Bureau Veritas provides one-stop access to flex and voluntary schemes

Bureau Veritas has launched a flexible benefits package, added new perks to its existing voluntary benefits offering, and unveiled a benefits portal online giving staff access to benefits in one place for the first time.

The firm, which helps clients meet health, safety and environmental standards, introduced its flex scheme to aid recruitment and retention, and to keep pace with the benefits offered by its competitors.

Within the flex plan, the company’s 1,700 UK-based employees will have a holiday trading option, where they can buy or sell up to five days per year. They will also have access to life assurance cover which they can flex up to a maximum of 10-times salary or flex down to a minimum of twice their salary.

The firm intends to add other benefits to the flex plan, such as a cash allowance car scheme, next year.

Mary Judah, head of human resources, UK and Ireland at Bureau Veritas, explained: “We wanted to do something more in terms of attracting and retaining staff. A lot of companies offer flex these days and we didn’t want to be left behind.”

Staff will be able to access the flex scheme through an online benefits portal, provided by Vebnet, which also includes the firm’s voluntary benefits so that employees can log onto the site and see all of their benefit options in one place.

The new voluntary benefits options include a bikes-for-work scheme, a wine club, travel insurance and dental insurance.

The site also incorporates a modelling tool that allows staff to calculate the impact certain perks will have on their net pay before they purchase a benefit.

Bureau Veritas is also planning to issue online total reward statements to staff by September, as part of its retention drive.

“We tested statements on one division in December and it all went quite well so we are going to do it again. Our pension offering, for instance, is quite good and we want our people to know what they get here [compared to other employees],” added Judah.