Benefits in the era of pay transparency.
The EU Pay Transparency Directive introduces a new definition of pay. Under this law, employers will be required to present remuneration based on new principles considering not only financial benefits but also the value of benefits and allowances in kind. Currently, as many as 85% of employees do not know the value of benefits provided by their employer, and many of them are not familiar with the full range of benefits. Changes in the law are a clear signal to employers to strengthen communication of the entire remuneration package, and thus their competitive position on the market.
- 30% of employees rate company benefits communication as ineffective.
- One in four people in companies with at least 9 employees believes that the employer should provide the broadest possible benefits package, even if they affect monetary remuneration.
- 40% of people in companies with at least 9 employees admit that if they were to change jobs, the benefits offered could influence their choice of employer.
- 89% of international employers consider technological solutions to be key in building awareness of non-financial benefits.
With the entry into force of pay transparency regulations, the role and importance of benefits will increase.
In the context of the upcoming changes resulting from the EU Pay Transparency Directive, companies must review their approach to non-financial benefits. – Until now, benefits have often been treated as an addition, but they will become a fully-fledged element of total remuneration, subject to analysis, reporting, and evaluation in terms of equality – says Joanna Liksza, MyBenefit expert at Benefit Systems and head of the Compensation & Benefits postgraduate studies at Lazarski University.
From the beginning of next year, companies should be ready to provide job applicants with full information about their total remuneration package, including all benefits falling under regulations and collective agreements. By mid-2026, companies should be ready to provide employees with information on their remuneration, presented according to the new rules, i.e. considering the financial value of all benefits, from sports cards and company cars to training and additional days off. This will apply to both candidates in the recruitment process and those already employed. Additionally, some benefits that are not available to all employees of a given organisation, but depend, for example, on the position or are dedicated to people who meet specific criteria – such as length of service – will be covered by the pay gap reporting obligation. Although companies employing more than 100 people will prepare their first reports only in 2027, they will be based on data from 2026. This means that it is worth taking a closer look at the company’s benefits catalogue today, estimating their value and taking care of the system for informing employees about available benefits.
– The second half of the year is a time for budgeting for the next year in many companies, also in the context of salaries, updating the benefits portfolio, and investing in HR tools that allow for the aggregation of data on benefits. How we plan the budget today will impact what and how we communicate to employees in 2026 or report in 2027 – emphasises Joanna Liksza.
Awareness is the key to success
No Fluff Jobs research shows that as many as 85% of employees do not know the real value of the benefits they receive. ¹ Meanwhile, they have a significant impact on the financial wellbeing of employees. – If employees are unaware of the available benefits and what they can gain from them, they will likely not use them and therefore it will be more difficult for them to appreciate these benefits. It is in this perspective that the EU directive becomes a factor motivating companies to undertake communication activities connected with benefits, which may not have been sufficiently implemented so far. The new regulations thus create an opportunity to use benefits to effectively strengthen the company’s competitiveness as an employer – emphasises Joanna Liksza.
Research conducted by the Compensation & Benefits Club at Lazarski University shows that employees most often receive communication regarding benefits when changes are made to the available package (73%). In turn, only 12% of them receive information about benefits periodically, i.e. once a year. Additionally, nearly 30% of employees rate company benefits communication as ineffective.
According to the AON Global Benefit Trends 2024 report, most international organisations in Europe (58%) still communicate about benefits in paper form. Importantly, businesses recognise the need for change. As many as 89% of international employers consider technological solutions to be key in building awareness of the benefits offered to employees.
It’s time to show the value of benefits that don’t end up in our account, but stay in our wallet
In response to the growing needs of employers and employees, technological solutions from the Total Reward Statement (TRS) segment are emerging on the market, which provide employees with ongoing access to full information about the benefits offered to them and their value.
– The TRS solution brings specific benefits to employers and employees. It consolidates information about benefits and their value in one place, considering personalisation, i.e. differentiating the package of benefits available to employees employed in different formulas (B2B or full-time) or holding different positions. The MyBenefit platform, which develops tools to facilitate the work of HR specialists, goes a step further, also working on automating this process and integrating it with other systems, such as those designed to build remuneration structures. Benefits can be assigned to their own thematic categories, such as sports, wellbeing, or office, and can also be marked as financial or non-financial, e.g., seniority leave, the number of days of which will be visible on the employee's main dashboard – says Joanna Liksza.
Benefits can offer more than cash
By encouraging the presentation of the value of employee benefits, the EU directive draws attention to the important aspect of their purchasing power and the benefits they bring to both employers and employees, for example, from a tax perspective.
– Some benefits, e.g. those financed from the Company Social Benefits Fund, up to PLN 1,000 per year, are not subject to income tax or social security contributions. Additionally, services provided as part of non-financial benefits have preferential terms. Their cost is lower than the market price that we would have to pay if we purchased the service individually. As a result, funds invested by employers in benefits have greater purchasing power than the nominal amount of money that the company could transfer to the employee’s account. After implementing the directive, organisations that already offer a broad benefits package can present higher remuneration levels compared to employers who do not provide any benefits to employees – points out Joanna Liksza.
Moreover, benefits themselves have become so well-integrated into the employment landscape that for many employees they are an integral part of the organisational culture of companies. Examples include medical care or the now iconic MultiSport card.
According to a survey commissioned by Benefit Systems, one in four employees in companies with at least 9 people believe that the employer should provide the broadest possible benefits package. 40% of employees also admit that benefits are an important element in their choice of employer. On average, one employee in Poland has access to 5.7 different non-financial benefits. In larger organisations (over 250,000 employees) this number increases to 8.4.
– Inthe realities of the labour market, where employees are increasingly considering changing employment and at the same time expecting greater transparency, building awareness – also in terms of the value of benefits – is becoming an important tool in strengthening engagement and retaining talent in the organisation. Companies that effectively develop this competence gain a competitive advantage – says Joanna Liksza.
[1] https://nofluffjobs.com/pl/etc/praca-w-it/benefity-pracownicze-podsumowanie-badania/
Agnieszka Bemowska-Niewiarowska
Sandra Dobrowolska
Benefit Systems has been operating on the Polish market for over two decades and is one of the leaders in providing non-financial benefits that support employee wellbeing. The company is the creator of the MultiSport Programme, which enables physical activity in sports facilities throughout the country. Its portfolio also includes the MyBenefit cafeteria platform and the MultiLife wellbeing programme. For several years now, the company’s sports offer has been developed on foreign markets, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Croatia. The Benefit Systems Group also operates fitness clubs (in Poland it is responsible for Fabryka Formy, FitFabric, Fitness Academy, Good Luck, My Fitness Place, Saturn Fitness, StepONE, Total Fitness and Zdrofit networks). An important area of Benefit Systems activities is the promotion of an active lifestyle at every stage of life, which is why the company implements initiatives supporting physical activity of children, adults, and seniors, also as part of the MultiSport Foundation. Since 2018, Benefit Systems has been part of the global B Corp initiative, bringing together companies operating and engaging in solving the most important social problems. More information can be found at benefitsystems.pl/en.
