Employee tax free benefits

Are your most talented employees leaving? Are the perfect candidates for your company choosing jobs elsewhere? If so, it may be time to think about the overall benefit package that you are offering. 

An attractive and flexible benefits package can be a major incentive to retain key employees.  Benefits are a way to show your employees that you care and are committed to their wellbeing and happiness.  

Giving benefits to your employees is a key motivator and helps create a happier and healthier workforce.  

In addition, prospective employees are increasingly looking beyond their salaries and asking what else employers can offer them.  

For many employers, offering a competitive benefits package can be vital in recruiting the best staff.  

The Good Work Index found that some of the top benefits employees wanted were:

1. Health insurance
2. Flexible working when considering hours worked and the location with much interest in the potential of the 4-day working week.
3. Pension contribution matching
4. Paid sick leave
5. Mental health and wellbeing support
6. Employee discount schemes
7. Additional holiday allowance
8. Support for parents, whether this is through the introduction of a 4-day working week which may help encourage parents back to a workplace through reduced childcare costs, childcare assistance, or paid parental leave. 

Therefore, there are good reasons why employers should look at their remuneration packages and consider exactly which benefits their employees want and will actually value.  

Once you understand what will attract employees to your business, the next step will be to consider if these benefits can be provided efficiently. 

Common tax-free benefits

Whilst many attractive benefits will come with tax and national insurance implications, these may often be cheaper or more valued than providing a higher salary.  

There are also plenty of tax-exempt benefits that can help you retain employees and attract new candidates whilst claiming the costs against your business’s taxable profits. 

Common tax-free benefits include:

• Pension contributions
• Staff training
• Health screening and check ups
• Welfare counselling
• Staff parking and electric vehicle charging points
• Cycle to work scheme
• Childcare vouchers

We also have an article on common benefit in kind exemptions that can assist in providing further benefits to their employees.  

By ensuring that you provide a range of benefits and maximise use of tax-free benefits, this can attract a wider pool of talent to your business.  

Further information

Our People Advisory Services team are specialists in advising on flexible, tax efficient remuneration packages.

If you want more advice on the tax-free benefits available, or on providing a tailored remuneration package to your employees, please contact our team and we would be happy to help.