10 completely free employee perks

Flexible working hours is a sought-after commodity nowadays – which is perhaps no surprise given how much easier it can make life. Whether it’s a later start to make a doctor’s appointment or an early dart to catch their child’s play, it really is an invaluable option for many.

Some people don’t see this one as a perk as such, but if you’ve ever worked in a business where feeling pressured to work crazy hours is the norm, you’ll know it is!

It’s super easy to implement too. Just make sure you and your managers cultivate a culture whereby employees don’t feel obliged to stick around – saying something as simple as “are you heading off soon?” or “don’t stay too late” will go a long way.

Who doesn’t love a freebie, right? It doesn’t have to be extravagant to be worthy either – the little things all add up and it really is the thought that counts.

So, where do you source these freebies, we hear you wonder? Companies like gemsatwork provide businesses up and down the country with all sorts of free products. What’s the catch? There isn’t one really! All you need to do in exchange is tell the company what people think about their product.

If the above doesn’t work for your business, look closer to home. For example, here at Citation, all our employees get a free drink every Friday at a local bar (clue, it starts with ‘R’ and ends in ‘evs’) – what more could you want after a long week in work?!

If you’re finding it difficult to bag freebies, see if you can haggle yourself some discounts with local shops, bars or restaurants. We’re the master of haggling (apparently!) and have snagged a deal with a café down the road, entitling all Citation employees to 10% off a cuppa.

You could consider starting an employee of the month scheme to honour those that’ve gone above and beyond. It’ll start a bit of healthy competition to win the award, and give employees a real sense of achievement when they come out on top.

The award could be something as simple as putting the winner’s title and photo on the wall, or you could even push it to giving them an early finish…

Super easy and self-sufficient. Set-up a system whereby employees can give each other digital badges to brighten up each other’s day. They can be serious or silly, work related or non-work related – whatever you fancy! Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box either.

To get you going, here are a few you could start with:

• Brilliant at what they do
• Thank you for brightening my day
• Can do attitude
• For making me laugh
• For helping me through a challenging situation
• For making a top brew.

The possibilities are endless for this one. From running, meditation or cards, to circuit training, photography or lunchtime walks, encourage employees to join forces and set-up some clubs.

Not only will it be healthy for working relationships, but it’ll give people an opportunity to try new things and properly escape from their day job for half an hour or so at lunch.

Don’t leave all the legwork down to your employees though. Show them it’s an initiative you’re behind by getting the ball rolling yourself in the first instance, and then give them autonomy to make it what they wish along the way.

We all want to be a better version of ourselves – in and out of work. You might not be able to help with the latter, but you can certainly tackle the former. And if you’re worried you’ll end up paying a fortune for fancy courses, then don’t – training doesn’t need to be lavish to be lucrative.

You can provide employees with free training by either learning off each other and running something like a mini bitesize series, or by sourcing external experts to come in and share their knowledge (while inevitably promoting their business, too).

After a bit of bitesize inspiration? We ran some ourselves not long ago and covered everything from Excel shortcuts and impactful writing, to ‘how to relax to the max’ and planning the perfect party.

How do you fancy your bartering skills? We’ll fall off our chair if you get it for free, but something is better than nothing, so see if you can help employees keep fit for less.

There’s no such thing as too many holidays, right? If employees want more annual leave it’ll cost them, but your purse strings will be left unscathed.

If you do consider this one though, remember to be aware of any tax implications, consider if buying holidays will take employees below the National Minimum Wage – especially if an employee has several salary sacrifices, and make sure you have a good set of policies/rules in place to prevent any confusion or arguments down the line.