Work Perks

I once worked for a leading Uk national Nursing agency,mostly Nursing Private Patients in their own homes. Some of these places were stunningly Beautiful, and employed a housekeeping team who treated us like Family. Meals were provided on Duty, a private Bedroom was allocated to our use on Night duty, so that we could get comforable and read, or knit or follow any other quiet hobby inbetween tending toour patients needs. We often got invited to use the gym or the jacuzzi before we went off duty in the mornings.
Some of my collegues did enjoy overseas travel.with the patient and their family, all expenses paid, but because of family commitments, the best I ever got was to go to some very posh weddings, all expenses and my wages paid, including a new outfit if the hostess requested for me not to be in uniform on the day. If the wedding had a theme, I was expected to dress.likewise, my children thought it highly amusing seeing me dressed as a 1920s Flapper Girl trying to learn the dance moves of the era!

No wellbeck I was on the packing line -48 to a box- but you were allowed to eat as you packed ?

Ooooo forgot one. All expenses paid trip to Singapore for a training course. Put up in very expensive (but which was actually a very average) hotel.

If I hadn't had to go with the bosses wife I would have had a LOT more fun.

i got to keep a cigarette lighter in the shape of a luger pistol.
it would only have been destroyed otherwise.
i still have it, in profile it looks quite menacing in the gloom.
we occasionally got to keep groceries which had been test purchases, but i would always give these to admin staff.
didn't seem right that field officers got to keep them, in case it influenced how they did their work, which had a lot of discretion in it.
i later found a salvation army safe house for runaways who had been found in the railway stations, so i made arrangements to give anything usable to them.
it was run by a married couple, mr and mrs christian. really.

Peasblossom

When I worked at Smiths Crisps, you were allowed to eat all the crisps you wanted whilst in the factory.

After a few days you never wanted to eat a crisp again ?

presumably you were in the office or loading bay, not on the production line !
did you get to eat the rejects ?

Cheap honeymoon flights to Nairobi - £16 each return, which was very cheap even in the 70s.
Same fares for my parents, as long as I accompanied them one way.

Different airport related job in the Middle East - round the world tickets for me and dh at 10% -all standby flights, but we weren’t complaining!
Not to mention discounts at various hotels along the way, inc. 50% at the Oriental, Bangkok, which we’d never ever expected to get. V glad we stayed then - it’s been tarted up now but at the time it was still like something out of Somerset Maugham.

When I started my nurse training in the 60s those of us living in the Nurses Home each received a packet of tea and a quarter pound of butter. Perks indeed

I made the travel arrangements for a company I worked for and I had several free trips including one to Hong Kong.

Perks??? We even had to supply our own ballpoint pens.........AND they HAD to be black!

Judging by gagajo's experience, I seem to have worked at the wrong kind of schools and colleges. The direct grant school where I cut my teaching teeth did have an annual staff dinner before Christmas, but this was so long ago that I can't remember if we had to make a contribution to pay for this. Once in Kenya, I accompanied a colleague in a trip up country to to interview girls who had applied for entry to our highly selective boarding school. We had two memorable nights in an up-market hotel. And as far as I remember, that was it! Teaching in FE, I sometimes managed to have free use of computers to desk-top publish leaflets for my political campaigns, but photo-copying was rigorously policed!

When I worked for a vet we only had to pay for the drugs for our pets, no fees charged.
There were a dozen of us working in the practice and he took us all out for dinner at Christmas.

Staying in high end hotels ( the company negotiated great discounts) .A generous evening meal allowance including ( for the first few years) half a bottle of wine. Both were ( rightly ) strictly policed by finance. A colleague was in trouble once because as well as the wine, he had rum baba for pudding. Finance said he’d gone over his alcohol allowance and wouldn’t cover the cost of the pudding ?

When I started work in Pathology I had a turn in the Media Room where we minced and cooked ox hearts to make broth and agar plates for bacterial culture. The residual cooked meat was given away for pet food.
That is the only job perk I have ever received.

I was able to get a Bank mortgage at 5% when the public rate was 15%, very few perks in Banking nowadays.

My DH worked on a farm and we benefitted from free potatoes.

Oh and when I delivered flowers I got to keep the apology flowers that got thrust back in my face on the doorstep.

When I worked at Smiths Crisps, you were allowed to eat all the crisps you wanted whilst in the factory.

After a few days you never wanted to eat a crisp again ?

I think.thats a really important point lollin.

Free tea and biscuits until they got rid of tea breaks and the wonderful tea lady with her trolley. I am not that old really but do remember this from my early jobs. It was such a helpful break in a busy day. When you weren’t at your desk she would leave your usual choice there or just your biscuit if you would be too late for your hot beverage. They talk so much about mental health but I think it’s the erosion of provisions like this that made all the difference. Sorry for slight diversion of the subject somewhat.

Yes being around children and those who are on the whole trying very hard to do their best for them. They make me smile a lot even when my knees are giving out from being on the floor

Yes, overnight accommodation was always more upmarket than I would have paid for. Nice to experience. I was unaware that perks have gone from the marketplace. Simply assumed they would continue. I'm so out of touch.

The chance to continue to have contact with a huge variety of young people whilst heading towards being old myself !

Years ago, the bank where I worked offered mortgages with preferential staff rates.

Such perks long since gone.