New research has ranked the charity sector as the third most generous industry for workplace perks.
Reward Gateway | Edenred analysed 8,714 UK job adverts across 37 job categories on Reed.co.uk, including their advertised perks and salaries, to reveal which sectors offered the most and fewest workplace perks.
The employee engagement platform provider found that the charity industry offered 157 perks per 100 jobs sampled and paid an average salary of £42,720.
It said the sector’s salary “sits around the middle of the table, showing that a strong benefits package doesn’t always follow the biggest pay packet”.
“Charities cannot always match higher corporate salaries, so they often compete on non-financial perks instead,” it said.
“Lower pay is typically compensated with time off, often 25 to 34 days’ holiday, plus flexible hours and sabbaticals.
“Other frequently offered perks, from season-ticket loans to cycle-to-work schemes, are largely cost-neutral to most charities but highly valued by their staff.”
Legal industry leading the way
Reward Gateway | Edenred scored every industry on the number of perks advertised per 100 jobs sampled, counting everything from private healthcare, pensions and bonuses to flexible working and extra holiday.
Its analysis finds that the legal industry offered the most perks on average, with 163 perks offered per 100 jobs sampled and an average salary of £52,668.
This was followed by qualified accountancy, which was also the highest-paying sector of all 37, at £61,265 for its average salary.
Conversely, the sector advertising the fewest perks was graduate training and internships, offering 39 per 100 jobs sampled.
Manufacturing was found to have the second fewest perks, at 59 per 100 jobs sampled.
The report says this could be partly explained by most manufacturing roles being site-based, meaning there is a limit to some of the perks that can be offered such as flexible, remote or hybrid working.
Engineering was third from the bottom of the table. With 6,975 live roles, it had more vacancies than any other sector analysed, and offered 59.13 perks per 100 jobs sampled, less than half the number offered in the charity sector.
Hybrid working proved the most popular
Hybrid working was the most popular of all the perks analysed, with 1,121 mentions across all industries.
Together, hybrid, flexible and remote working, alongside working from home, had 3,258 mentions, which was more than the other six perks in the top 10 combined (2,812).
“Notably, these come at little or no direct cost to employers, which may explain why they are so widely offered,” the analysis says.
The fourth most popular perk was the first that comes at a direct cost to employers – employee assistance programmes – with 643 mentions.
The report says “for employers in sectors facing skills shortages, a stronger benefits offering could be a simple way to stand out from the competition, attract the talent they need and keep it”.
Chris Britton, people experience director at Reward Gateway | Edenred, said: “There’s a persistent assumption that a strong salary will always win the war for talent.
“But our research tells a more nuanced story, with industries like the charity sector offering some of the best perks alongside an average salary.
“Pay might get a candidate’s attention, but benefits, flexibility and wellbeing are increasingly what make them stay at companies for many years to come.”
