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SMEs spend 950 million too much on benefits

It is estimated small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be wasting 950 million a year in employee benefits.

Corporate wealth advisers Towry Law has calculated SMEs could be paying too much on benefits such as healthcare or pensions and by reviewing their benefits could save 15% on their total spend.

Pan Andreas, head of corporate clients at Towry Law, said: "Employee benefits costs typically represent 7% of total payroll. This is a huge investment and any comparable expenditure would be under constant review from the financial director. But for some reason this level of scrutiny does not always apply to employee benefits."