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

@ChessieFL

I would shy away from vouchers at the moment - they’re worthless if companies go bust which is a real risk in the current climate. Amazon are probably safe from that but lots of people object to them not paying enough tax in the UK.

Cash or hampers are safer.

I was going to say 'voucher', but the comment above has made me doubt myself. On second thoughts though, I think a Waitrose or M&S voucher would be a pretty safe bet.

Not everyone likes dried fruit or chutney. Ithik hampers are a waste because folk might not use every thing what about a smaller chocolate and treat hamper and the voucher in it.

I'd prefer a voucher. Not keen on hampers tbh

Find out what supermarkets they shop in a buy them vouchers for that. They can treat themselves to what they actually want rather than a generic hamper.

Yup even vouchers over £50 are taxable.

@Christmasmorale

Personally I’d rather the hamper - really who gets F&M often enough for it to be anything other than a huge treat?

See that’s how I see it- kind of like spa days - I would never spend money on those things myself but when someone gifts it to me it’s a massive luxury I wouldn’t otherwise treat myself to

F&M is that yes the baskets are nice but there's always random things that we would never eat in them.

Hmm very true - I always chose the wine hamper in the end as I only enjoyed maybe 50% of the items in the food hamper - gifted the rest to neighbours.

100% the voucher - you have no idea what financial struggles staff may be going through and a voucher could help to lessen the burden.

That’s a good point - although we pay our staff well and luckily haven’t been too affected by COVID so I don’t think any of money troubles would be job related.

Like you, i love a Fortnums hamper for the luxury of it, and we have several wicker hamper boxes dotted around the house.

However - we definitely don't use the piccalilli, loose teas etc so it's not much more than an extravagant, lovely gesture really.

Right now, a £200 voucher - or a £150 voucher with chocolates & wine, would be more appreciated. Even though you know your own organisation pay well and your staff have those salaries to depend on, you don't know about their families so they could well have less total income from other area.

Would prefer the money, half of hampers always end up at the food bank because I simply don't like the items. I would do a decent bottle of wine eg in a wooden box circa £25 and a John Lewis voucher which can be used at Waitrose too of course. Some people may prefer a different supermarket but choosing John Lewis means they could spend on non food too, it's middle ground.

Just asked DH and he agrees with me

he said

There is something incredibly good about getting a hamper from your boss. It feels like they have considered you and it is stuff you would never usually get.

Vouchers tend to just be swallowed up in the everyday budget.

@BrigitsBigKnickers

We get a F and M hamper from DHs work each Christmas. It's quite nice but some of the stuff in it we would never use ( posh odd flavoured tea bags/ jam and panettone ) We also now have a collection of very nice but largely useless wicker baskets which just gather dust in the garage.

Its quite a treat and exciting to open but think I would prefer a voucher to be honest...

You don’t eat panettone?

Smiles winsomely at BBK , admires BBK’s exquisite taste in everything (except panettone). Tries to look needy and in desperate need of Italian carbs.......

Cash or voucher for definite. Families may be struggling and cash or vouchers could really help with food or presents.....or to pay some bills. Hampers are always a bit overpriced for what you get.

@BrigitsBigKnickers

Panettone with jam on cooked in a light custard aka posh bread and butter pudding is an excellent way to use your hamper. Your excess baskets might be wanted by local churches/community centres making Christmas gift baskets for this in need

If you are giving a hamper don't do this! would you be taking into account everyone's preferences/allergies?

The JL one sounds quite good but then I don't eat nuts and hate anything with chilli in.

Not everyone drinks alcohol.

If it were less money I'd say hamper. But £200 is a lot to spend on something that could potentially not be used.

Definitely voucher/money

8 do like getting something physical to take home, and I keep the boxes too.
I would get a little token from the company (maybe a mug with their name in, a Tshirt, a nice box, a little Christmas ornament), and an actual card instead of email. For £50.
Rest I would give them a voucher for the £150 in a nice envelope.
£200 is quite a lot of money! They will surely apreciate it.
This has been a tough year, and I think cash is a cover all present this year. You never fully know the whole situation of people working with you are. They may find themselves staring at a nice yummy cake, but have no money for buying food. I would try to go with a voucher that covers food and other essentials. No glamorous this year, but practical. Yet the little something from the company too.

@MyGazeboisLeaking - you don’t use the piccalilli????! Send it over here, love. We use industrial quantities of it, no cold meat is complete without it.

And only F&M will do.

I voted YABU because for me 200 quid would be a great bonus actually. But that said, I'd enjoy a hamper too! Love stuff like that. But I wouldn't have any use for the actual hamper afterwards. If I were you I'd prob do 150 quid vouchers and 50 on fancy chocolates/cheap hamper or something.

In my town there's a business association for shops/restaurants, and they have their own vouchers. So you can spend them pretty much anywhere in town (shop locally!), including our high street chains but also independents. They're great, I've given them as presents often. I wouldn't fancy an Amazon voucher, I don't shop there.

Voucher. Absolutely not interested in a hamper

To be honest, I think the hamper is a nice touch, but personal preference aside I think most people would prefer the cash/voucher

You sound determined to do the hamper know you have happy memories and love the boxes but I guess it won't have the same meaning for others and it'll end up in recycling. You would be chucking money away.
A hamper is ok and I would say thank you but a voucher from Amazon or similar would be much more useful and indeed personal because people can get what they want whether it is a treat that they wouldn't normally get or something they really need.

John Lewis. I believe they can be spent in Waitrose too

Definitely the voucher. That way they can decide what they and their family most need or want as a treat. Try and get it for somewhere that gives them a lot of options. F&M hampers are lovely but it really depends on the person - I'm from a working class background and only discovered F&M was even a thing as an adult . If I got anything from there as a gift I would obviously appreciate it but as a work 'bonus', would prefer to have had the money as I know I could get myself a basket full of treats from Lidl cheaper which I would appreciate just as much and then have some left to get the kids a treat

We are doing e-gift vouchers, but that is because there are over 150 of us in team. If you're sending out physical stuff you need people's addresses, and it is against GDPR rules to get them from HR, so unless you already know where they live you are stuck.

Hamper will have a huge margin built in and items that aren't to an individuals taste.

Much rather £200 cash/voucher to spend on what I want. Even if it was a food-related one like Waitrose/M&S food - at least you can pick what you want and don't have the insane markup that putting a few products in a wicker basket attracts.