Item 6 - Contract Authoriisation Report for Employee Benefits
Renfrewshire Council · 12 September 2024
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 12 September 2024 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 12 September 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Authorisation Report for Employee Benefits (RC-CPU-23- 198) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Contract (Call-Off Contract) for Employee Benefits to SME HCI Limited (trading as Vivup). 1.2 The recommendation to award the Call-Off Contract follows a procurement exercise which was conducted in accordance with the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement for Employee Benefits and Services (RM6273) (“Framework") following a further competition under Lot 1 Managed Service (“Lot 1") and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 1.3 The Contract Strategy was approved and signed by the Head of People & Organisational Development and Strategic Category Manager on the 26 March 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board:
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2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award the Contract, being a Call-Off Contract made under Lot 1 Managed Service of the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement for Employee Benefits and Services (RM6273) for Employee Benefits (RC-CPU-23-198) to SME HCI Limited (trading as Vivup), subject to the Call-Off Award Procedure under this Framework Agreement. 2.2 Authorises the maximum approved contract value of up to £510,000 excluding VAT for the full Call-Off Contract period, including any extensions, noting paragraph 2.4. 2.3 Authorises the Call-Off Contract for an initial period of 3 years, with the option to extend for up to 12 months. The anticipated start date of the Call- Off Contract is 9 October 2024 however the actual date will be confirmed in the Order Form issued following the Call-Off Award Procedure. 2.4 Notes there are no costs to set up the new employee benefits platform, however there will be an initial outlay made by the Council for applicable employee benefits salary sacrifice schemes, for example the purchase of bicycles for Cycle to Work. These outlays will be recovered from employees in accordance with agreements made under the relevant salary sacrifice scheme. The reward and recognition scheme, if implemented, is anticipated to cost up to £20,000. This will not be recovered from employees and instead funded by the services that employ the recognised staff member. 2.5 Notes that for the salary sacrifice schemes, automated pay deductions will be set up by the Council’s payroll department for employees participating in the schemes to make the relevant repayments to the Council. 2.6 Authorises the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement aggregate liability cap for this Call-Off Contract which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council is seeking to appoint a single Supplier to provide a fully managed employee benefits platform to the Council, which will include provision of Salary Sacrifice Schemes (aligned with the HMRC guidance on Salary Sacrifice Schemes) and Salary Deduction and Voluntary Benefit Schemes.
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The Council will access a range of employee benefits schemes using an online platform to support and strengthen the Council’s brand as a destination employer, offering a way to attract and retain employees, and contribute to improving staff wellbeing and engagement. The initial employee benefits schemes available to employees could potentially include those listed below, however the Council has the flexibility to promote the employee benefits as and when required and allow other benefits to be added during the Call-Off Contract term: Cycle to Work Scheme (Salary Sacrifice) Technology and Smartphones Scheme (Salary Deduction) Employee Discounts (Voluntary Benefit) Financial Wellbeing Scheme (Voluntary Benefit) Reward and Recognition 3.2 The employee benefits schemes will be open to all employees of the Council, Renfrewshire Leisure Limited trading as OneRen, Scotland Excel, Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board and Elected Members, who meet the scheme(s) eligibility criteria and will provide salary sacrifice savings where applicable for both employees (Tax and NI savings) and for the Council (NI savings). Renfrewshire Leisure Limited trading as OneRen, Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board and Scotland Excel are separate bodies from the Council, however, their employees can make use of the Framework Agreement as they have been detailed as Cluster Members. Each Cluster Member will have a separate bespoke platform and can launch the employee benefits schemes as and when required. 3.3 Most of the employee benefits schemes are run on a cost-neutral basis, meaning the Council, for relevant schemes such as Cycle to Work scheme and Technology and Smartphones scheme, will commit to make an initial outlay for any eligible employee agreeing to the terms of the respective employee benefits scheme. As part of that agreement the employee will agree to the Council’s payroll making an automated deduction from salary. However, the reward and recognition scheme, if implemented, will not be subject to salary deductions. 3.4 The procurement exercise for this Call-Off Contract was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure of the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement for Employee Benefits and Services (RM6273).
