Salary sacrifice schemes
Give your employees more choice while reducing costs for your organisation. FlexGenius brings your salary sacrifice schemes together, from pensions and cycle to work to electric vehicles, with simpler administration and built-in controls.
.png "Untitled design (4)")
20+
years of experience
95%
client retention
200+
clients supported
500k+
employees supported
What is a salary sacrifice scheme?
A salary sacrifice scheme is an agreement between you and your employee to reduce their salary in exchange for a non-cash benefit, such as a pension contribution or a new bike. Depending on the scheme, salary sacrifice can reduce the tax and National Insurance (NI) your employee pays, while you can save on employer NI.
It's a formal change to the employment contract, not just a payroll deduction. Your employee agrees to the change upfront, and the reduced salary applies to future pay, not pay they've already earned.
With FlexGenius, every salary sacrifice scheme you offer is managed in one place. Employees can see what's available and apply through the platform, while you manage eligibility, payroll feeds and reporting without juggling separate providers.
What can employees get through salary sacrifice?
FlexGenius supports a range of salary sacrifice schemes, with tax and NI treatment depending on the benefit.
Smart pension
Employees sacrifice part of their salary in exchange for an employer pension contribution instead of taking it as pay. This can reduce the income tax and NI employees pay, while also reducing NI costs for employers.
Cycle to work
Employees get a voucher for a bike and/or safety equipment, then sacrifice part of their gross salary over an agreed period. Depending on their tax rate, employees can save up to 42% compared with buying outright.
Electric vehicles
Employees sacrifice part of their salary for the lease of an electric vehicle, which can reduce the income tax and NI they pay. FlexGenius works with providers including Octopus Electric Vehicles and Tusker.
Holiday trading
Employees can buy or sell annual leave to better suit their needs. You set the limits, eligibility and trading window, and FlexGenius manages the process.
Group life assurance
Offer death in service cover in multiples of salary, with discounted corporate rates and choice management handled through the platform.
Health screening
Offer employer-funded or voluntary health screening, with eligible voluntary options available through salary sacrifice. Manage and report on them alongside your other schemes.
Gym memberships
Get discounted access to over 3,000 UK gyms and health clubs through salary sacrifice, alongside other lifestyle benefits.
Why run salary sacrifice through FlexGenius
For your organisation
- NI savings you can show the board: every pound sacrificed can reduce the salary used to calculate your employer NI contributions, with reporting that shows the saving by scheme and by team
- One platform for all your schemes: pension, cycle to work, EV and financial advice all run through the same system, with one payroll feed, one set of eligibility rules, and one dashboard for sign-ups, spend and savings by scheme
- Built-in compliance: National Minimum Wage (NMW) checks and eligibility rules run automatically, so it's easier to keep schemes compliant as salaries and circumstances change
- Communications that drive take-up: built-in messaging tools mean employees know what's on offer, so your investment in salary sacrifice schemes gets used, not ignored
- Configurable by employee group: set different schemes, eligibility and messaging for different teams or locations, so everyone gets a more relevant experience
For your employees
- More choice over their benefits: employees can choose from the salary sacrifice schemes available to them, based on what suits their needs and circumstances
- No upfront cost: the cost is spread over an agreed period through payroll, so employees don't need to pay for a bike or other eligible benefits in one go
- A clear view before they commit: employees can see the cost and potential savings for each scheme before they apply, so they know what to expect on payday
- Everything in one place: employees manage every salary sacrifice benefit from the same login, instead of juggling separate accounts and providers
What our clients say
"Working with the FlexGenius team has been a fantastic experience. Their flexibility, responsiveness, and genuine care for the success of our platform have been
outstanding and continue to impress. I would highly recommend FlexGenius to any organisation looking to streamline their benefits management, promote reward and recognition and enhance employee engagement."
Rachel Chester, Reward and Benefits Manager, Knauf
"The reporting is nothing short of brilliant – we’ve had issues in the past where invoices / payments have been missed to providers but with our scheduled reports in place, this has massively reduced room for error and it is certainly of help to our accounts team / payroll provider. We were under very tight time constraints with the launch of our annual benefit window and the FlexGenius team were so hard working and meticulous with the build and implementation.
The administrative side to the platform is easy to use and assists in managing our employee data."
Steph Shephard, HR operations executive, Cluttons LLP
"Working with FlexGenius has been a really positive experience. The platform is easy to use and well thought through, and Lucy was always quick to respond to any questions or issues. Project management was strong throughout, with clear communication and helpful weekly progress updates, which made the whole process feel well organised and stress-free."
Joanne Thompson, people services manager, GEMBA
How salary sacrifice works with FlexGenius
1. Choose your schemes
We talk through the options together: pension, cycle to work, EV and more. Tell us which providers you already use, and we'll map what can carry across. You decide who's eligible and what limits apply. We handle the provider set-up.
2. We build your platform
We configure the platform with your branding, chosen schemes and eligibility rules, and connect it to your HR and payroll systems.
3. Launch
Employee communications are included, so people understand what's on offer and how to apply from day one. A total reward statement shows the value of their salary sacrifice benefits alongside the rest of their package, so the savings don't go unnoticed.
Salary sacrifice scheme FAQs
Salary sacrifice reduces an employee's gross pay in exchange for a benefit and, for eligible schemes, can reduce tax and NI. A salary deduction comes out of net pay, after tax and NI, so there's no tax saving, just a way to spread a cost over time.
Since 2017, HMRC has limited the full tax and National Insurance advantage to a specific set of benefits: pension contributions, cycle to work, ultra-low emission and electric vehicles, and employer-arranged pension advice. Other benefits can still be offered through salary sacrifice, but they may not have the same tax advantages.
Salary sacrifice can't reduce an employee's cash pay below the NMW. Employers are responsible for capping how much an employee can sacrifice so they stay above it.
This depends on the scheme rules. Employees may be able to opt out at set points, such as annual renewal or following a lifestyle change. Allowing employees to switch freely between cash and a benefit can affect the tax treatment of some salary sacrifice arrangements.
The exact process depends on the scheme and provider. Employees may need to settle any outstanding amount when they leave, while some schemes may offer other options. Check the terms of each scheme and make sure employees understand what happens if their employment ends before the agreement does.
Because salary sacrifice reduces cash salary, it can affect some payments and benefits linked to earnings, including statutory pay and certain pension or life assurance benefits. Some employers use an employee's original salary to calculate these benefits, so the impact depends on how the scheme is set up.
Before you launch, make sure salary sacrifice won't reduce an employee's cash pay below the NMW. The arrangement must also involve a genuine change to the employee's contract, agreed before the salary sacrifice takes effect. Employees may also need to consider how a reduced cash salary is treated by lenders.
Book a free demo
The only way to truly assess new software is to see it in action. Why not book a free demo of our simple-to-use system, and take the opportunity to ask our consultants how the platform can configured to your exact business requirements?
Want to have a chat?
Want to know a bit more about FlexGenius? Our team would be happy to chat with you today!