They do however have a point. As a finance company who has financed similar schemes, I have to agree that for the employer there are some significant downsides. Whilst its a great scheme for the employee, I think it would be almost impossible to convince an employer who was aware of the above and wasn't already minded to provide this as a benefit to go forward. The issue is that there really isn't anything in it for the employer, (aside from the Employers NI saving - and that is easily outweighed on a small scheme by the admin and legal costs).
They do however have a point. As a finance company who has financed similar schemes, I have to agree that for the employer there are some significant downsides. Whilst its a great scheme for the employee, I think it would be almost impossible to convince an employer who was aware of the above and wasn't already minded to provide this as a benefit to go forward. The issue is that there really isn't anything in it for the employer, (aside from the Employers NI saving - and that is easily outweighed on a small scheme by the admin and legal costs).