New research carried out by card payment provider, Paymentsense, reveals Bratislava in Slovakia is the best city in the world for workplace benefits.
From attracting and keeping talent, to complying with local and national laws, the benefits a company offers its staff can be ‘make or break’ for many current or prospective employees.
With this in mind, Paymentsense created the work-life culture index to reveal the countries and cities across the globe that are the best for employee benefits. Alongside this, the study also analysed over 647,000 job adverts to discover the most commonly advertised employee benefits promoted by UK businesses.
These are the employee benefits most commonly advertised by UK businesses in 2022
The UK may not have made the top 20 countries for standard employee benefits, but many companies are becoming more innovative with their perks going above the basic requirements.
With this in mind, Paymentsense analysed 647,687 job adverts from job site Indeed to see how UK companies are promoting their benefits. These were the ones that showed up the most.
The top 20 employee benefits advertised by businesses in the UK:
|
Rank |
Benefit |
% of jobs advertised with this benefit |
|
1 |
Company pension |
16.6% |
|
2 |
On-site parking |
15.1% |
|
3 |
Bonus scheme |
12.0% |
|
4 |
Cycle to work scheme |
11.5% |
|
5 |
Hybrid |
9.6% |
|
6 |
Employee discount |
8.6% |
|
7 |
Flexible schedule |
8.4% |
|
8 |
Discounted or free food |
6.1% |
|
9 |
Childcare |
5.5% |
|
10 |
Work from home options |
5.5% |
|
11 |
Company events |
5.2% |
|
12 |
Gym membership |
5.1% |
|
13 |
Remote |
5.1% |
|
14 |
Private medical insurance |
4.7% |
|
15 |
Life insurance |
4.4% |
|
16 |
Referral programme |
4.0% |
|
17 |
Wellness programmes |
3.5% |
|
18 |
Free parking |
3.4% |
|
19 |
Company car |
3.1% |
|
20 |
Birthday day off |
1.2% |
Company pensions are the most popular workplace benefit advertised online
16.6% of job ads live right now advertise their companies workplace pension as a key employee benefit. Some companies may offer more generous schemes than others, however, in the UK all employers are required to offer a workplace pension scheme by law.
15.1% of UK companies advertise on-site parking as a key perk of the job. While 12% advertise bonuses, and 11.5% of companies advertise their cycle to work schemes, helping you afford the cost of a new bike.
Hybrid, remote and flexible working options have been brought to the fore over the past two years. Even with restrictions lifted, the world’s employees are reluctant to go back to how things were before causing companies to continue offering and advertising working from home as a perk.
More and more companies are playing with the idea of a four-day working week. It’s now listed on 0.2% of all live job ads, giving employees more flexibility with their time and longer weekends.
The global work-life culture index: The top 20 cities for employee benefits
Over 40 countries (and their most populated cities) were scored and ranked on a range of standard benefits offered by companies worldwide. These include the average working hours, paid maternity leave, vacation allowance, average salaries, average retirement age and more.
Each city was then scored and weighted giving them a total work-life culture index score out of 100. So which city ranked highest for its standard workplace benefits?
|
Rank |
Country |
Most populated city |
Hours worked per week * |
Number of paid weeks maternity leave |
% amount of salary paid for maternity leave |
Average number of paid vacation days ** |
Paid public holidays |
Total paid leave *** |
Average retirement age |
Total work-life culture index score (/100) |
|
1 |
Slovakia |
Bratislava |
32.6 |
34 |
75 |
25 |
15 |
40 |
62.67 |
77.1 |
|
2 |
France |
Paris |
28.9 |
16 |
90 |
37 |
11 |
48 |
62 |
72.9 |
|
3 |
Malta |
St Paul’s Bay |
36.8 |
18 |
86 |
27 |
14 |
41 |
63 |
69.3 |
|
4 |
Norway |
Oslo |
26.6 |
13 |
94 |
25 |
10 |
35 |
62 |
63.2 |
|
5 |
Austria |
Vienna |
31 |
16 |
100 |
25 |
13 |
38 |
65 |
62.5 |
|
6 |
Finland |
Helsinki |
30.6 |
17.5 |
74 |
25 |
11 |
36 |
63.75 |
62.5 |
|
7 |
Poland |
Warsaw |
38.9 |
20 |
100 |
26 |
13 |
39 |
65 |
61.8 |
|
8 |
South Korea |
Seoul |
38.1 |
12.9 |
80 |
25 |
15 |
40 |
62 |
60.0 |
|
9 |
Bulgaria |
Sofia |
31.6 |
58.6 |
90 |
20 |
12 |
32 |
64.33 |
58.6 |
|
10 |
Slovenia |
Ljubljana |
30.6 |
15 |
100 |
20 |
13 |
33 |
60 |
57.5 |
