Dog parks, free cars and yoga classes: Work perks at the UK’s Top Companies

With unemployment in the UK currently at just 4.3%, there’s high demand for talent, which is forcing companies to think a little more about what they offer employees – are their salaries competitive enough? Are their company values and mission appealing to potential employees? And what added extras do they have on offer to entice candidates and make team members feel valued?

More and more companies are seeing the value of offering perks to their workers – it could be anything from free fruit, tea and coffee to a company car or private healthcare. The firms on this year’s Top Companies list are no exception – I spoke to them to find out what perks and benefits they provide. Here are a few examples of what’s on offer:

A happy birthday indeed – On top of their five-week holiday allowance, employees at ASOS all get their birthday off work each year.

Planning ahead – The BBC has a pension matching scheme, which sees it match the contributions an employee makes to their retirement savings, up to a maximum of 10% of their salary.

One for the dog lovers – Amazon welcomes canine companions in almost all of its corporate HQ offices. You’ll see dogs at meetings, at desks and over at the firm’s on-site dog park in Seattle.

Time out – McKinsey & Company offers a scheme called ‘Take Time’, giving employees an extra five to 10 weeks off between projects to do whatever they wish. Employees have used this in the past to gain a pilot’s license, write a book, volunteer, take care of family and tour with their band.

Paid leave for new parents – Tech giant Facebook’s parental leave policy covers four months of paid leave for all new parents, no matter their gender or where in the world they live.

Giving back – On top of their annual leave allowance, Salesforce employees get seven days of paid time off every year to give back to causes that are meaningful to them. To date, Salesforce employees have spent 2+ million hours volunteering around the world.

Flexible hours for new mums – At Vodafone, women returning to work after having a baby have the option to work four days a week, while being paid for five days. It’s a perk that’s offered for a duration of six months.

Employee discounts – Employees at Goldman Sachs get free and discounted admission to museums, art events, parks, and zoos in cities around the world as well as discounts on car rentals and purchases, travel and more.

Free entertainment – At Sky, employees get a free TV, phone and broadband package plus exclusive deals on other Sky products.

Extra holiday – If you work at EY, you get up to 27 days annual leave with the option to buy and sell days off, too. Lloyds Banking Group also lets workers buy or sell the equivalent of a week’s holiday.

Flexible working – Computer company Dell is big into flexible working. It offers a wide variety of flexible work arrangement options, from full-time remote, to select days on campus, to job-sharing and more. One of Dell's goals is to encourage eligible team members to enroll in flexible work programs, increasing global participation to 50% by 2020.

New wheels – All of Volkswagen’s permanent employees or those with the company for periods of six months or more (on a contractual basis) get a brand new car every four months.

Romantic breaks – Virgin Hotels celebrates Valentine’s Day by giving all their new employees a voucher to stay at the hotel for a night with a guest, so they can experience what their customers experience.

Encouraging fitness – At Barclays, there’s a team dedicated to health and wellbeing, which runs a programme of events and challenges each year. In 2016/17 employees could purchase discounted Fitbits and compete with each other through fitness forums.

Doctor, doctor – Recently, HSBC launched a new perk for its UK employees – access to free appointments with GPs via phone or video, which removes the need for workers to take time off to travel to their local doctors surgery.

Top facilities – At the HQ of Richemont, employees can enjoy a high-quality restaurant, fitness room, yoga classes, pilates classes, tennis courts, and fitness classes on a nearby lake. Unfortunately for the firm’s UK-based employees, the HQ isn’t here in Blighty, it’s over in Switzerland.

Check out all 25 of the firms that made this year’s Top Companies list for the UK.

What company perks would you most like to see on offer at your workplace? Let me know in the comments.