More than a third of employers leave benefits take-up to staff, GRiD finds

More than a third (38%) of businesses left employees to initiate take-up of workplace benefits themselves, research from GRiD found.

Among these businesses, 49% said they did not want to pressure staff into using benefits, while 31% preferred lower take-up to help manage costs.

A further 17% said they lacked the resources to encourage benefits use on an ongoing basis.

Employee responses showed a similar picture, with 36% saying they were left to initiate take-up themselves.

Only 29% said their employer actively encouraged them to use workplace benefits, while 31% were unsure or did not know.

Among employees whose company offered benefits, 18% were fully aware of everything available to them.

34% were aware of only some benefits, while 10% did not know about any of them.

Only 18% understood all the benefits offered to them, while 38% understood most and 40% understood only some.