Rewarding staff: payments, perks and incentives

Be clear on what financial and non-financial rewards and incentives you can give staff, so you can show your staff some appreciation and stay compliant.

Last reviewed on 18 October 2023See updates
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 5099
Contents
  1. Speak to your LA or trust before making changes
  2. Payments for teachers
  3. Payments for support staff
  4. You can also offer inexpensive incentives or initiatives 
  5. Establish a staff social fund to pay for 'perks'
  6. Staff perks/benefits package: examples from schools

Speak to your LA or trust before making changes

This article gives suggestions of perks or incentives your school or trust could use. 

Before changing your pay policy to implement anything in this article, it’s a good idea to speak to your local authority (LA) or academy trust first, and seek legal/HR advice to check your policy is water-tight.

Also note that you may need to report any benefits or expenses you provide to employees, and pay tax or National Insurance on them. Find this out here.

Payments for teachers

Under the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), the relevant body sets recruitment and retention awards for teachers. The 'relevant body' is usually the governing board, or the board of trustees (if you're in a trust, check your scheme of delegation). 

Teachers can