Pre qualification for Flexible Benefit Provider Tender



PUR1110_06 Flexible Benefits

Prequalification Notice

Introduction

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“the Bank”) is looking at introducing a Flexible Benefit System (“the Flex System”) with effect from 1 October 2012 with an outsourced provider. The Bank is therefore inviting companies to register their interest as a Flexible Benefits Provider (“the Flex Provider”) for operating the Flex System on behalf of the Bank. It is recognised that the service provided to employees effects the way the Bank is viewed and it is therefore important to ensure that the service provided is easy to use and provides clarity for employees.

Background

The Bank was established in 1991 as an international financial institution that supports projects in 29 countries across the Bank’s region of operations which stretches from central Europe and the Western Balkans to central Asia. Investing primarily in private sector clients whose needs cannot be fully met by the market, the Bank was set up to promote entrepreneurship and foster transition towards open and democratic market economies. It invests in projects, engages in policy dialogue and provides advisory services to enterprises. It is funded by 61 countries and 2 intergovernmental organisations.

The Bank is Headquarterd in London and employs approximately 1,600 people of whom roughly 1,200 are based in HQ and the rest are located in the Bank’s Resident Offices in the 29 countries of operation. The Bank has different categories of staff with eight different contract types which can impact eligibility to certain benefits. The annual salary payroll is GBP 90 million. Under the Treaty establishing the Bank its employees are not liable to taxation or National Insurance contributions on the emoluments paid by the Bank.

HR IT Systems and Payroll

The Bank operates one payroll from the UK via SAP for its entire staff across all locations and pays salaries in the following currencies:

• GBP

• EURO

• USD

• PLN (Poland)

• HUF (Hungary)

• RON (Romania)

• RUB (Russia and others)

• AZN (Azerbaijan)

• BAM ( Bosnia)

• GEL (Georgia)

• AMD (Armenia)

• TRY (Turkey)

It is important that the Flex System provided by the Flex Provider can interact effectively with the Bank’s HR SAP system which has been customised for the Bank.

Standard Employee Benefits

The Bank offers the following benefits to its employees some of which will feature in the Flex System immediately and others may be added on at a later stage. All benefits are managed by the Human Resources Department, with the Retirement Plans and Insurance Plans also being managed by external providers.

• Annual Salary

• Annual performance based Compensation or Support staff award payment

• Two retirement Plans: a non contributory Final Salary Plan and a Money Purchase Plan (MPP). Employees are members of both plans.

• A Retiree Medical Benefit currently paid as an Additional Voluntary Contribution into the MPP.

• Annual leave entitlements

• Commuting cost loan

• Health and fitness subsidy

• Mortgage Subsidy

• Various Allowances: Child allowance, Parental allowance, etc.

• Various Life Assurance and Medical Insurance Plans

Anticipated Flex System

Although the details of the Flex System are yet to be agreed it is anticipated that it will operate on the following basis:

• It will commence on 1 October 2012 for a 6 month period initially with annual renewals taking place on 1 April each year from April 2013.

• All current staff will be given a once only opportunity to sign up for the Flex System or remain on current benefits. It is envisaged that a minority of staff will not sign up and so will have their current benefits grandfathered.

• All new hires will automatically be included in the Flex System.

• Employees will be provided with a Flex Allowance which will be set as a percentage of salary.

• Employees will be able to use this Flex Allowance to allocate for certain costs (but paid through monthly payroll) or to increase (or decrease) certain standard benefits.

• Employees will be able to “spend” more than their Flex Allowance on benefits.

• If any Flex Allowance is not spent on benefits it will be added to the MPP as an extra employee contribution.

• Employees will have an annual Flex “window” during which time they can decide how to spend their Flex Allowance.

• No further changes can take place during the Flex year unless it is due to a change in circumstance to be decided by the Bank eg marriage, birth of child etc.

• Over time it is possible that extra benefits not currently provided by the Bank will be added to the Flex System.

Services for Tender

The services which will be included in the tender will be:

a. The design of a bespoke webtool for the administration of the Flex System.

b. The ability for the webtool to interact with SAP at the Bank.

c. Record keeping for all members of the Flex System.

d. Calculation of Flex Allowances in different currencies.

If your company is interested in participating in this tender exercise please answer the following questions:

|Minimum Requirements |Answers |

|1 Having read the information provided in this Prequalification Notice can you confirm that your|YES/NO |

|company can supply the relevant services to the Bank? | |

|2 Can you provide references from 3 clients which your company recently implemented a flexible |YES/NO |

|benefits system for? | |

|3 Can your company implement flexible benefits systems that interface effectively with tailored |YES/NO |

|SAP HR systems? | |

|4 If your company was appointed in January 2012 will you be able to implement a flexible |YES/NO |

|benefits system so that it is able to be launched on 1 September 2012? | |

|5 If successful, will your company be able to provide a dedicate account manager to oversee the |YES/NO |

|ongoing support to the Bank for the Flex System? | |

|6 Please provide the following financial information (GBP) | |

| |2008 | |

|Turnover | | |

| |2009 | |

| |2010 | |

| |2008 | |

|Gross Profit | | |

| |2009 | |

| |2010 | |

| |2008 | |

|Net Profit | | |

| |2009 | |

| |2010 | |

| |2008 | |

|Investment costs in development of your products | | |

| |2009 | |

| |2010 | |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download