Company benefits say a lot about who you are as an employer.
They shape how your team feels about working with you, how long they stay, and how well they perform.
The good news? You can build a company benefits package that supports your people, reflects your values and makes financial sense too.
Here’s what you can offer to attract great people, support your team and strengthen your business.
Why should I offer company benefits?
A clear benefits package helps you attract the right people and keep them. It shows you care about wellbeing and helps create a positive culture.
Many benefits also come with tax efficiencies, so you can look after your team and your budget at the same time.
What can I offer my team?
Holidays
Every employee is entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday, but lots of businesses choose to go further.
Extra days for birthdays, volunteering or long service can help your team rest, recharge and feel appreciated.
Pension Scheme
A strong pension helps your team plan for the future and remains one of the most tax-efficient benefits available. Employers contribute at least 3% of qualifying earnings, but many choose to increase this.
Some businesses now offer ethical pension funds to align with sustainability goals, which is a nice way to tie benefits to your values.
Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle Schemes
These benefits tick all the right boxes: healthy, sustainable and cost-effective.
Through the Cycle to Work Scheme, employees buy bikes or e-bikes via salary sacrifice, saving on Income Tax and National Insurance while you save on employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
Electric vehicle schemes are gaining popularity too. They’re a great way to support sustainability goals while offering a practical, tax-efficient benefit that appeals to environmentally conscious employees.
Health and Wellbeing Support
Employee wellbeing should be a top priority for businesses looking to find and keep top talent. While a lot of wellbeing comes down to day-to-day culture, there are benefits you can offer that make a difference. Some options include:
- Health cash plans help employees claim back costs for things like dental care, eye tests or physiotherapy. These are a taxable Benefit in Kind (BiK), but they’re affordable to run and can reduce sick days and improve long-term health.
- Private medical insurance covers wider healthcare, giving employees faster access to treatment and peace of mind.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing confidential advice or counselling for issues like stress and anxiety.
- Learning and Development
Supporting learning is one of the easiest ways to add real value, and it’s usually tax-free.
If the training or qualification relates to your employee’s current or future role, HMRC classes it as work-related training, so there’s no tax or National Insurance to pay. The cost is also deductible for the business, making it efficient for everyone.
That could mean funding a relevant course, giving paid time for professional development, or covering membership fees for an approved professional body.
Trivial Benefits
While the name doesn’t sound exciting, trivial benefits are a great, tax-free way to reward and recognise your team throughout the year. Each director can spend up to £300 a year and there’s a cap of £50 per gift.
Trivial benefits could include a team lunch, maternity/paternity hampers or recognising an employee’s birthday/work anniversary with a gift voucher (gift vouchers can’t be given for performance).
EMI Share Options
For scale-ups or growing businesses, Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share schemes are worth exploring.
They let employees buy shares in the company later, often at a discount, with generous tax reliefs if you qualify.
Culture, flexibility and purpose
Not every benefit comes with a form or a tax code. Some of the most valuable ones are about how your business feels to work in.
Flexibility is now an expectation, not just a perk. Offering hybrid working, flexible hours or compressed weeks helps people balance life and work, and it opens your doors to a wider range of talent.
Purpose-led benefits such as volunteering days, charity donation matching or sustainability initiatives go a long way too. They connect everyday work with something bigger and show that your business cares about more than profit.
How we do benefits at Blu Sky
At Blu Sky, we believe work should work for our people. That’s why our benefits package is built around flexibility, wellbeing and purpose. Alongside 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), we offer extra paid days off for birthdays, volunteering, and wellbeing, because life outside of work matters.
Our team has access to private medical insurance, salary sacrifice schemes like electric cars, and family-friendly leave that supports different life stages. We also work remotely, with flexible hours that suit both our people and our clients. It’s all part of how we do great work and have fun doing it.
Need to discuss your company benefits package?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to benefits. The best packages are the ones that reflect your people, your purpose and your budget.
If you’d like to review your benefits for, we can help you strike the right balance between value, compliance and culture.
Get in touch with the Blu Sky team, we’ll help you build a benefits package that works for your business and the people who make it great.
