NEWSPAPER and television group United News & Media has given all its 6,000 employees access to its new PCP scheme, supplied by Lease Plan. The group, which includes The Express, Anglia TV, Meridian TV and HTV, introduced the scheme as an option for its 700 'perk' company car drivers.

Jane Remmington, group employee benefits manager at United News & Media, said: 'We decided that the best option for our perk car drivers would be a more flexible benefits package which included a personal contract purchase scheme. This would allow drivers to have a wider choice of vehicles than they might previously have had with a company car, as well as reducing the tax bill for low-mileage drivers.'

Nick Salkeld, Lease Plan's commercial director, said more companies were looking to introduce a flexible approach to benefits, rather than the straightforward offer of a company car, giving staff the choice of options such as a cash allowance, childcare subsidies, and health club membership.