Employers are increasingly covering health benefits for their employees’ families and dependents, according to research from PIB Employee Benefits.
The advice firm added that mental wellbeing remained the most common area in which employers are supporting their staff but other options such as caring were increasing.
It found provision for family members was on the rise for both mental and physical wellbeing.
One in five (20%) employee respondents said they were getting support for their family’s physical health, compared with 16% in 2023 and 15% had mental health support, compared with 12% two years ago.
PIB Employee Benefits’ latest Mind the Gap survey of 1,000 UK employees also found mental wellbeing remained the most common area of support, with 44% getting support for this.
Provision for caring commitments reached its highest levels since 2023, with 18% of employees receiving support for childcare commitments and 9% for eldercare commitments.
The findings also underline the key role of benefits in career decisions the firm said, with 82% of employees rating benefits as a priority when evaluating job offers, alongside other key factors such as salary (96%) and flexible working hours (83%).
However, employee dissatisfaction with benefits increased from 20% in 2023 to 26% in 2025. This aligned with a call for greater flexibility and choice in benefits; in 2025, 71% of employees want more autonomy over their package, up from 2023.
The survey also found nearly a third of employees worried about their current finances to such an extent that it impacts their productivity at work – a figure which has remained consistent year on year.
Clare Dare, head of specialist consulting at PIB, said: “Many organisations have had a challenging few years, balancing rising costs with talent expectations.
“It’s easy to fall into a rhythm of renewing your benefits and not reviewing them. Our research proves that now is a good time to look at optimising your programmes – and maximise on budgets.”
