June 2023 - Flare HR

Top 5 best small luxury cars

Posted on June 29, 2023November 23, 2023 by Pie Langford

Step into the world of small luxury cars with the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Mini Clubman, and Volkswagen Golf. These vehicles offer a blend of style, innovation, and exhilarating driving experiences in a compact yet luxurious package. From the elegant design and advanced technologies of the Audi A3 to the cutting-edge features and convenience of the BMW 1 Series, each small luxury car brings something unique to the table.

Audi A3

Experience the new Audi A3, a supremely luxurious, sporty and elegantly styled sedan that is sure to turn heads. With a striking new design language and advanced technologies, the A3 offers an even more engaging driving experience. The A3 offers a range of safety features, including an Electromechanical Parking Brake, Autonomous Emergency Braking, and Electronic Stabilisation Control, so you can feel confident and secure behind the wheel. Experience the seamless, intuitive Audi A3 today.

BMW 1 Series

Introducing the BMW 1 Series – the perfect combination of innovative luxury and outstanding and advanced design language. The ultimate driving experience, full of dynamics and agility, enjoy the convenience of a hatchback body type and the safety of the Parking Assistant Plus. Experience performance and character united in the BMW 1 Series.

Mercedes Benz A-Class

Introducing the Mercedes-Benz A Class – a perfect combination of intelligence, innovation and luxury. Enjoy energising comfort and exemplary safety, as well as spacious seating and one of the most cutting-edge designs. With a wide range of power and torque options, the Mercedes-Benz A Class is the perfect choice for your next car.

Mini Clubman

The Mini Clubman is a distinctive and sophisticated all-wheel drive wagon that is the perfect urban vehicle for work or play. The Mini Clubman offers more room for family, four-legged friends as well as all the fun and possibility you can handle. It features innovative technology such as touch command, park assist and MINI Connected, plus a range of safety features including Dynamic Stability Control, Anti-lock braking system and Dynamic Traction Control. Whether you’re running errands around town or taking a road trip, the Mini Clubman is the perfect choice for your next adventure.

Volkswagen Golf

Experience a drive that takes you out of everyday life and into a world less ordinary with the Volkswagen Golf. This hatchback offers 110 kW of power and a fuel tank capacity of 5.8-6.0 L/110km. Plus, its semi-autonomous driving capabilities, unparalleled performance and striking design make the Golf a great choice for those who want to break out of their routine and start an adventure. Safety features such as Emergency Assist, Proactive Occupant Protection System and Multi-collision braking also make the Golf a reliable and secure ride.

Get the car you want, now

We are dedicated to helping our customers get the most out of their budget without compromising on an exceptional driving experience. Whether you prioritise safety and reliability or crave a blend of excitement and functionality, our team at Flare is committed to assisting you in discovering the ideal car that aligns with your unique lifestyle. Experience the joy of driving the perfect vehicle with Flare.

What is a novated lease, and how does it work?

Posted on June 6, 2023March 24, 2025 by Pie Langford

Novated leasing is an innovative car financing option that allows employees to save money on their car purchase and potentially enjoying significant tax savings. Let’s explore everything you need to know about novated leasing for employees, including how it works, what happens at the end of a novated lease, the benefits, and more.

What is a novated lease?

Cars are one of our biggest household expenses, yet many of us haven’t been exposed to the huge savings advantages that a novated lease can offer. It’s one of the cheapest ways to own and run your car. A novated lease is an arrangement between an employee, their employer, and a financier for a period of time, between one to five years. With a Flare novated lease, you can get the car you want now with no large upfront cost, and bundle up your vehicle finance and running costs like fuel and maintenance into convenient monthly payments. By doing this, you could make significant savings on the purchase price, your income tax, and GST too.

How does it work?

Novated leasing is a workplace benefit in which all the costs for running a car, as well as the vehicle purchase price, are taken directly out of your salary, through a combination of pre and post tax deductions by your employer.

What happens at the end of a novated lease?

You have a couple of options if you want to leave your current company. If your new employer offers novated leasing, then you should be able to transfer your novated lease over via your new employer’s salary packaging provider. Alternatively, if your new employer does not offer novated leasing, you can pay your finance directly to the financier; however, this becomes your responsibility, and you would lose the associated tax benefits.

Did you know that with a Flare Novated lease you get:

The car you want, now. No large upfront costs, plus our team will help you source your new car and organise a test drive.
The best pricing. Benefit from Flare’s buying power and save yourself the hard work. Our car experts negotiate on your behalf and secure the best EV and hybrid deals for you.
Save on tax and running costs. Enjoy significant tax savings and less GST on your car purchase, electricity mileage, servicing and maintenance.
Easy budget management. Avoid hidden expenses and spread your bills throughout the year by bundling up your finance and running costs like electricity mileage, servicing, maintenance and rego into one convenient monthly payment.

FAQ’s:

Is a novated lease worth it?

A novated lease can be an excellent option for employees who want to save money on their car expenses while enjoying significant tax savings. However, it’s essential to consider the pros and cons of novated leasing before making a decision, and as every situation is different, so is every lease agreement.

Can you novate lease a used car?

Yes, a used car can be no older than 12 years old at the end of the lease term. So for example, if you want to lease a used car over 5 years, the car must be 7 years old or newer at the start of the lease. All you’ll need to do is provide a quote from a dealer on the used car. Don’t sign any contracts to buy until you have your credit approved.

I want to lease my current car. How do I take advantage of the tax benefits of leasing?

If you own your current car outright, or owe less on existing finance than the car is worth then we can explore a lease for you under what’s called a “Sale and Leaseback” arrangement. The finance company essentially buys your vehicle from you and leases it back to you over an agreed term.

Is novated leasing only beneficial if I drive high kilometres per year?

