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Our 2025 Drewberry Employee Benefits and Workplace Satisfaction Survey reveals a staggering 67% of UK staff either don’t know about or don’t use the additional services included in their core benefits.
That means two-thirds of the workforce are missing out on support that could improve their health, finances, and overall wellbeing. Yet support is going unnoticed. So, what’s going wrong? What can employers do to turn things around?
You could have the most generous benefits package in your industry, but if only a handful of your staff know about it, its perceived value plummets. Our survey found that only 12% of employees are truly satisfied with their benefits package. And communication is the common thread.
Only 11% of employees say they receive regular communication around their benefits, and benefits can’t deliver value if they’re introduced during onboarding and never mentioned again. People typically need to hear a message seven times before they take action. So a single email or HR handbook entry won’t cut it.
When asked ‘How often do you receive communication about your benefits?’
The data is clear: only 36% of employees claim to fully understand their benefits. With employers not effectively communicating the value of their rewards package, it’s no wonder that nearly two-thirds of employees either misunderstand or are unaware of the support that’s in place.
And the consequences are far from trivial. Many group insurance policies such as (Life Insurance and Income Protection) now include access to services such as Virtual GPs, bereavement counselling, and mental health support – resources that can significantly ease the burden of day-to-day stress. Yet 67% of employees don’t know these services exist or have never used them.
Even worse, when asked why they hadn’t accessed these services, 39% of respondents said they either forgot, didn’t realise they had them, or didn’t know how to access them. These are high-impact features built into the very benefits designed to support employee wellbeing – and they’re gathering dust.
Read more about the top free services that come with employee benefits.
Some of the most useful perks are also the least utilised. In some cases, employers may not even realise the hidden value in their offering.
Here are some of the most important services that are often overlooked.
Even core benefits like enhanced pensions are underappreciated. Despite 37% of employees listing improved pension contributions as their most-wanted perk, communication around these long-term financial tools remains minimal. You can read more about what employees want from their pension in our 2025 Workplace Pensions Survey.
Many employees chasing “better benefits” elsewhere might already have them – they just don’t know it. A lack of benefits awareness can lead staff to jump ship for what they believe is a better offer, unaware that they may actually be worse off in the long run.
53% of employees are open to changing jobs in the next 12 months.
32% specifically say they would leave for better benefits.
If you want your benefits to make a real impact, communication needs to be a core part of your benefits strategy. And it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are three steps to get started:
To drive real engagement, you must treat communication as a core part of your benefits strategy — not a one-off task. Make your benefits impossible to miss by actively bringing them to life: show employees how each offering supports their needs, explain how to access them, and highlight the value they deliver.
Use storytelling to make benefits relatable, simplify access through clear channels, and give employees a complete view of their total package. Back this up with regular feedback and a commitment to evolve your approach. The result? A benefits experience employees understand, use, and genuinely appreciate.
Your employee benefits are a frontline tool for improving wellbeing, loyalty, and performance. If your team doesn’t see the value in their perks, the problem may not be what you’re offering, but how you’re telling the story.
At Drewberry, we not only help UK businesses design competitive benefits packages, but also deliver them in ways employees understand and engage with. From benchmarking to ongoing communications support, we ensure your benefits are known, used, and appreciated. Call us on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk to talk through your options.
Employee benefits can be a headache. But our specialists do this day-in, day-out, offering first class service when you need it most. Here’s why you should talk to us:
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