Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
James Rodger & Sophie McCoid

Employers urged to give staff £200 Christmas bonus after parties cancelled

Employers are being urged to give their staff a Christmas bonus, to compensate for the fact there won't be a festive party this year because of coronavirus.

Labour MP Chris Evans wrote an open letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, urging him to let businesses treat employees to a "few extra quid" at no cost to themselves.

Under the current rules companies can throw a tax-deductible festive party worth £150 a head if the event is open to all employees and for team-building purposes.

They are also allowed to give a tax-deductible gift of up to £50, such as a bottle of wine or Christmas dinner - reports Birmingham Live.

Mr Evans said in the letter: “It would be a good way for employers to say thank you to those who work for them and make up for the odd working conditions of 2020 - not to mention the ban on office parties.

“It’s win-win for everybody. The workers would get a few extra quid, it would be a morale booster for the company and it wouldn’t cost them an extra penny.

"It would be up to the employers to decide if they want to do this of course, but it would be a good way of saving money in the long run.

“And it might just save Christmas spirit for a few people along the way.”

It comes as Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said his team had been contacted by Michael Gove's office "to get a date in the diary this week" for a meeting to discuss Christmas.

Enter your postcode below to claim a free scratchcard

Mr Drakeford said: "The same message suggests that the UK Government now intend to have a weekly engagement with us all and I very much welcome that.

"I think it is good news that the first topic of discussion will be a common plan for Christmas because I very firmly believe that this is one of those areas where having an approach that is adopted across the United Kingdom is the right way to be able to offer hope to people here in Wales and elsewhere that we are are able to plan purposefully together for the season."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.