Emerald Publishing has enhanced its reward package with a raft of new benefits after an internal review revealed what its staff find important.
Following the introduction of a monthly working-from-home allowance in January, Emerald has now implemented Summer Fridays, where its UK office will closes at 1pm every Friday until September. In addition, it has introduced a new peer recognition programme which gives employees the opportunity to show their appreciation of their peers' efforts and input with an on-the-spot £10 monetary payment.
The organisation has also increased entitlements to enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave across all global location, extended its employee assistance programme to include a virtual GP and second medical opinion service, and launched health-related events to support workers’ health beyond standard sickness policies with targeted support plans.
The publishing firm made these changes in order to help employees feel more in control of juggling their work and personal responsibilities.
Katy Snell, people director at Emerald Publishing, said “With increasing living costs, listening to our employees to find out what is important and responding to them, no matter what life-stage they are at, is central to being a supportive employer. We will continue to regularly review all our benefits to ensure they are relevant and working as well as they should be for our organisation and people. With an established remote and hybrid workforce, relevant work-life balance benefits are more important than ever.”
Earlier this year, Emerald was recognised as one of the top 100 most flexible employers to work for in 2023.