In a recent update to Adzuna’s intelligence portal, our proprietary dashboard that displays a wide range of aggregate data based on all the vacancy listings we hold on our site, users can now access insights relating to the wider benefits offered as part of the compensation package for roles.
Alongside salary, these wider benefits are a key way that employers can gain a competitive advantage when it comes to recruitment.
Why offer wider benefits?
Advantages can include improved retention, morale and productivity. Certain benefits may also save the employer and employee money through preferential tax treatment.
Not only this, employees place great value on their wider benefits, with two thirds of employees believing that the benefits offered to them are equal to or more important than their basic salary. Indeed, demand from employees for benefits may also be on the rise, with 83% of businesses having experienced an increase in requests from employees for enhanced wellbeing benefits.
As such, our intelligence portal benefits data can provide valuable insights for employers and HR professionals alike in understanding whether their offering is competitive.
The top benefits being offered
The table below shows the top benefits offered by employers for vacancies across the last year (1/12/22 – 30/11/23), both the total number of vacancies offering the benefit and this as a proportion of all vacancies.
Table 1: Top 10 benefits advertised by employers
| Benefit | Number of vacancies offering benefit | Proportion of all vacancies offering benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Pension Scheme | 3,449,901 | 23.0% |
| Flexible Working | 1,936,321 | 12.9% |
| Life Insurance | 1,468,512 | 9.8% |
| Cycle To Work Scheme | 1,133,530 | 7.6% |
| Bonus Scheme | 987,834 | 6.6% |
| Private Health Care | 803,239 | 5.4% |
| Free Parking | 593,839 | 4.0% |
| Disability Confident | 550,318 | 3.7% |
| Company Car / Car Allowance | 533,246 | 3.6% |
| Discount Scheme | 418,639 | 2.8% |
Pension schemes are by far the most commonly offered benefit by employers, included in nearly a quarter of all listings. Pensions are a mandatory benefit for eligible employees, with a minimum contribution rate of 8% of qualifying earnings, of which at least 3% has to be paid by the employer. 6 in 10 employees work for an employer which offers the minimum contribution rate. This quarter of vacancies offering a pensions scheme likely reflects instances where employers are offering an enhanced contribution.
The next most frequently offered benefit is flexible working, a loosely defined term which commonly refers to flexibility around the hours an employee works. This should not refer to one-sided flexibility that benefits the employer to the detriment of the employee, such as zero hours contracts and other similar insecure forms of employment in certain cases.
Read more: Changing workplace models: Remote, on-site & flexible
And then rounding out the top five most commonly offered benefits are life insurance, a cycle to work scheme and bonus schemes.
Top occupations for benefits
There is significant variation in what benefits are offered by occupations. Those occupations that are most likely to offer a (enhanced) pensions scheme are often in the public sector, with Officers in armed forces (84%), Police officers (sergeant and below) (82%) and Postal workers, mail sorters and messengers (71%) the top three most likely to do so.
Meanwhile, the occupations that are least likely to offer pensions schemes are typically less formal, more temporary and often part-time forms of employment – this includes Childminders (0%), Nannies and au pairs (0%), Window cleaners (1%), Scaffolders, stagers and riggers (2%), Bricklayers (2%), and Floorers and wall tilers (1%). Several of these roles are also highly physically demanding which can create a need to retire (or at least leave the occupation) earlier, and therefore potentially more requiring of a strong pension scheme.
Occupations that frequently offer flexible working include both public sector shift-based roles like Police officers (sergeant and below) (69%) and Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (40%) where flexibility around hours is perhaps more a necessity of the role rather than a perk for employees, and roles inherently suited to flexibility around which hours are worked like Teaching professionals n.e.c. (47%) i.e., private tutors or Driving instructors (34%).
Meanwhile, roles that typically require fixed schedules or hours, like Air travel assistants (0%), or manual labour roles, like Window cleaners (0%) or Bricklayers (1%), typically don’t offer flexible working arrangements.
Benefits by seniority
Benefit offerings also vary somewhat by seniority level. The table below shows the proportion of vacancies at different seniority levels offering each of the top 5 most common benefits.
Table 2: Proportion (%) of job ads offering top benefits - by seniority
| Pension scheme | Flexible working | Life insurance | Cycle to work scheme | Bonus scheme | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No experience | 27% | 3% | 17% | 21% | 3% |
| Entry level | 20% | 11% | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Junior level | 26% | 17% | 10% | 7% | 7% |
| Mid-level | 34% | 10% | 14% | 10% | 14% |
| Senior level | 23% | 13% | 9% | 7% | 8% |
Vacancies for mid-level roles most commonly offer pension schemes, more so than senior level ones, perhaps reflecting a combination of mid-level employees having more time to build up their pension contribution before retirement, senior level employees already having built up a large pension pot, and/ or a pension scheme being seen more as a given for senior roles therefore recruiters feel less of a need to advertise this.
Flexible working arrangements are far less readily offered to roles requiring no experience than roles at all other seniority levels.
The prevalence of life insurance follows a similar pattern to pension schemes, perhaps reflecting similar age-related preferences for different benefits which overlaps with seniority level.
Cycle to work schemes are particularly commonly offered to roles requiring no experience, again perhaps reflecting tendencies in behaviour that link to age.
And then bonus schemes are typically more common as seniority level rises through to mid-level roles, when it drops down for senior level roles. This might reflect less of a need to align the incentives of the most senior employees with the objectives of the employer given that they have a greater role in setting those objectives.
The importance of communication
While providing these benefits will give employers an edge in recruitment, it is important that they communicate this offering transparently and effectively to prospective employees.
For instance, based on the information in their listings the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust appear to offer a pension scheme for 0% of their vacancies, however employees of these will be eligible for the above minimum employer contribution NHS Pension Scheme.
Communicating these wider elements of job package effectively in listings is key to ensuring that a better offering generates the competitive advantage it should do.
A final note
The wider benefits offered as part of compensation packages can offer employers a competitive edge when it comes to recruitment. The insights offered by data provided through Adzuna’s intelligence portal can allow employers and HR professionals to understand where they stand compared to the market, and whether there are opportunities to differentiate their offering against their competitors for talent.
Read more: The search for better labour market data