To think hamper is better gift than voucher for staff

[Christmasmorale]

Ok given everything going on this year I want to boost staff morale with a nice Christmas gift. Our budget isn’t large enough to give a meaningful bonus. We have about £200 spend for each staff member.

I like the idea of an F&M hamper - with staff either choosing the Wine or Christmas food hamper. My business partner thinks it’s a waste of money and that staff would appreciate a £200 department store or Amazon voucher instead to spend as they please.

Personally, I used to get an F&M hamper every Christmas from an old work place and I still have the hamper boxes in use to this day as blanket storage etc. Even though I would also get a £1000 Christmas bonus from that workplace it’s the hamper that I remember fondly and associate positively with the organisation.

So:

YANBU: hampers are a more personal touch
YABU: just give them the money, no one wants F&M fruit cakes

Oh my goodness can I come and work for you and I want a hamper please

DH's company were hinting about a bonus this week. Got the email today and they have a choice of gift instead. The management are so out of touch with how people are doing. The other day apparently they were asking whether anyone needed anything and DH suggested it would be great to offer support for how to claim back expenses from WFH this year on taxes next year (diff country most people do a tax return). The managers basically said yeah but even though your power bills are higher, think about how much you've saved on holidays and going out!

No, no we're not. You don't pay us enough to have holidays and loads of going out. We're spending way more on electricity and food with DH working at home! Probably less on petrol but that's about it.

I just looked at the F&M hampers and can’t believe how little you get in them! 15 items for £200?! Not only would I prefer the money, I would be actually upset at the fact £200 was spent on it. That could be one persons monthly shopping! I know it’s meant to be a treat, but if I got £200 bonus I would still be able to treat myself AND it be incredibly useful to have a bit of extra cash to play around with.

I never liked my employers giving me food - it felt patronising/condescending and inevitably half of it went in the bin as not to my taste. Is also a huge money as you’re paying for a great big wicker basket that noone wants.

I honestly wouldn't appreciate a F&M hamper personally, also think of dietary restrictions and allergies etc. Voucher all the way.

You still have tax implications on a voucher or gift - either the value gets grossed up for PAYE & NI & the employer can pay, or you include the value of the gift on the P11d and the employee is liable.

Ony CHristmas Parties that are tax exempt, and there won't be too many of those this year.

at the start of lockdown work sent everyone packages of brownies, etc, which was nice - but probably in the £10-£15 range rather than £200

I always feel a bit annoyed when hampers contain bits we dislike. It feels such a waste. I personally prefer cash but second to that is a voucher for Amazon/Tesco/Waitrose then I can get what I want and will use

Give them the money.

Voucher to Supermarket so staff can buy their Christmas shop. I would prefer than to a hamper.

I would find it a waste if someone had spent £200 on a hamper . I have no need for a storage basket and the food you get in them is never worth the cost of the hamper . A voucher for M&S or John Lewis/ Waitrose would be better .

Vouchers. I wouldn't mind a small (aka cheaper) hamper, but I would be disappointed to receive a £200 hamper full of things I couldn't/didn't want to eat.

I would speak to your accountant before deciding. Ours told us how to give £150 in vouchers at no further cost in tax or ni to employer or employee. A lot of misinformation on this thread.

Yabu

I gave my sister a hamper for Christmas one year, and she said it was the best present she'd ever received.

I knew her tastes though, and bought items I knew she liked, then put them in a basket, wrapped it in transparent film and added a ribbon.

It looked very posh, but was far far cheaper than the pre-prepared hampers you see advertised.

That's not possible for a company to do though, tailor-made for each individual's taste. I therefore think most would prefer money or a voucher for somewhere like John Lewis

When I was little, my dad got Christmas hampers from work. It was sooooo exciting to see what was in them.

they always had amazing biscuits.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay

at the start of lockdown work sent everyone packages of brownies, etc, which was nice - but probably in the £10-£15 range rather than £200

I'd definitely appreciate this.

@BabyofMine £200 would be 6 weeks shopping for the two of us!

I’d do a voucher. You could offer a choice between John Lewis and b & c

Although your staff are still employed they may be struggling financially if they have a partner who has lost their job or have family they would like to help out by treating them to a better Xmas than they would have otherwise

It’s very generous of you to give a gift like this to your staff , hope they and you have a lovely Xmas

Thanks everyone for all your responses. It seems clear I was letting my nostalgia for F&M hampers cloud my judgement.

A voucher/ cash was the resounding win so we will go with that.

We will speak to the accountants next week to see what the most tax efficient way of giving the cash / voucher will be- and if there’s any way we can do this without affecting anyone’s Universal credit (though I don’t think anyone at work is on UC but can’t be 100% sure).

A voucher a couple of weeks before Christmas will hopefully be appreciated.

The All for One gift card is great - it's what we use for teacher gifts at my DD's school.

You can spend it at over 130 stores, in store or online. It includes everything from John Lewis and M&S to H&M and Primark. B&Q, Halfords, Pizza Express, Currys etc etc.

This link was the first one that came up but I think you can get them lots of places. I know our local post office does them.

www.viking-direct.co.uk/en/one4all-gift-card-spend-here-100-p-8527391

Voucher, or better still a cash bonus. F & M hampers are overrated and bulky gifts can be a nightmare to take home if you go by public transport, bike or walk.

Voucher or cash for me.
I'd look at a hamper and just think 'imagine the food/wine I could have bought if given the money and allowed to choose myself'

Sorry just realised I should have read the whole thread before posting as I crossed posted with pretty much everyone 🙈

You sound like an absolutely lovely boss.

As you're going down the cash/voucher route, could I suggest they get a choice of where the vouchers are from one store wont fit all.

I would much rather have a Sainsbury voucher rather than a John Lewis one.