In the face of accepted practice what do they do about a “little something” for the staff ? On the one hand they could throw an office party, which is quite handy for the parsimonious amongst us as a small outlay can cover many people. On the other hand each person could receive a generous envelope stuffed with cash ( declared on the PAYE of course) . So if you decide upon the latter does that let you off the hook for another year ?

The true answer is “not really” . Staff are human beings and like the boss, who is sometimes a human being but regrettably not always, they really do appreciate something extra, preferably in £ .

That means that you should be looking at bonuses after the year end accounts are produced to share the bounty amongst them. another time could be a special event or anniversary in the business. If the firm is doing well the staff will be be aware and want to be recognised beyond their pay packet. The beauty of a bonus is that when times are leaner you can pay less.

And it doesn’t stop there. A bonus can be spread of several months pay packets , so in effect staff could be getting something extra for up to half of their monthly pay packets. Not only does it keep them sweet for longer it also allows them to have a savings scheme of sorts, as lots of people simply blow a one-off bonus and then regret it afterwards.

It is not rocket science but it does require careful thought and planning.

As they say in Tesco “Every little helps”

Look on it as investment in your primary assets