Bonuses given in December can prevent staff departures

Did you know that January sees the most job applications sent out than any other month. More interestingly, perhaps, is the suggestion that a simple December bonus could reduce this number by one half…

According to a survey of 1,096 UK employees carried out by One4allRewards.co.uk, bosses who give out bonuses in December are less likely to see staff being poached or looking elsewhere.

Almost one in two workers (46%) said having received a bonus or gift from their boss recently would prevent them from looking for a new job. Almost the same number, 45 per cent, would be less likely to accept a new job if offered one if the same had happened. With workers being more likely to look for a new job in January than any other month of the year, December bonuses couldn’t be timed better for staff retention purposes.

What’s more, the research revealed that workers welcome receiving a bonus from their employer more in December than at any other time of the year.

Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, said: “It’s interesting to see just how far a token bonus can impact on workers’ loyalty to their employer. Even if you just consider the amount of money that can be lost through recruitment costs when a member of staff resigns – never mind the softer negative impacts and knock-on effects that employees leaving can have, in terms of morale in the workplace – it is clearly something that is worth investing in.

“And thanks to HM Revenue and Customs’ recent introduction of tax exemptions on trivial benefits of £50 per employee or less, it has never been more affordable for businesses to gift staff a little something to make sure they feel valued, ahead of the busiest time of the year for staff departures.”

For more information on how to use HMRC’s trivial benefits tax exemption to award bonuses to staff, visit https://www.one4allrewards.co.uk/taxfree