As organisations look ahead to 2026, many are bracing for another demanding year. New research from our parent company, Ciphr, reveals that 96% of employers expect the year ahead to be challenging, a stark reflection of the pressures facing UK workplaces.
Rising costs, growing employee expectations, preparation for the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill, alongside AI and rapid technological change, are all influencing how benefits are designed, delivered and experienced.
Insights from the survey of 300 HR professionals point to a clear shift: employee benefits are no longer a peripheral consideration. They are now a central component of workforce strategy, organisational resilience and the overall employee experience.
Below are five key employee benefits trends set to shape attraction, retention and engagement in 2026, and how HR leaders can respond.
Trend 1: Personalised, well-communicated benefits become central to the EVP
The days of one-size-fits-all benefits packages are fading fast. Nearly half (46%) of HR leaders say that offering a strong benefits package will be a top priority in 2026, ranking higher than fair pay, work-life balance and flexible working.
What’s changing
Benefits are evolving from optional extras into strategic tools that support attraction, engagement and retention. With limited scope for pay increases, relevance, flexibility and communication are becoming critical.
How to respond
- Introduce choice-based benefits that reflect different life stages and priorities
- Offer lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs) for wellbeing, development or mental health
- Provide flexible healthcare options and learning budgets
- Invest in consistent, clear and engaging benefits communication
Why it matters
Strong employee value propositions (EVPs) will increasingly be defined by how well benefits are understood, accessed and tailored to individual needs, not simply by how many are offered.
Trend 2: Holistic wellbeing benefits support long-term careers and retention
Recruitment (29%) and retention (28%) remain the biggest people challenges for employers, placing benefits firmly in the spotlight as a differentiator.
What’s changing
Employees are placing greater value on employers who support their long-term wellbeing, career progression and lives beyond work, rather than focusing solely on short-term rewards.
How to respond
- Strengthen mental health and wellbeing provision
- Invest in learning and development benefits
- Enhance family-friendly and carer policies
- Move beyond gym memberships to preventative health support
- Provide financial wellbeing tools, guidance and savings options
Why it matters
Benefits that support sustainable careers and quality of life help reduce unwanted turnover and enhance employer appeal in competitive labour markets.
Trend 3: Value-led benefits take priority as cost pressures intensify
Cost pressures remain a significant concern, with 27% of HR leaders citing rising costs and budget constraints as a key issue for 2026.
What’s changing
Employers are shifting focus from the volume of benefits offered to the value they deliver, seeking to protect meaningful benefits without increasing overall spend.
Salary sacrifice continues to play a valuable role, enabling organisations to sustain or enhance benefits such as pensions, £500 tax-free financial advice and electric vehicles without increasing employment costs. Alongside this, low-cost, high-impact benefits, including flexible working, wellbeing initiatives and voluntary benefits platforms offering discounted, opt-in perks, are gaining momentum.
How to respond
- Prioritise salary sacrifice for high-value benefits such as pensions, EVs and cycle-to-work schemes
- Use voluntary benefits platforms to provide discounted, opt-in benefits, including health cash plans and lifestyle discounts
Why it matters
Sustainable benefits strategies will increasingly be judged on affordability, impact and perceived employee value, not the size of the benefits list.
Trend 4: Flexible working evolves into broader work-life support
Flexible working is now an expected baseline, but its meaning is continuing to expand.
What’s changing
Employees increasingly view flexibility as autonomy, balance and long-term sustainability, not just where work is done.
How to respond
- Support flexible hours and workload management
- Enhance leave policies and wellbeing provision
- Embed flexibility into organisational culture
- Explore options such as hybrid and remote working, compressed hours, flex time and job sharing
Why it matters
Work-life support plays a critical role in driving engagement, wellbeing and retention.
Trend 5: Inclusive benefits aligned with culture and fairness gain importance
Benefits can no longer sit separately from the wider employee experience. Alongside benefits, employers are prioritising:
- A positive and respectful workplace culture (45%)
- Work-life balance support (45%)
- Training and development opportunities (42%)
- Fair and equal treatment for all employees (41%)
- Job security (40%)
What’s changing
There is growing recognition that benefits must actively reinforce organisational culture and values. Transactional or disconnected benefits programmes are losing their impact.
How to respond
- Build integrated benefits ecosystems
- Align benefits with inclusion, culture and development goals
- Ensure benefits are accessible, inclusive and fairly distributed
- Consider inclusive parental leave, fertility support, culturally relevant benefits and disability support
Why it matters
Benefits that reflect organisational values help build trust, strengthen engagement and foster long-term loyalty.
From expansion to intent
In 2026, employee benefits are shifting from expansion to intent. With rising costs and heightened expectations, success will be defined by the value benefits deliver, not the number offered.
For HR and benefits leaders, the opportunity lies in sharper design, closer alignment with business strategy and deeper integration with culture and employee experience.
Technology will play a crucial supporting role, with intuitive, one-stop platforms helping employees understand, personalise and engage with their benefits, ensuring well-designed offerings translate into real-world value.
Ultimately, the most successful benefits strategies won’t offer the most benefits, but the right benefits, delivered in the right way, at the right time.
How FlexGenius helps employers turn benefits strategy into impact
FlexGenius’s flexible benefits platform gives employers the tools to deliver modern, personalised and cost-effective benefits that employees truly value. From salary sacrifice and voluntary benefits to lifestyle spending accounts and clear benefits communication, FlexGenius helps organisations maximise engagement while keeping costs under control.
With a single, easy-to-use platform, employees can understand, choose and manage benefits that fit their lives, while employers gain the insight and flexibility needed to evolve their offering as workforce needs change.
Ready to make your benefits strategy work harder in 2026?
Get in touch: Book a demo, email enquiries@avantus.co.uk or call 0800 652 4745 to discover how FlexGenius can help you design, deliver and optimise benefits that drive real value for your people and your business.
To read the full findings of the CIPHR research, download the report here.