That is no longer the case. The Federal Government changed legislation a few years back which made the benefit of leasing universal regardless of kilometres driven. So, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing 5000kms per year or 25000kms. The only thing kilometres impact are your running cost budgets for fuel, servicing and so on.

How to onboard new employees remotely

Posted on June 2, 2023March 27, 2025 by Pie Langford

As the world continues to adapt to our new ways of working, companies need to adapt their HR processes accordingly. One of the most important questions is how to onboard new employees remotely. The type of onboarding program you have in place has a significant impact on factors like new hire retention and productivity. In fact, a study found that a structured onboarding experience resulted in 69% of employees being more likely to stay with a company for three years and 50% greater new-hire productivity.

To help companies manage this process remotely, Flare has a free digital employee onboarding software that lets you add new employees to your ATS, generate documents, and gives your new hires a seamless way to auto-sign contracts and share important information with the company.

While being remote does present some challenges to the onboarding process, we believe there are things you can do to make it just as strong as one that’s in person. Below, we’ve outlined a five-step staff onboarding checklist to help you get your new hires up to speed remotely:

1. Start with preboarding

Many employers wait until the new hire’s first day to start the onboarding process. But there’s actually a step that comes before that called preboarding. The purpose of this step is to get your new hires up-to-speed before they start their new roles so they don’t feel overwhelmed on their first day. Preboarding activities have also been found to increase first-year retention by as much as 80 percent. These activities can include:

Educating employees on benefits available to them
Connecting colleagues early on
Collecting personal information (employees’ favourite snacks, personal hobbies, etc.)

2. Create a warm welcome experience

Once you have all the preboarding logistics squared away, you can focus on creating a warm welcome experience for your new employee’s first day. Since your team won’t be able to take them out to a welcome lunch or greet them in person, it’s important to find other ways to make them feel excited about their new job. Below are a few ideas you can try:

Send a welcome card that’s been digitally signed by the CEO, their manager, and their new team members
Gift the new hire with a prepaid card to their neighbourhood cafe; They can grab a coffee and get to know their teammates through virtual hangout sessions
Host a virtual welcome party with the whole team
Ship a ‘welcome pack’ that contains the new employee’s favourite treats, movies, or board games

The last thing you want is for your new hire to feel isolated on their first day. These ideas will help your employees feel like they’re already part of the team and get them excited about their new company – even when they’re not physically at the office!

Get a free demo of Flare’s digital employee onboarding software.

3. Establish a support system

Any employee’s first day can feel a bit scary – especially when they’re remote and don’t have the luxury of asking the person sitting next to them a question or getting to know people over lunch. To make sure they feel supported from day one, it’s important to establish a system that they can turn to if they have questions, need help, or simply want to feel more integrated into the company. Here’s how:

Set your new employee up with a designated buddy. This is their go-to person if they have any questions, need someone to chat with over a virtual lunch, or simply want to learn more about the company
Create a Slack channel for new hires. At Flare, we have one called #newbies that contains helpful resources and is a dedicated space where new employees can feel safe asking questions
Encourage the new hire’s manager check in with them frequently during the first 30 days to make sure the transition is going smoothly

4. Run induction sessions

In addition to helping your new hires feel socially integrated, you want to make sure they understand the various aspects of the business as well. This is where virtual induction sessions can be helpful. The purpose of these sessions is to meet with different leaders within the organisation – from the CEO to the Head of Engineering – so they can better understand how the business operates.

Not only that, but induction sessions can help new employees put faces to names and develop a clearer view of how their specific role contributes to the broader mission of your company. This allows new hires to recognise that they’re a valuable part of the organisation and helps them find a sense of meaning in their work.

5. Collect feedback

Finally, remember that your onboarding process doesn’t end after 30 or 60 days. There are ways to continuously iterate on and improve your program – especially if your remote onboarding process is brand new. The best way to do this is to distribute an onboarding survey to new hires after they go through the experience. This provides an opportunity for them to share feedback on what worked, what didn’t, and how they felt coming out of the onboarding process – all valuable input that you can use to strengthen your existing program.

As you can see, a powerful employee onboarding experience can have a significant impact on your business. Thankfully, there are ways to make sure this process is effective, welcoming, and informative – even when doing so remotely. Follow our recommendations to make sure your onboarding process goes as smoothly as possible for your new remote employees.

To learn more about Flare’s free digital employee onboarding software, and how it can save you on time and paperwork, request a demo here.

Novated leasing

Get started

Lease a PHEV before April 1 2025 & pay no FBT

Existing Flare member

Support

Contact the Flare team

Flare Benefits

Get started

Flare National Employee Benefits Index

Solutions

Segments

Struggling with high employee turnover?

Featured customers

Industries

Flare customers at Healius have a retention rate of 98%.

Guides

Other Content

Take a deep dive into your industry’s data

Existing customers

Contact us

Contact the Flare team

Novated leasing

Get started

Existing Flare member

Support

Flare Benefits

Get started

Solutions

Segments

Featured customers

Industries

Guides

Other Content

Existing customers

Contact us

Guides

Other Content

About Flare

Who we work with

Audi A3

BMW 1 Series

Mercedes Benz A-Class

Mini Clubman

Volkswagen Golf

Get the car you want, now

What is a novated lease?

How does it work?

What happens at the end of a novated lease?

Did you know that with a Flare Novated lease you get:

FAQ’s:

Is a novated lease worth it?

Can you novate lease a used car?

I want to lease my current car. How do I take advantage of the tax benefits of leasing?

Is novated leasing only beneficial if I drive high kilometres per year?

1. Start with preboarding

2. Create a warm welcome experience

3. Establish a support system

4. Run induction sessions

5. Collect feedback

Request a demo

For businesses

For employees

Resources

Company

Support and contact