The Government’s auto-enrolment scheme has prompted significant growth in the number of private sector employers bringing staff into occupational pension schemes and those making voluntary schemes mandatory, the latest Ibec Trends report has found.
The survey of more than 300 employers, published on Wednesday to coincide with the organisation’s annual Leadership Summit in Dublin, also found that Ibec members are increasingly requiring hybrid workers to attend the office.
“A significant area of focus for this year is the shifting landscape in relation to occupational benefits driven by the introduction of pension auto-enrolment,” said the employers group’s executive director of employer relations, Maeve McElwee.
“We have seen a 12 per cent increase in the number of organisations operating an occupational pensions scheme. There has been a notable 19 per cent uplift in voluntary schemes transitioning to a mandatory structure, as employers align and simplify their retirement offerings in response to legislation.”
The number of firms requiring a minimum amount of service before staff become eligible for occupational schemes halved in a year, the survey found, from 55 per cent to 28 per cent, while 81 per cent said their firm’s scheme was now open to all employees and almost half – 48 per cent – have made them mandatory.
Recent legislative changes in relation to contractual retirement ages (CRAs) have had some impact, with 21 per cent of firms now setting their CRA at 66 rather than 65 to align with the State’s pension age. However, a small majority (56 per cent) still operate on the default basis of staff retiring at 65, with almost the same number – 57 per cent – saying they deal with requests for extensions on a case-by-case basis.
Hybrid working, meanwhile, remains a valued tool in relation to recruitment and retention, but the number of firms wanting to see their staff spending more time on-site continues to edge slowly upwards.
In the 12 months since Ibec affiliates were last asked the question, the number of employers requiring a minimum of two, three or four days in the office had increased from 18, 31 and 9 per cent respectively to 19, 35 and 11 per cent.
The two most commonly cited drivers of workplace policy on the issue were found to be productivity and talent attraction. Cost and collaboration were also prominent reasons.
On artificial intelligence, almost 60 per cent of companies believe the technology will not have a big impact on workplace processes or employee numbers in the short to medium term, but 36 per cent acknowledged they have yet to do any significant modelling of the impact it will have.
By far the most commonly listed issue of concern for the coming year was pay transparency, with many aspects of the EU directive due to come into force in Ireland over the course of 2027.
Only a fifth of firms suggested they feel well prepared for its implementation, while 10 per cent said they had done no preparation and 22 per cent said they have completed very little to date.