Employee Benefits Live 2025: Airline Jet2 prioritises sustainability across its benefits strategy and social value framework, using staff feedback to ensure accountability.
Part of the sustainable reward stream, the session titled Reward with purpose: Jet2’s journey to a more sustainable benefits strategy was presented by Miriam D’souli, HR director at the airline. It was sponsored by Tusker.
Its workforce is spread across multiple countries, so ensuring inclusivity across its benefits can be a challenge. While speaking to the delegates at Employee Benefits Live 2025 at ExCel, D’souli explained that inclusion and access is key, and that it is important to make the right decisions when introducing benefits.
“It’s critical to give staff what they want, it’s a waste of time offering them something they’re not interested in,” she said.
In July 2024, Jet2 replaced its previous company car scheme with an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme, provided by Tusker. This helps with its net zero goal and enables it to offset 2,000 tonnes of carbon. The airline considers it to be a useful retention tool, as it enables staff to purchase a new car, sometimes for the first time.
“We have a wide range of salaries in our workforce, so tried to be as inclusive as possible for everyone with the salary sacrifice scheme. However, some staff couldn’t use the benefit, so we gave thorough explanations to them about why this was. We tend to have a higher uptake from staff in higher tax brackets, and offer the benefit to their families as well. It helps them to feel good about making a contribution to the environment,” D’souli said.
The airline aims to inspire staff to embrace a more sustainable benefits strategy by having sustainability champions and training each year. It also offers its UK employees renewable energy support, a bikes-for-work scheme and a park and ride discount.
Not everyone in the Jet2 workforce is desk-based, so it can be a challenge reaching a diverse audience, stated D’souli.
“Pilots and some of the ground employees have iPads. We also communicate information via emails sent to both personal and professional emails, through apps where we drop documents, have flyers and briefings in crew rooms, and make the most of WhatsApp groups. Word of mouth is key,” she said.
