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WHY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SHOULD NEVER BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT FOR WOMEN-OWNED SMES
Kiep Davel, Director at Aurora Capital Corporate Benefits, explores the importance of SMEs providing employee benefits. illness or injury prevents them from working, subject to the policy terms. A retirement fund provides employees with a structured way to save through payroll contributions.
M astercard research published in 2025 found that 57 % of South African women surveyed identified as entrepreneurs, while 71 % were interested in starting a business. As more women build and grow enterprises, employee benefits deserve a firm place in sustainable business planning.
These protections can be difficult for employees to arrange or maintain on their own. Allan Gray notes that group risk is generally more affordable than individual cover and can support financial security, staff loyalty and retention.
For an SME, employee benefits can strengthen the employment proposition while addressing risks that affect real people. They signal that the business is planning beyond the next salary cycle.
Employee benefits can be easy to postpone in a small or growing business. The owner may be focused on keeping salaries paid, winning work and managing costs, with benefits treated as something to introduce once the company is larger.
The risks facing employees do not wait until the business reaches that point. Illness, disability, death and inadequate retirement saving can place significant pressure on workers and the households that rely on them.
Statistics South Africa reported that 27.2 % of employed women were in informal employment in the second quarter of 2025. The measure includes forms of work where people may have no pension or medical aid benefits and no written employment contract. That figure illustrates how easily long-term protection can fall outside the employment relationship.
Women business owners may recognise this pressure clearly. Many are providers in their own households while also carrying responsibility for their employees’ livelihoods. A benefits structure offers a practical way to support the people working in the business and strengthen workforce resilience.
Benefits belong in business planning
A suitable employee benefits structure should reflect the size, financial capacity and workforce needs of the business. It may include retirement fund contributions that help employees build savings over time, together with group risk benefits such as life and disability cover.
Group life cover can provide financial support to an employee’ s beneficiaries after death. Disability benefits may replace part of an employee’ s income when
Start with what the business can sustain
Recognising employee benefits as a necessity does not require an unaffordable structure or a copy of a large corporate scheme.
The design should reflect the business’ s workforce, payroll, cash flow and priorities. An employer may begin with retirement savings and core risk protection, reviewing the structure as the company grows and employees’ needs evolve.
Cost, contribution levels, eligibility, cover definitions and administration require careful consideration. Employees also need to understand what is available, how contributions work and what happens when they join, leave or retire or when a claim arises.
A benefit that is poorly understood can be undervalued even when the employer is paying for it. Clear communication should form part of the structure from the beginning.
A benefits structure should be affordable, clearly explained, properly administered and reviewed as the business evolves. �
18 Intelligent SME. tech