shops

More than one in 10 (12%) of Southwark Council's 4,500 employees have signed up for its retail discount scheme in the three months since the benefit was introduced.

Southwark Council launched a tailored platform, provided by Sodexo, that incorporates its existing employee benefits and two newly introduced benefits: childcare vouchers and shopping discounts.

The shopping discounts allow staff to save up to 15% at high street shops and online retailers.

The childcare vouchers scheme is offered on a salary sacrifice basis.

The council implemented the branded platform and new benefits in order to enhance and add value to its existing benefits package.

Barrie Lambert, corporate HR practitioner at Southwalk Council said: “Our employees are a prized resource and it is important to recognise the good work that our staff do. However, in the current climate, we needed to look at different ways of rewarding employees.

“The platform can [work] as a mechanism for saying thank you to our employees. These benefits support our commitment to work-life balance and helping parents save money on their childcare costs.

“We have introduced these two benefits at no additional cost to the council […] to support our workforce strategy.”