Are fringe benefits being cut?

Watching this BBC news video is likely to make you want to apply to John Lewis for a job. The story looks at the range of perks which are being withdrawn by some employers during the recession and need to make cut-backs - topical in the light both of the new Prime Minister’s move to reduce the costs of chauffer-driven cars for ministers and also of the on-going BA dispute which now seems to centre around the withdrawal of perks. But at John Lewis the staff bonuses and other fringe benefits are still very much part of the package, and seem to work well for the employer that is regularly voted at the top of the customer service league tables - the suggestion is that here is an example of a fringe benefit really increasing the motivation to provide the service that the customer wants.

There is also an article here, written in March this year, which looks at precisely what benefits BA staff have become accustomed to. When the video report was shown on BBC Breakfast on Friday it was followed by a discussion with Laura Tennison, who will be speaking at the tutor2u Business Teachers Conference later this month, in which she gave a robust view of the need to give all employees the same perks, regardless of their grade or length of service, and had a clear preference for giving people more money as a reward rather than offering fringe benefits such as gym membership or health insurance which may not be equally highly valued by everyone. She also discussed the difficulty of removing a fringe benefit, which is not part of the employment contract, when the employer no longer wishes to provide it, but the employee has got used to it. Unfortunately this interview does not seem to be available from the BBC website - I will keep looking for it and post the link to it if it becomes available