larger teams, a group scheme is usually simpler and cheaper per head.