A survey of 1,500 UK workers and business leaders has revealed that an increasing number of UK businesses would like to regularly reward their staff with bonuses, but feel they are being held back by budgets.
The survey, conducted by One4all Rewards with a view to raising awareness of HMRCs Trivial Benefits Allowance, uncovered that 83 per cent of British business leaders would like to give their employees regular bonuses and rewards so as to boost productivity, morale, loyalty and motivation.
However, 53 per cent of them said they do not currently do so because the business does not have sufficient budget available.
Businesses can now benefit from HMRC tax exemptions
In April 2016, HMRC altered the workplace benefits rules, allowing businesses to benefit from the exemption and reducing National Insurance contribution and tax charges. However, 90 per cent of businesses are missing out.
With 48 per cent of workers saying that their morale would be lifted by receiving even just a small bonus, 35 per cent stating that they would feel more loyal and 31 per cent saying they would be better motivated, it really does demonstrate the importance for employers of making use of these tax exempt bonuses. In addition, the fact that 62 per cent of workers reported that rewards such as gift vouchers or experiences would have a significant impact upon their attitude towards work, certainly backs this up.
Bonuses and rewards appreciated by staff
The survey also revealed that 47 per cent of UK workers would appreciate a non-performance related reward or bonus at Christmas and 32 per cent would like to receive a bonus following a busy time at work. 26 per cent would appreciate a birthday bonus.
Alan Smith is UK managing director of One4all Rewards. He comments, ‘There is lots of potential for British businesses to offer non-performance related benefits to their staff under the latest HMRC changes to the workplace benefits rule.
‘The changes to the workplace benefits rule have been introduced to help businesses similar to those we surveyed, who have limited budgets to reward their employees.
‘We can see from the research that only a small proportion of businesses are currently making use of the tax exemption on trivial benefits, however, 11 per cent of UK bosses are intending to make use of the tax exemption before the end of their tax year.’
If you are considering giving your workforce bonuses or rewards, be sure to discuss it with your bookkeepers to ensure you are keeping within the tax exempt limits.
