It’s not been an easy week for Canadians. First they get a new and, ahem, interesting neighbour running things south of the border, prompting so many Americans to panic-Google emigration plans they caused the Canadian immigration website to crash.
And now someone’s turned off the beer tap.
Well, sort of. One of the country’s biggest brewers, Labatt (part of AB InBev), has announced it’s calling time on what is arguably one of the most compelling employee benefits schemes out there: free beer for life.
While active employees will continue to receive an allowance of free booze, the company’s retirees will soon be left out in the cold. Labatt is planning to phase out their beer benefits over the next two years.
Unsurprisingly, the news hasn’t gone down well. Labatt has been at pains to stress none of its competitors are currently offering anything as generous as its own scheme, but that will be of little consolation to OAPs who got used to getting sozzled on the cheap.
The Labatt announcement throws a spotlight on an aspect of staff relations that rarely gets a lot of attention. At a time when the fair wage debate is (rightly) front of mind for employers and employees alike, it’s easy for ‘soft’ benefits like free or subsidised food to be forgotten.
But these benefits can add enormous value for employees, and in many cases far beyond the monetary value they represent (though in some cases that is considerable). Crucially, they are often seen as an important indicator of a company’s generosity of spirit and wider attitude towards staff.
The food & drink sector – thanks to the many positive and well-established cultural connotations around food sharing and gifting – is perfectly placed to make the most of this. And plenty of the industry’s employers are already doing precisely that.
There’s free Häagen-Dazs ice cream for employees at General Mills, weekly staff potatoes and special Christmas hampers at potato supplier Branston, and staff at the Saclà head office are entitled to take home as many pesto, pasta sauces and antipasti as they like – and there’s free pesto cake every Thursday.
Meanwhile, at Apetito, the meal delivery company, staff each receive a free turkey at Christmas. “It’s lighthearted, yes, but it is also a clear demonstration of the way our business cares about employees,” says a spokeswoman. “We believe everyone has the right to a meal at Christmas, so all of our employees around the UK will be given a turkey to enable them to have a fantastic Christmas meal.”
With healthy eating moving up the agenda, providing varied, healthy breakfast and lunch options at work is also becoming an increasingly important USP for employers – and food & drink companies are likely to face especially high expectations in that regard. Kellogg’s, for example, provides free cereal and milk for all members of staff in the mornings at its head office as well as training in food and nutrition. It also runs a discount cereal and snacks shop that is open to all staff – including retirees. “Our discounted product shop is an established company benefit and is a nice way to reward employee loyalty and hard work, both present and in retirement,” says a spokeswoman.
Free beer for life may not be the most financially sustainable initiative (as Labatt clearly realised), but there’s no question being generous with food benefits can pay serious dividends in staff satisfaction and retention rates. At a time when these are among the biggest challenges the food & drink sector faces, perhaps it’s time to start shouting more loudly about the uniquely delicious benefits working in this industry can bring.
For more examples of food-related employee benefits on offer in the UK food & drink industry, see our roundup here. And get in touch to let us know what foodie benefits you are offering your staff.
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