ABSTRACT
The development of employee benefits has been changing and is likely to continue changing as a result of the effects of a combination of a growing and competitive insurance market, demographic and labour market changes and social regulation within the EU. There have been cutbacks in the most costly benefits and at the same time a growth in low-cost lifestyle and voluntary benefits. These seem to fit with a changing employment scene in which women, particularly mothers, have increased their labour market participation. While recruitment and retention arguments may be made by employers, in support of their benefits policies, the evidence of the motivational value of benefits is slight. Some of the literature focuses on organisational outcomes such as employee retention and productivity effects, tempered by other research, which stresses the importance of employee knowledge about benefits in affecting their estimations of the value of their benefits package. The future for benefits is uncertain in light of rising costs and the ageing of the workforce, although continued incremental change seems more likely than radical revisions of benefits provisions.
