I am horribly aware that I have not been updating the blog with my usual diligence over the last couple of months. In my defence, I have been dragged to all ends of the UK on seminar and workshop duty.

So I do have a bit of catching up to do. Starting now…

Many of you will have attended our events on HMS President in May. If you were there, you will recall that I spoke about Sir Michael Marmot’s ‘Whitehall Studies’, and the possible implications for UK employers and benefit packages.

If you were not able to join us on the day, my post from last November gives you a feel for the subject matter: https://www.jelfgroup.com/blog/2011/11/a-bit-nerdy-but-quite-interesting/

The above post was largely focused on what impact these studies could potentially have on the costs of providing benefits.

But at our seminars we instead focused on whether the audience felt that The Whitehall Studies could influence how the employer may structure job roles and/or benefits in the future.

The full question, and responses received (in brackets), are below:

Question:

In view of the findings of The Whitehall Studies, do you feel that employers should:

1) Redefine job roles to provide employees with greater control where possible [16.00%]

2) Seek to offer benefits to a wider range of staff [13.33%]

3) Offer voluntary cover options [6.00%]

4) All of the above [53.33%]

5) Don’t know [11.33%]

Now, I fully accept that the question is loaded towards action rather than inaction. But it is nevertheless interesting that more than 50% of the employers present favoured both a redefining of job roles to improve employee ‘control’, whilst at the same time seeking to widen the benefits package. This widening of the benefits on offer would presumably include those on lower grades, as such groupings may may well be subject to a greater level of risk than more senior employees.

I think this is promising, as it shows that employers are willing to embrace new (or at least different) thinking in considering the shape of existing benefit offerings. And getting the balance of benefits right is really key to a succesful benefits package.

I am sure that I will return to this subject over the coming months, but for the moment my thanks to those that joined in the survey.

Best regards

Steve