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3.5 The further competition documents were published to the four tenderers on Lot 1 via the Public Contract Scotland Tenders Portal on the 27 March 2024 with a submission deadline of 12 noon on the 17 April 2024. At submission deadline, one tender submission was received, and three suppliers failed to respond. 3.6 The tender submission received was evaluated against the Award Criteria 70% quality and 30% price. The score relative to the Award Criteria and tender submission for SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) is detailed below: 3.7 Evaluation of the bid received from SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) confirmed it met the Council’s requirements. The Call-Off Contract will be formed under the Framework Call-Off Award Procedure using the Order Form and relevant Call-Off and Joint Schedules. 3.8 SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) will build a bespoke cloud-based secure branded online platform which will allow the Council to gain access to a variety of employee benefits including those benefits packages listed at 3.1 above. The Council reserve the right to promote the employee benefits as and when required within the term of the Call-Off Contract. 3.9 Community Benefits were requested as part of the further competition procedure and SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) advised within their tender submission that the following Community Benefit will be delivered as part of the Call-Off Contract: Non-financial support for a Social Enterprise within Renfrewshire ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - There will be no costs incurred by the Council in the setup of the employee benefits platform. There will be an initial outlay made by the Council for applicable employee benefits schemes with these being recouped from employees in accordance with agreements made under the applicable employee benefits schemes. The maximum Call- Off Contract value of up to £510,000 excluding VAT is over the initial 3- year period plus a further 12-month extension and includes a 5% contingency. Tenderer Name Quality Score (70%) Price Score (30%) Total Score (100%) SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) 56.25% 30.00% 85.25%
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There is an estimated cost of £20,000 to the Council for the reward and recognition scheme, which will not be recovered from employees. This is expected to be funded by services who are recognising staff members, as and when rewards are applied. 2. HR & Organisational Development - The employee benefits package will be launched, implemented and monitored by HR and OD and Payroll and will be available to all staff within the Council, OneRen, Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board and Scotland Excel. 3. Community/Council Planning – Working together to improve outcomes by offering employees benefits under a salary sacrifice arrangement such as bicycles, electric bicycles and IT equipment that they can pay back in defined manageable amounts dependent on their pay frequency. The Council will also offer voluntary benefits arrangements. This package will help to promote the Council as an employer of choice, a modern and flexible workplace and contribute to the Council’s health and wellbeing strategies. Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy by promoting a better lifestyle for employees with schemes such as Cycle to Work which will help to reduce the carbon footprint. 4. Legal - This Procurement was carried out in accordance with the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement for Employee Benefits and Services (RM6273), Lot 1 Manage Service Further Competition Procedure and the award will be made using the Call-Off Award Procedure and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 5. Property/Assets - No property/assets implications have arisen or are anticipated. 6. Information Technology - ICT and Cyber Security was evaluated by the Council’s ICT Services and SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) has confirmed that they have achieved Cyber Essential Accreditation.
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7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - SME HCI Ltd’s (trading as Vivup) health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety.. 9. Procurement – The procurement exercise was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure as a further competition under the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement for Employee Benefits and Services (RM6273) Lot 1 Managed Service and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts.. 10. Risk - SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) insurance documentation was evaluated by Crown Commercial Service at the time of Framework award and was deemed to meet the minimum requirements. The Council’s Risk Manager has also confirmed that the levels of insurance are adequate for the requirements of the Call-Off Contract. An aggregate liability cap is in place, which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges as per the conditions set out in the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement, applicable to both the Framework and any Call-Off Contract made under it. 11. Privacy Impact - As part of the procurement process, a data protection impact assessment was conducted by the Service and the Council’s Information Governance team. SME HCI Ltd (trading as Vivup) will be required to confirm and agree to the Data Protection requirements as noted within the Order form and relevant schedule 12. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of this service has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. The considerations for this Call-Off Contract will include reducing paper waste and allow employees to apply online and reducing carbon emissions by employees using their bikes to cycle to work rather than motorised transport.
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13. Children’s Rights – None arising directly from this report. 14. Cosla Policy Position – None arising directly from this report. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gillian Gordon, Senior Procurement Specialist, gillian.gordon@renfrewshire.gov.uk 0141 487 1528