|
11 |
Iceland |
Reykjavík |
28 |
13 |
68 |
24 |
14 |
38 |
67 |
54.6 |
|
12 |
Sweden |
Stockholm |
30.9 |
12.9 |
77 |
25 |
9 |
34 |
62 |
54.3 |
|
13 |
Denmark |
Copenhagen |
26.6 |
18 |
53 |
25 |
11 |
36 |
66.5 |
53.9 |
|
14 |
Lithuania |
Vilnius |
36.3 |
18 |
100 |
20 |
14 |
34 |
64 |
53.9 |
|
15 |
Hungary |
Budapest |
33.2 |
24 |
70 |
20 |
13 |
33 |
64.5 |
51.8 |
|
16 |
Czech Republic |
Prague |
34.4 |
28 |
61 |
20 |
13 |
33 |
63.83 |
50.4 |
|
17 |
Spain |
Madrid |
32.4 |
16 |
100 |
22 |
11 |
33 |
66 |
50.4 |
|
18 |
Croatia |
Zagreb |
35.2 |
30 |
100 |
20 |
13 |
33 |
65 |
50.0 |
|
19 |
Estonia |
Tallinn |
34.6 |
20 |
100 |
20 |
11 |
31 |
63.75 |
48.6 |
|
20 |
Japan |
Tokyo |
32.5 |
14 |
67 |
20 |
16 |
36 |
65 |
48.6 |
*2019 average | **Based on a five day working week | ***Based on five day working week and the maximum days allowed.
1) Bratislava, Slovakia offers the best work benefits in the world
It might not be the first place you think of when it comes to a great work/life culture, but Slovakia is full of surprises. The city of Bratislava offers better workplace benefits than anywhere else, including 15 paid public holidays, 40 days of annual leave on average, and a relatively low retirement age of 62.67. But what really seals the top spot for Bratislava is their maternal policy. With 34 weeks of paid maternity leave, they’re one of the most generous places of all when it comes to taking time off for your baby.
2) France’s Paris is the second-best city for workplace perks
Possibly the most romantic city in the world, and definitely the second-best for workplace benefits, Paris offers many great reasons to make the move. While it only provides 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, it will cover 90% of your salary for that time, and gives workers 48 days of annual leave on average – more than any other city. The average working week is only 28.9 hours, giving you plenty of time to enjoy the atmosphere. So it is no wonder Emily moved to Paris.
3) St Paul’s Bay in Malta is the third best city for workplace perks
If you like the idea of working with a view, look no further than the stunning St Paul’s Bay. The Maltese city offers coastal living, beautiful beaches and fantastic food, and if you can pull yourself away from all that, the working benefits aren’t bad either. You’ll get 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, 41 days of paid leave and an average retirement age of 63 – leaving you free to enjoy your surroundings.
No UK city makes the top 20 for workplace benefits
Sadly for UK workers, our benefits are someway behind the rest of the world. While mums can get a whole year off for maternity leave, only the first six weeks will see them take home 90% of the pay.
For the rest of that time, they’ll only receive £156.66, unless 90% of their annual weekly earnings is already lower, in which case they’ll keep getting that. An average of 36 days off annual leave, including eight public holidays, puts the UK somewhere in the top half of the table, but an average retirement age of 64.7 drags our total score down.
Why employee benefits are so important and how small businesses can get involved
Jon Knott, Head of Customer Insights at Paymentsense commented:
“The workplace benefits offered by companies are becoming increasingly important across the world as new ways of working and employee needs change and evolve.
“As a result of Covid-19, it is estimated that 42% of companies are planning to significantly improve their benefit programmes as offering a good salary on its own isn’t enough anymore – more and more workers are looking for benefits that make working somewhere worth it.
“The benefits offered by a company can make a huge difference to an employee’s wellbeing, productivity and loyalty. This ultimately benefits the company too as it will help attract and retain staff, whilst building a positive and rewarding culture.
“Smaller businesses might not have the finances to offer big financial perks, but you can still make your company a great place to work. Flexible working hours allow your employees to do what’s important to them, such as dropping their kids off at work or getting some exercise. Hybrid working is also a good option, as it helps you attract talent from a wider pool of people. This can be especially useful if you’re based in a more remote location.”
To see the full report, please visit here.
