6 meaningful gifts for employees
Gifts to employees are always a thoughtful gesture. There are many different occasions to give your team colleagues a small gift.
Small gifts for employees at Christmas
As mentioned above, there are several reasons to put a smile on your colleagues’ faces with a gift.
Occasions may include the following:
- Birthday
- Christmas
- Birth
- Wedding
- Farewell
- Reintegration after a long illness
- Long vacation / sabbatical
- Passing the probationary period
Especially during the Christmas season, when things get reflective, employees are happy when they are appreciated. The current situation with coronavirus and working from home is also demanding a lot from everyone. A small gift from the employer is a welcome gesture.
Gifts to employees: What you need to bear in mind
As soon as gifts are distributed to colleagues, the monthly non-cash benefit exemption limit comes into play. Until the end of 2021, this is €44 per month. From January 2022, the exemption limit will be increased to €50 per month.
As long as this limit has not yet been exhausted elsewhere, you can give your employees a treat within this framework.
However, if the team receives other benefits in kind, such as a gym membership, a gift in kind can only be given free of tax and social security contributions up to this value.
Vouchers & prepaid cards as an employee gift
In today’s digital world, gift cards of all kinds are a popular gift from employers for employees.
From 2022, vouchers and cash cards will only be valid for the purchase of goods or services and must meet the criteria of the Payment Services Supervision Act.
This results in the following 3 categories:
1. limited networks § 2 para. 1 no. 10 letter a ZAG
This category includes voucher cards from retail chains, stores and regional city cards.
2. limited product range § 2 para. 1 no. 10 letter b ZAG
This category includes, for example, fuel cards or voucher cards for a bookstore. Wellness and fitness cards as well as movie tickets can also be found here.
3. instruments for tax & social purposes § 2 para. 1 no. 10 lit. c ZAG
This includes, among other things, meal vouchers.
Special feature: Tax-free employee gifts up to €60
Gifts for personal events such as a birthday, wedding or the birth of a child are tax-free up to €60.
An employee anniversary is also one of these personal events. Christmas, on the other hand, is not and therefore the gift should not be so expensive.
It should also be noted here that the attention limit of €60 is a gross amount. This means that VAT is included here.
Meaningful gift ideas for employees
Now you are probably asking yourself the question: What can I give my employees as a gift? We have put together 6 useful and meaningful gifts for employees.
Noise-canceling headphones
Every employee needs a bit of peace and quiet to concentrate on their tasks.
It is particularly useful if you reward your colleagues with modern headphones. This way, everyone can retreat into their own world of thought and with the right music on their ears, some creative solutions and ideas may come much faster.
Really practical: the headphones can also be branded in the company color. This makes the headphones an eye-catcher.
Journal, mindfulness planner, diary
Organization doesn’t always have to be dull and boring. With the help of stylish planners, journals or diaries, your employees can reflect on past work and plan better for the future.
There are now various offers to be found online. One good example is “A good plan”. The mindfulness calendar proves that you have more than just appointments on your mind and offers a 50-page life planner to take stock of your current situation.
This gives your team the opportunity for self-reflection and self-awareness. The planner also focuses on mindfulness and stress prevention, which can have a positive impact on your employees and their work.
This gift shows that you value your team.
Audiobook subscription
There are now a number of providers of audio books. It would be a varied and nice gift to enrich employees with them.
Whether it’s exciting criminal cases, thrilling thrillers, funny comedies or enriching biographies. Many audiobook providers also have podcasts in their repertoire.
These are usually also useful for acquiring new knowledge. This is definitely a gift that your colleagues will benefit from.
Gifts from the surrounding area
Show your employees how great, exciting and diverse the surroundings of your company location are.
This type of gift can be related to food and drink, for example. A unique wine or a popular pastry is always a nice gift.
Tickets for the following activities in the vicinity are also a welcome gift:
- Thermal baths
- Leisure & adventure park
- Museums
- Exhibitions
- Vernissage
Digital magazine subscription
Journals and magazines live digitally and therefore also offer subscriptions. A digital magazine subscription is therefore a great idea as a gift for your employees.
Particularly practical: you can select a magazine that makes sense for you, which will also benefit your team.
And best of all: your team colleagues are always well informed.
Access to learning platforms
The world lives digitally and so do we learn today. That’s why there are platforms such as Masterclass or Masterplan that offer videos from professionals in certain fields.
There we learn what has made them so successful or what they deal with during their work.
We learn about the latest digital trends or important information about history, culture and co.
We hope that you have also been able to find beautiful and meaningful gifts for employees here.
