Broadway has introduced a voluntary benefits scheme as a way to reward staff while also keeping its fundraisers happy.

The not-for-profit organisation, which helps the homeless, currently offers staff a package that includes thirty days' holiday and said it could not justify allocating any more cash to perks.

Director of human resources Helen Giles said: "It's all about being able to do all the stuff that's good practice, but doing it in a way that isn't just throwing money [at staff]. Our funders, which tend to be local authorities, already don't like the amount of annual leave we give so we are having to do this really despite our funding environment."

The new voluntary benefits scheme, through which staff can access products including childcare vouchers and gym membership at discounted rates, was free to introduce.

"Big companies can say 'we want to get into that - so we will pay X to run all these sickness classes'. We can't do that, we have to create ways to do it on a shoestring," added Giles.