Christmas is coming and employees up and down the country may be wondering how they’re going to pay for it.
The average UK household spends £2,500 each month. In December this figure jumps up to £3,200 – an increase of £700 – with the costs of Christmas.
That’s not including spending increases leading up to Christmas, when people shop online in November to cash in on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
With higher fuel bills, inflation and interest rates, many households will wonder where they are going to find the extra cash this year to afford Christmas. How will they pay for gifts, festive parties and getting the family around the table for a big Christmas lunch?
That’s where employee benefits can be a big help this winter.
Staff benefits and Christmas gifts
Gift giving and celebrating with family and friends are at the heart of Christmas. The two schemes that offer the most help with these costs of Christmas are:
Both schemes give employees access to high-street names and brands so they can tick lots of items off their Christmas list with less damage to their wallets.
How the Discount Club works
The Discount Club staff benefit gives employees up to 30% discounts in major stores like John Lewis, Fatface and Superdry.
Discounts of up to 35% are also available online, and there is no limit on how many times staff can save.
The Discount Club also offers savings on entertainment and travel. Cinema tickets are discounted up to 40%. Staff can get reduced entry to tourist attractions like Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds and Legoland.
If a Christmas or winter getaway is what they’re after, then the Discount Club offers employees savings on holidays and hotels around the world.
Your staff can save £100s over Christmas and potentially £1,000s across the year on the discounts on retail, entertainment and leisure that the Discount Club offers.
Discount Club savings – find out more.
Rewards and Recognition Scheme
The employee Reward Scheme is a great way of recognising the contribution of valuable members of staff.
You choose which employees are rewarded, or employees can nominate each other (but you choose who gets a reward).
Enjoy Benefits invoices you for the reward you have made to your team and the employee selects from a wide range of both digital and physical gift cards.
The retailers available include Argos, Amazon, Apple, M&S, B&Q and also Love2Shop, which gives access to many more high street names.
These rewards are huge morale boosters and let you say thank you to loyal staff for their contribution. And, at this time of year, they can prove especially helpful with the costs of Christmas.
Reward and Recognition scheme – find out more.
What do we spend on at Christmas?
The Bank of England has broken down the areas where UK consumers typically spend their money at Christmas.
1. Clothing, footwear and textiles
New Christmas outfits, branded trainers, winter jackets and woolly hats and warm pyjamas. They all prove popular at Christmas… and they all cost money.
Luckily, the shops included in the Discount Club and Reward Scheme gift cards can help.
Discount Club: John Lewis is home to dozens of designer clothing and footwear brands. Superdry and Fatface are brands loved by young people. You can get discounts from these retailers through the Discount Club.
Rewards Scheme: M&S is the home of sensible and sustainably sourced winter woollens and clothing. Amazon and Argos are ideal retailers for outdoor and sports clothing and equipment.
2. Specialist food spending
It’s no surprise that this is second on the list. Giving food at Christmas, or entertaining family and friends at home, are a big part of celebrating the season.
M&S and John Lewis (Waitrose) are some of the UK’s best specialist food suppliers and it’s helpful they’re included in the Reward Scheme and Discount Club.
3. Computers and phones
Of course gadgets rank highly for what we spend on at Christmas – new phones, gaming consoles, TV and devices are must-have choices under the Christmas tree.
Apple, Amazon and Argos are just three of the big names for these purchases, and they’re all on our Rewards Schemes or Discount Club.
Online spending at Christmas
In 2019 online spending accounted for 21% of Christmas shopping. The pandemic and lockdowns will have driven that up further for 2022.
Online spending starts early, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday accounting for spikes in Christmas shopping in November.
The Discount Club offers up to 35% discounts on online shopping with affiliated brands. And the Rewards Scheme gift cards are usable online and includes the biggest online retailer – Amazon.
Two genuine Christmas helpers
If you don’t yet offer Staff Rewards or the Discount Club, it’s not too late to add them to your list of benefits.
Don’t worry about the hassle of administering them either. Both schemes are easy to use and run. The Discount Club requires no administration at your end and can be cost neutral when combined with savings from other benefits that Enjoy Benefits provides.
Get in touch with us to find out more. Call us on 0800 088 7315 (Mon – Fri 9am-5pm) or contact us via the contact form on our website.
About Enjoy Benefits
To find out more about the financial benefits covered in this blog, take a look at all the benefits we offer, or get in touch with us for an obligation-free chat.
At Enjoy Benefits, we have great experience in helping companies of all sizes introduce benefits that are suitable for their workplace.
Benefits are easy to set up and ongoing administration is then run through an online platform, allowing employees to manage their own benefits while the employer can see which benefits are proving popular and what level of take-up each benefit has had. We can help you increase engagement with your benefits, and help you save money by providing your team with benefits that can provide them with real value, and help them feel valued!
Ready to start working with us?