Employee perks, benefits and bonuses

Name: Perks and benefits trends
Creator: Robert Half

2027 UK Salary Guide

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Competitive pay remains essential for attracting and retaining top talent in the UK, but it’s only one part of how professionals evaluate an opportunity. Employee benefits, bonuses and flexibility help increase the impact of job offers without relying on broad increases in base pay. A robust perks and benefits strategy can help organisations compete for skilled talent, recognise top performers and strengthen retention.

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Optimising benefits and perks

of hiring managers say their company negotiates perks and benefits with candidates

of employed jobseekers cite wanting better perks and benefits as the main reason they plan to look for a new job

Perks and benefits trends

As flexibility continues to be a key priority for UK employees, 58% of hiring managers report being likely to negotiate flexibility-related perks and benefits. Alongside flexible offerings, employers are also investing in wellbeing and long-term financial support as part of their total rewards strategies.

62%

offer mental health resources or Employee Assistance Programmes

62%

offer private pension plans/retirement savings

45%

offer sabbaticals or paid leave of absence benefits

Bonuses

of hiring managers expect to award higher bonuses than last year

are willing to negotiate bonuses and other financial incentives, such as profit-sharing

include agreed bonuses as part of their benefits package

of professionals say an agreed bonus is the most important benefit when evaluating a potential employer

Think beyond salary

Work-life
balance/
flexibility Financial
incentives Health and
wellness Learning and
development Work-life
balance/
flexibility Financial
incentives Health and
wellness Learning and
development

Perks and benefits workers value most

These benefits and perks rank highly with professionals evaluating a new employer.

Agreed bonus (45%)

Staff benefits hub (special offers, reductions) (44%)

Flexible benefits programme (43%)

Financial allowance for working from home (38%)

Mental health resources/assistance programmes (31%)

Emerging offerings to watch

Employers are evolving perks and benefits offerings to address employee well-being, manage costs and meet family-related support needs. These emerging benefits can help organisations stand out with specialised talent and respond to changing employee expectations. 30% of professionals cite family and caregiving benefits as the top incentive that would motivate them to move jobs.

Childcare vouchers/assistance: 38%

On-site childcare: 30%

Reproductive health benefits (e.g. egg and sperm collection, IVF treatment): 15%

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The salary benchmarks in the UK Salary Guide From Robert Half are the result of a rigorous, multistep process designed to reflect projected market trends for 2027. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has placed across the UK, along with 365k third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use for independent validation.

Non-salary data referenced in the UK Salary Guide is based on online surveys developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Robert Half commissioned research amongst 1,500 respondents using an online data collection methodology. The respondents represent 500 hiring managers and 1,000 workers in finance and accounting, IT and technology, administrative and office support, marketing and creative, and legal. Respondents are drawn from a sample of small-to-midsized enterprises (20-249 employees), and large (250-plus employees) private, publicly listed and public sector organisations across the UK.