PRESS RELEASE
October 2022
EMPLOYERS GIVEN COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO SUPPORT STAFF WITH DISCOUNT SCHEME ON EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
- 10 million UK workers feel undervalued at work as they struggle to cope with inflation
- Employers want to support staff to retain and motivate them, but face their own economic challenges
- ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is cost-effective way to reward staff with high-street discounts without breaking the bank
Businesses are facing a significant challenge this winter – how to retain and motivate key, skilled staff to increase productivity and offer support as everyone feels the cost of living crisis bite.
Employees who are worried about bills or feel undervalued cannot give their best in the workplace, but businesses too are facing challenges – as bills rise and spending falls, they also need to carefully manage the cost of giving.
According to the recent Love2shop Employee Value Report, almost 10 million workers in the UK feel undervalued, with 79% already looking to leave their current employer for a new role.
However, with the right reward and recognition strategy in place, 84% of UK employees said their loyalty to a company would increase.
But recognising employees to help them feel valued doesn’t have to be expensive, particularly at a time when businesses are facing rising energy bills, higher commercial rent, falling consumer spending and the impact of inflation.
So, what is the ‘cost of giving’ for a business wanting to support employees during this pressurised time while also needing to keep an eye on expenditure?
The ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ is a pre-paid discount card that employers can buy for a small fee and hand to their employees as a new benefit. By giving staff the ability to pre-load funds at a discount onto their Everyday Benefits Card they help them save at more than 90 popular retailers including Marks & Spencer, Argos, Iceland, Boots and Currys. The card also gives access to exclusive giftcard and e-code discounts. It’s a cost-effective way for employers to make a real difference to their staff.
Created by the team behind Love2shop gift cards, the ‘Everyday Benefits Card’ allows you to give tax-free gifts to employees in addition to ongoing discounts. For example, as a business you can offer employees a gift up to the value of £50 without any tax implications thanks to HMRC’s annual tax allowances.
A company will decide on the individual spend, whether that’s more or less than the £50 tax-free maximum, but crucially once the recipient’s balance has been spent, employees can re-load the card themselves to save on supermarket gift cards, high street spending and online purchases.
How does it work? As a pre-paid discount card, funds added receive an instant discount of 7.5% – so for every £100 someone adds to the card, they only pay £92.50. This can be used in-store in more than 90 Love2shop retailers or to purchase e-codes online for a range of high-street partners in retail and meals out. Card loads can also be exchanged for a pre-paid virtual Mastercard which can be used for online purchases with even more retailers (fees may apply).
Employees with an Everyday Benefits Card also receive access to exclusive discounts, ranging from 4% on gift card loads with selected leading supermarkets up to 50% at some of the UK’s most popular attractions such as Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor and even holiday vouchers.
“The current economic situation in the UK means that everyone, entrepreneurs, businesses, individual employees and their families are trying to manage a particularly challenging economic climate,” said Frank Creighton, Director for Business Development at Love2shop.
“For employers, there is a complex challenge. They want to help their workers through a tough time, to reduce stress and allow them to focus on their work. They also know that if they lose good staff, they will lose the key skills they need to successfully recover when the economy improves – and the cost of recruiting is expensive.
“But they are weighing that up against a backdrop of increased costs, reduced income and the fact their businesses are also facing a battle.
“This is where the Everyday Benefits Card can help. With minimal cost you can reward your employees with a discount card that will help them manage their household finances.
“As an employer you can choose if, and when, to add funds to the card. You may want to use a top-up as a reward for good performance, to recognise milestones like long service or simply as a random act of kindness. But importantly employees can add funds to their own cards and continue to claim discounts for as long as they like, at no cost to you, but feeling positive about their employer.”
To learn more about how Everyday Benefits could help your business recruit and retain key employees view more details on Love2shop’s Employee Discounts Card Scheme
The Everyday Benefits Card is a Flexecash product.
Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues the Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. (FRN: 900016)
ENDS
Media enquiries
Alec Doyle, Senior PR Executive: [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Everyday Benefits Card
With the Everyday Benefits Card from Love2shop, employers provide their employees a card to load funds onto at a 7.5% discount.
They are then free to spend on gift cards or e-codes from more than 90 high street stores and gain access to exclusive discounts including:
- 4% discount on supermarket gift card loads – top-up gift cards for selected leading supermarkets at a reduced rate.
- Love2shop Holidays – provides access to a concierge holiday booking service.
- Up to 20% off the cost of gift cards – perfect for one-off larger purchases such as TV’s, gifts or furniture.
- Online spending – employees can purchase a virtual prepaid card and spend on the websites of over 50 leading retailers.
- Up to 50% off pre-booked entrance tickets for leading attractions.
- An exclusive range of reduced-cost branded home appliances.
About Love2shop
Love2shop is a leading UK employee and customer engagement company. Its Love2shop products offer a fantastic choice of multi-retailer gifting rewards, helping businesses attract and retain employees and customers.
With its award-winning digital platform, Love2shop enables clients to plan, launch, communicate and maintain incentive or reward programs with minimal effort while delivering performance improvement.
Love2shop is a trading name of Park Retail Ltd, an FC Agent of Park Card Services. Park Retail Ltd is home to many of the country’s most-loved gifting, pre-payment and engagement solutions including Park Christmas Savings, highstreetvouchers.com and Love2shop, driving digital innovation in gifting.
Read more here: appreciate.co.uk
