Despite being a legal requirement, only 41% of employers listed pensions as a perk that potential employees can expect if their application is successful.
Communications provider Moneypenny analysed 1,000 job advertisements on Indeed.com to discover the most popular and unique benefits on offer, as well as the industries that boast the greatest number of perks.
A pension scheme was followed by working from home, with 22% of listings promoting this benefit and 11% referencing flexible working. The third most mentioned benefit was having access to a gym, with 12% of employers offering this.
Wellbeing benefits included healthcare (3%), annual flu jabs (0.5%), yoga sessions (0.4%), and access to free counselling services (0.2%). Just 0.1% offered time off after the loss of a child, 0.8% provided access to a 24/7 first aid response for physical and mental issues, and 0.4% had a dedicated mental health support service.
The data revealed that 0.2% of listings added planting a tree for every new employee hired to their list of benefits, while others included beauty treatments and products, ice cream and burger vans on Fridays, creative workspaces with beanbags, and a free Spotify subscription.
Additionally, the digital marketing industry provided the greatest number of added benefits, with an average of 6.5 perks. This was followed by the data industry, with 6.3 offered per role.
Ceri Henfrey, chief operating officer at Moneypenny, believes that one of the ways to keep staff happy is to give them competitive and useful benefits that will enhance their working experience.
“We’re not surprised to see flexible working, wellbeing programmes and more fun-focused perks being featured across the listings we analysed, however it would be amazing to see more companies following suit in the future,” she said.
