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Pan-European flex
There is a progressive trend towards looking to introduce flex outside the UK, adapting strategies to suit individual country circumstances. This is being led by organisations looking to introduce greater consistency in reward packages offered across their overseas operations and the desire to use benefits as a mechanism to achieve this. Flex provides:
Greater flexibility e.g. cross-country working, working practices, and benefits Cost control e.g. tax effectiveness, process efficiencies and reduced benefit costs Greater employee awareness and appreciation of benefits e.g. through branding, total reward statements and an increased focus on softer benefits. Improved benefits management across the region and a central repository for data.
Cultural, fiscal and legislative variations between countries mean that to date it has simply not been practical to try to implement a single global benefit programme, flexible or otherwise. However, things are changing as companies are now beginning to take a more proactive approach, delivering benefits to employees driven by a common framework and philosophy, communicated using total reward statements, but adapted to fit in with local norms.
Through our extensive presence and coordinated services in Europe, Watson Wyatt offer flexible reward consulting advice in all of our 25 European offices to help multinationals to develop and implement flexibility within benefits and reward programmes, regardless of location.
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Successful management of pension plan termination