Arcadia moves voluntary benefits scheme in house

Arcadia Group is to move the management of its voluntary benefits scheme in house from April.

The retail firm which previously used a third-party provider, hopes that the move will enable it to offer staff discounts from organisations that have a strategic relationship with Arcadia’s brands, as well as offering discounts on new products and services.

Melanie Hall, reward manager, said: “I think it’s a positive move. We have used a voluntary benefits provider for a number of years, however, we have been disappointed with reporting mechanisms and feedback recently from our employees [and] that has prompted us to make this move.

“While it may mean more in-house effort going into keeping the discounts fresh and interesting, we feel it’s worth the effort for our employees.”

She added that the company also intends to remove options which currently have a low take-up. “We are putting some thought into what we believe our employees would value to enhance the overall reward proposition, ensuring that all companies we set up discounts with are able to track take-up, [so] giving us the opportunity to periodically review and amend our offer as necessary,” said Hall.

The group, which owns high street stores such as Topshop, Topman and Burton, also plans to employ a member of staff in April to manage the scheme and negotiate new discounts for employees.

The voluntary benefits package, which includes discounted holidays, gym membership and health screening, will be communicated to staff via regular emails, posters, booklets and links to individual provider’s websites.