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Recruiting talented employees can be expensive and time-consuming. So, once you’ve built a strong team, giving them a good reason to stay can benefit your business in the long run.
Perhaps one of the best ways to do this is with an employee benefits package.
Research reported by HR Magazine found that 6 in 10 employees believe their benefits package is inadequate, while 7 in 10 would leave their current employer for a company offering better perks.
This shows that a competitive salary alone may not be enough to keep your team together. Offering benefits that support employees’ lives outside of work could help your business stand out from competitors and build a loyal workforce.
Read more: Business owner? How boosting employee satisfaction could save your company money
Keep reading to discover five less conventional employee benefits you might consider to attract and retain top talent.
1. Career sabbaticals
A sabbatical lets employees take several weeks or months off work without permanently leaving their job.
Depending on the policy, the break might be:
- Fully paid
- Partially paid
- Unpaid
Employees could use this time to travel, study, care for relatives, or volunteer.
For a valued employee who wants several months away, the alternative might be to resign altogether. Offering a sabbatical, meanwhile, could give them the flexibility needed while allowing you to retain their experience when they return.
You could limit the benefit to employees who have completed a certain number of years with the business, further encouraging long-term retention.
Before introducing sabbaticals, it’s worth thinking about:
- How long an employee must work for you before becoming eligible
- Whether leave will be paid
- The maximum length of a break and how often they’re allowed to happen
- How pension contributions and other benefits will work during the break
- How you will cover the employee’s responsibilities.
These clear rules could make the benefit easier to manage while still offering employees something useful.
2. Private healthcare
Private health insurance is becoming increasingly valuable as NHS waiting lists have remained under pressure in recent years.
Depending on the cover you choose, employees may be able to access private appointments, diagnostic tests, mental health support, and treatment.
In addition to encouraging retention, private healthcare could further benefit your business if an employee develops a health problem that affects their ability to work.
The CIPD reports that UK employees took an average of 9.4 days of sick leave in 2025, compared to 5.8 days before the Covid-19 pandemic.
While private healthcare won’t eliminate sickness entirely, it could mean you help an employee access treatment sooner. This could potentially reduce the time a health problem affects them and their work.
Remember: employer-funded private medical insurance is typically treated as a “benefit in kind”, so there may be tax and National Insurance implications for you and your employees.
3. Pet care benefits
A lesser-known and often overlooked benefit to support employees and encourage retention could be pet insurance.
For someone who considers their cat or dog part of the family, it could be incredibly useful.
Research published by the Reward and Employee Benefits Association found that a third of UK pet owners had used annual or unpaid leave to take a pet to the vet or care for them. What’s more, 77% experienced some or significant stress when budgeting for their pet’s healthcare.
Pet-care benefits could include:
- Discounted or employer-funded pet insurance
- Access to virtual vet appointments
- A small amount of paid emergency pet-care leave
- Discounts for dog walks or pet-sitting services.
Benefits such as these could show that you understand employees have responsibilities outside of work.
4. Unlimited annual or sick leave
The minimum annual leave entitlement for most UK workers is 5.6 weeks a year. However, some employers go further and offer “unlimited” leave.
This allows employees to take additional holidays, provided their work is complete, and the business can manage their absence.
You could increase annual leave after a number of years of service, offer employees additional wellbeing days, or allow them to “buy” extra holidays.
Additional sick leave could also reassure employees that they won’t immediately lose income if they become unwell.
Just note that you need to manage unlimited leave carefully.
Without clear guidelines, employees may be unsure about how much time they can take, while too many absences could cause problems for smaller businesses.
So, you may want to create a flexible work culture that gives employees options while you retain the control to run the business effectively.
5. Family-building benefits
According to People Management, 38% of UK employees undergoing fertility treatment had considered leaving their job due to the way they were treated.
Fertility treatment can involve medical appointments, unexpected changes to schedules, and high costs. Yet, many workplaces don’t specifically address it.
You could offer paid leave for fertility and family-building appointments, or flexible hours during treatment. Or, you may wish to support adoption and surrogacy efforts.
Of course, for small- and medium-sized businesses, losing an experienced employee could involve months of lost experience while their replacement gets up to speed.
Still, a family-building policy could cost relatively little compared to replacing a member of staff.
Get in touch
We have experience supporting business owners with reviewing competitive benefits packages that could reward existing employees while making your company more attractive for recruits.
Email hello@sovereign-ifa.co.uk or call us on 01454 416653.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Approved by Best Practice IFA Group Ltd on: 22/09/26