With the first month of 2025 already behind us, now is the perfect time to outline what we see as major trends for the year ahead. Amid rising costs, productivity pressures, and competing forces in an uncertain landscape, a future-fit benefits strategy is essential for your business’ success. And for it to be effective, this strategy must align with the evolving needs and preferences of the workforce while also supporting business objectives and priorities.
1. Employee benefits should not exist in a vacuum
Employers continue to struggle with attraction and retention of talent. Most organisations fail to cohesively position their employee benefits and wellbeing initiatives in the context of their overall value proposition. We see a big move towards embedding employee benefits and wellbeing as a key component of the value proposition to employees. Key to success is aligning the people goals and objectives with the wider strategy of the organisation.
2. Wellbeing that works - not wellbeing for the sake of ‘wellbeing’
Employers will stop wasting money on wellbeing initiatives that don’t work or are not used. Instead, they will move their funds towards wellbeing initiatives that make a real difference for their employees’ lives, changing their behaviour, while making sure that success is measurable.
3. Auto-enrolment
We are going to hear lots about auto-enrolment as 2025 progresses. This will represent a societal shift in terms of retirement savings and employers need to think carefully about the approach that best suits their business and their employees. It is critical that employers get ahead of this and carefully plan for detailed communication to staff.
4. Clearly articulated benefits strategy
Organisations will want to develop a clear and well-defined benefits strategy. Succinctly outlining the employer’s stance on key benefits areas—such as mental health, family-forming benefits, women’s health, and men’s health—will be essential for aligning benefits with employees' needs and expectations.
5. Focus on communications
Very often organisations are spending enough money on employee benefits but are not communicating them in a way that is bringing their importance and value to life. Re-positioning the focus of communications on the “why” and away from the “what” can trigger the expected engagement.
6. Private health insurance costs
Even with the arrival of a new insurer, we will continue to see increases in private health insurance premiums. An important aspect for every organisation will be to ensure value for money and to have an integrated approach to managing the health of their workforce and the cost of supporting it.
7. Neurodiversity support
With around 15-20% of the population being neurodivergent, the importance of this employee segment is unequivocal. The great news is that the Irish government has put in place an incredibly strong set of support (via the Work and Access scheme) to help employers build more inclusive workplaces and enable neurodiverse talent to thrive. The offering includes €20,000 in the form of rebates for staff training, and up to €12,500 per employee for ‘in-work supports’.
8. Optimising the use of small benefits allowance
This benefit continues to be the hidden gem in many employee benefits offerings. It has now increased to €1,500 per annum and the number of payments has increased to five. This is a tax effective benefit that every employer should be working into their overall offering.
9. Mental health support
With mental health challenges worsening across all demographics, traditional therapy delivery models are falling short. A growing emphasis on pre-clinical care is essential to help individuals manage the everyday stresses of life more effectively, and to reduce the risk of more severe mental health issues developing in the future. Seamless integration of pre-clinical care, combined with specialist psychological support along with traditional Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) is a future proof model.
10. Benefits are front of mind for new joiners
Forward-thinking organisations are prioritising their onboarding process to emphasise the importance of benefits. How you present and frame these benefits during onboarding plays a crucial role in helping employees understand their value and impact as they begin their new role, and how they reflect the overall culture and values of the organisation.
If you think your business could benefit from a refresh of your employee benefits programme, please contact a member of the team.
