LONDON, 11 March 2025 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has found that employers in the UK energy sector are increasing environmental benefits and virtual wellbeing support, such as virtual general practitioner (GP) services and wellbeing apps.
The Energy Sector Employee Benefits Study, which surveyed 38 UK energy sector firms, looked at benefit design across the energy sector and how businesses aim to attract and retain talent in a competitive market. The survey findings highlight a shift in priorities towards sustainable and digital benefits, as well as considerable variation in benefit design and value within the sector. This is particularly so in relation to pension contributions and preventative healthcare offerings, underscoring differing employer strategies in total rewards.
Key findings of the survey included:
Growing prevalence of virtual GP and online wellbeing apps:
- Employers in the energy sector saw a growing demand for both preventative and treatment-based paid healthcare benefits.
- Straightforward access to virtual GP services and wellbeing apps is a particular priority in this sector, with 73 percent of businesses reporting having them in place.
Increase in environmentally focused benefits:
- Employers report strong uptake of environmentally friendly benefits, particularly for motor vehicles via salary sacrifice schemes.
- 63 percent of employers in the sector offer ultra-low emission or electric cars via these schemes.
Increased family and caregiver benefits:
- Although the sector has been innovative in other areas of benefit design, on family leave, entitlements continue to increase but at a slower rate than in other sectors.
- Maternity leave policies across the sector are gradually moving towards 26 weeks of full pay, though at a slower pace than in some other sectors.
- Although higher entitlements are seen in other sectors, paternity pay has largely stabilised at two weeks of full pay.
- Female health benefits remain limited compared to other sectors, with only 3 percent of surveyed companies offering fertility benefits and 27 percent providing menopause support.
Benefit design and value diverge:
- Within the sector the survey found some of the widest breadth in benefit entitlements. For example, within pension plan design there was a 16 percent range between the lowest and highest levels of employer contributions.
- This was also observed in other areas such as preventative healthcare, with 66 percent of firms offering health screens, typically employer-paid annually, while the remainder do not provide this.
- As employers are increasingly taking a total reward approach, it is possible to see in the sector that there were variations of 20 percent or more in the value of benefits as a percentage of pay.
Terry Gostelow, principal strategy consultant in UK Health and Benefits at Aon, said:
“This survey highlights a clear shift in market expectations within the UK energy sector. Employers are recognising the need to offer greater flexibility and accessibility in benefits, particularly as demand for preventative healthcare continues to grow. At the same time, rising insurance costs remain a challenge, making it crucial for organisations to strike a balance between cost management and meeting employee needs.
“Sustainability is also becoming a key factor in the energy sector’s benefits decisions, with strong uptake of initiatives such as salary sacrifice schemes for low-emission vehicles. As the workforce places greater emphasis on environmental responsibility, we expect businesses to adapt their benefits strategies to match their employees’ expectations, in order that they can remain competitive in attracting and retaining top talent. It now appears that the energy sector is in the vanguard of that movement.
“It was also interesting to see - and particularly so in this sector - variation in levels of investment in employee benefits. That could have a real impact on recruitment and retention for individual firms, especially for those employers at the lower end of the range.
Visit Aon.com for more information about Aon’s Health and Benefits capabilities.
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