Supporting your team and local economy with a little-known tax-free benefit.
As a business owner navigating the challenges of today's economy, finding ways to support staff and help them boost their local communities has never been more important.
One way is through the use of 'trivial benefits'.
These are small, tax-free gifts that employers can give to their employees. It's a win-win situation that more businesses should take advantage of. When used, tax-free benefits can go a long way in helping staff feel valued, supporting their mental well-being and helping them boost their local economy.
Read on to find out how you can implement this in your organisation.
What are trivial benefits?
The trivial benefits scheme is a really useful piece of legislation that firms can use to help staff as costs rise.
Trivial benefits are tax- and national insurance-exempt gifts you can give employees to boost morale and show appreciation.
A gift qualifies as a tax-free trivial benefit if it meets all of the following criteria:
it cost you £50 or less to provide
it isn’t cash or a cash voucher
it isn’t a reward for their work or performance
it isn’t in the terms of their contract.
These trivial benefits don’t need to be reported on an employee’s p11d, making it a quick, easy win with little to no admin work required for the business.
Trivial benefits for directors.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that company directors are limited to £300 per year through the trivial benefits scheme, so the equivalent of 6 x £50 gift cards.
Supporting employees through the cost of living crisis.
The cost of living crisis is on most employers' agendas right now, and the trivial benefits scheme can play a significant role in supporting employees.
Contrary to popular belief, the £50 limit for each employee is per gift rather than per year, so firms could utilise the trivial benefits scheme more than once a year if needed– as long as it didn’t become a part of the employee’s regular salary or contract.
This can be one really useful way of alleviating some of the financial burdens faced by your employees, and helping them cope with the rising costs of daily expenses.
Boosting employee morale and your local economy with local gift cards.
Many businesses are unaware of the opportunities presented by the trivial benefits scheme. One ‘secret weapon’ is the ability to provide gift cards to staff throughout the year. These gift cards can serve as a tax-free benefit that employees can use to purchase essentials or treats.
If you are looking for a gift card scheme, we’d highly recommend our client, Miconex.
At Ashton McGill, we give each of our employees a Scotland Loves Local Gift Card to spend a little extra on whatever they need– a tax-free benefit that goes a long way.
These gift cards can be used in various local businesses, ranging from food establishments to fuel stations, clothing stores, or coffee shops.
This approach not only provides a tax-free benefit for our employees, but also helps stimulate the local economy.
“Whether it’s supporting staff through the cost of living crisis, boosting motivation, or enabling staff to achieve wellbeing and work-life balance goals through access to a wide range of local products and experiences, more organisations are realising the power of Town & City Gift Cards to meet the needs of their organisation and their staff.”
–Colin Munro, Managing Director, Miconex
With Christmas fast approaching, let’s all get behind our local businesses.
Find out more about Scotland Loves Local.
Purchase Town & City Gift Cards for your team.
Work with us.
We help hundreds of ambitious businesses in the UK innovate and think differently to meet current challenges, like offering support for employees with the cost of living. We can help you harness useful legislation like trivial benefits to add an extra layer of support for your team.