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What is an employee discount scheme?
An employee discount scheme is a workplace benefit that helps employees save money as part of a wider benefits package offered by their employer. These schemes give employees exclusive access to discounts, vouchers and cashback on everyday spending, from the weekly food shop to nights out, gym memberships and big-ticket purchases like holidays and tech.
Also called a staff discount scheme, employee discount programme or corporate discount scheme, it typically works as an app or online platform that employees can use whenever they want to save; no waiting for payday, no complicated sign-up.
The mechanics are the same across most providers, Perkbox included:
- The employer signs up and rolls the platform out to their team, usually via email or company intranet.
- Employees download the app or log on to the platform to browse live offers from partnered brands across categories like groceries, fashion, travel, tech and leisure.
- They redeem savings via a discount code, e-gift card, cashback link or physical voucher, depending on the retailer.
- Some platforms, including Perkbox, also track cumulative savings so employees can see the real value of the benefit over time.
There's no cost to the employee to take part, and for the employer, the scheme typically runs as part of a wider benefits platform rather than as a stand-alone tool.
Types of employee discount
Why offer an employee discount scheme?
For employees, the appeal is simple: real savings on things they're already buying, with no extra admin and no cost to join.
With Perkbox, employees also get free perks alongside the discounts, funded by points rather than their own money, including:
- Free selected drinks at Starbucks
- Free snacks and treats from Greggs and Tribe
- Free cinema tickets at Vue and Cineworld
- Free takeaways with Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo
- Free vouchers from brands like ASOS, Tui, Tesco, John Lewis and more
A discount scheme is one of the lowest-cost, highest-visibility benefits you can offer, and the impact shows up in the numbers:
- 79% of employees feel more valued when their employer offers a good benefits package
- 83% of employees say benefits are important when considering a new job
- 35% of employees wish their employers offered financial wellbeing support
Source: Perkonomics Report 2025
In practice, that means an employee discount scheme can help you:
- Boost your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) from day one, with instant, visible value.
- Support employees through cost-of-living pressures without touching payroll.
- Stand out as an employer of choice in a competitive hiring market.
How much could your employees save?
Employee discount schemes vs other benefits
In most cases, standard retail discounts and vouchers offered through a scheme like Perkbox are provided as a non-cash benefit and aren't run through payroll, so employees don't pay tax on the saving itself. Salary sacrifice benefits (like cycle-to-work) work differently, and the tax treatment depends on the specific benefit. For a full breakdown, read our guide to employee discounts and tax.
- Book a demo: tell us about your team and what you want the scheme to achieve.
- Get a tailored walkthrough of the platform, built around your business.
- Launch with full marketing support, so your people actually use it from day one.
Employees love Perkbox
4,000,000
employees supported worldwide
£27,788,775
saved by employees last year
89%
activation rate