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BenefitsCycle to WorkLatest NewsRetailFamily-friendly benefits

Retail employers offering fewer perks to offset wage rise

by Jo Faragher 26 Mar 2025
by Jo Faragher 26 Mar 2025 Staff discounts remain a popular retail perk, but many employers are cutting back on benefits
Staff discounts remain a popular retail perk, but many employers are cutting back on benefits

Employers in the retail sector are cutting back on workplace benefits in a bid to offset costs ahead of next week’s minimum wage hike.

According to an analysis of job ads by recruitment platform Adzuna found that some employers are cutting back on perks by as much as 60%.

Common benefits such as flexible working, enhanced pensions, eyecare, private healthcare and dental care are all down, it found. Flexible working offers dropped by 59%, enhanced pensions by 42%, eyecare by 28%, private healthcare by 23%, and dental care by 21%.

The company analysed 72,193 job ads in the retail sector in February 2025, February 2024 and October 2024, tracking the number of job ads promoting different work perks over the past year.

Retail employers

Currys increases hourly pay by 6%

M&S boss backs call to phase in employers’ NIC increase 

A 6.7% increase to the national minimum wage was announced in Rachel Reeves’ first budget as chancellor in October 2024.

Retail companies are also expected to be hit hard by an increase in employers’ national insurance contributions to 15%, which also come into force from 6 April.

Adzuna found that in February 2025, the most popular retail work perk was employee discounts. There were over 16,000 job ads offering employee discounts, down by 45% year-on-year and 34% compared to five months ago.

Employee assistance programmes were the next most popular benefit (13,518 jobs), followed by gym membership (9,781 jobs).

Cycle to work schemes remained a popular benefit, but were down by 37% since the national minimum wage announcement.

Although some benefits were removed or less frequently on offer, enhanced maternity and paternity leave increased by almost a quarter (23%).

The number of retail employers offering employees a holiday on their birthday went up by 7%. Adoption leave also increased by 2%.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said it was clear retail employers were “tightening their purse strings”.

“While the sector is already grappling with labour shortages and high time-to-fill, the nuance of the UK’s slowing economy and reduced consumer spending are compounding the challenge,” he added.

“In response to rising salary costs, many retailers are scaling back on perks, yet these benefits often play a key role in attracting and retaining talent, creating a Catch-22 situation.

“To stay competitive, employers must find a balance between rising talent cost with an ongoing labour shortage or explore new ways to attract talent.”

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Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

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