Valentine’s Day: Love your salary, Love your benefits

February 1, 2026

Advo Payroll Adviser, Dan Wykes, gives his take on why staff should love their Employee Benefits and salary sacrifice above all

“With Valentine’s Day coming up in February, it got me thinking about how employees love to get the most out of their salary – salary sacrifice schemes are a great way of maximising this.

The majority of employers realise that providing a wide range of benefits over and above salary is a great way to attract and retain staff. Some benefits however are very tax friendly for both the employee and employer.

Getting the most from your benefits and benefiting from tax breaks could be as simple as paying into a salary sacrifice pension scheme or if you live close enough to your place of work, you could enrol into a cycle to work scheme which will help your pockets just as much as improving your fitness!

So, let’s start by breaking down what a salary sacrifice scheme through your payroll is and how it can benefit you. A salary sacrifice scheme is an agreement between the employee and the employer where you can exchange part of your gross salary for a non-cash benefit. By doing this, you will save money by paying less income tax and National Insurance but you will still receive the full amount into whatever scheme you chose to go with.

One key consideration is ensuring that participation in a salary sacrifice scheme does not reduce an employee’s pay below the National Minimum Wage. Employers must always check this before offering or approving any arrangement.

Not only is this a positive for the employee, but the employer will also save money on the National Insurance owed to HMRC so it really is a win-win for everyone involved! Who could not love that!

The most commonly used benefits offered are Pension Contributions, Cycle to Work schemes and vouchers to help cover the cost of Childcare but there are many more out there, so if you feel like this is for you, then speak to your dedicated Payroll Advisor at Advo, who will be happy to provide guidance and explain the options available.”