Employees are valuing pensions and health benefits over gym membership.
More than 80 per cent value pension, health, legal and protection services, ahead of ‘softer’ benefits such as gym membership (62 per cent) and childcare vouchers (41 per cent).
The research by legal services provide Epoq Legal found that in the 18 to 24 year old age group 92 per cent put gym membership in joint second place with critical illness insurance.
Andrew Walker, commercial director at Epoq, said: “Our findings indicate that the majority of employees are looking to employers to offer the kind of benefits strategy that educates, enables and empowers them to protect their future wellbeing.
“Against this backdrop, giving individuals access to the type of benefits that will help them protect their interests – such as pensions, health, protection, legal advice and documents – will clearly be a welcome move.”
The services most valued overall when provided as an employee benefit were pensions (95 per cent), flexible working (91 per cent); health/medical insurance (89 per cent), legal advice and life insurance (joint 87 per cent) and critical illness (86 per cent).
While legal advice is typically offered via an Employee Assistance Programme it is increasingly being combined with online legal document services and offered as an added value service on health and protection products.
Mr Walker added: “The need for such support is clearly there and would likely be highly valued, especially when you consider that the majority of respondents indicated that they had not yet made a will.
"Legal advice should include not just helplines, but also online access to tools such as document templates that help people to take action and protect their interests.”
Nadeem Farid, employee benefits consultant at Drewberry, said: "Health and life policies are rightly considered by employees as very important in this research.
"It is surprising to see legal advice valued so highly and it shows that these services, as well as the likes of gym membership and counselling, are excellent additions to have as part of a core service like protection and are valued.
"For insurers building health and life packages, these extras are clearly more than just an afterthought, they help to keep retention rates lower by, potentially, giving immediate benefits back to customers."
Stuart Scullion, chairman of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII), said: “Health insurance has always featured highly in terms of value to employees, so the results of the Epoq survey are not surprising.
“Convenience, choice, and quality of services and treatment all feature heavily for those wishing to buy or participate in any health insurance scheme, as is access to some of the latest pioneering drugs which may not be available under the NHS.
“The value of health insurance will be rated even more highly by those employees where they, or their family members, have benefited from having treatment almost immediately at a time where they needed it most.”
