The Lemon Fool

OK, so 2020 has not been brilliant. I run a Training Company and use a bunch of Freelancers to deliver the courses. It's been tough for us all as everything dried up for 3 months.

Work has actually picked up and I'd like to thank some of them around Christmastime, but with something tangible (or convertible to tangible such as vouchers) rather than hard cash. Thinking £50-100 or so per person for those that qualify.

I don't know my Trainers well enough to know if they drink / what they drink / are on the wagon as otherwise I'd be happy to provide Majestic vouchers. It's a bit difficult to start an email "Do you drink alcohol and, if so, what sort" without giving the game away or have it taken the wrong way.


Any thoughts from the e-collective here about what might be a nice thought? They are scattered across the UK, some are full-time Freelancers, some have day jobs as well. They deliver First Aid Training for me.

Food selection, which could include a bottle of vino (that could be given away diplomatically if appropriate)?

AndyPandy wrote:
Any thoughts from the e-collective here about what might be a nice thought?

Cash, along with a personal covering letter telling each of them how grateful you are for their support during this difficult period, and asking that they should treat themselves by way of your thanks.

Whatever you choose to do, I think it's a great gesture and I'm sure it will be well received.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Probably not in the spirit of the OP but anyway.

Itsallaguess wrote:Cash ...

They would not appear to be employees but it occurred to me that cash might be taxable. Ended up here https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim01040 which includes:

Christmas presents in cash from persons other than the employer are taxable earnings if:

it is a widespread custom for such presents to be given and

the expectation that presents will be received attaches to the employment.

From that I'm guessing the cash is possibly not taxable on the freelancers but I haven't delved deeper.

If the OP is seeking Corporation Tax relief on the gifts, this page provides some guidance, albeit somewhat on the low side monetarily.

Gifts carrying a conspicuous advertisement for the trader
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim45070

Mind you, I doubt Common examples of allowable gifts are diaries, pens and mouse mats. are very 21st century.

More specifically https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim45065 includes:

Treat gifts in the same way as business entertainment

Business gifts are not allowed as a deduction against profits. ...

Then read on.

AndyPandy wrote:... Thinking £50-100 or so per person for those that qualify. ... Food selection, which could include a bottle of vino (that could be given away diplomatically if appropriate)?

Possibly not to your/their taste but at circa £91 (including delivery) it meets your budget and takes the decision making away from you as to the content:

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/the-highgrove-christmas-basket-2201615

Not sure what some would do with the bottle though and, although popular in some circles, much of the cost appears to be the name(s) and packaging, as against the content.

PinkDalek wrote:Probably not in the spirit of the OP but anyway.

Itsallaguess wrote:Cash ...

They would not appear to be employees but it occurred to me that cash might be taxable. Ended up here https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim01040 which includes:

Christmas presents in cash from persons other than the employer are taxable earnings if:

it is a widespread custom for such presents to be given and

the expectation that presents will be received attaches to the employment.

From that I'm guessing the cash is possibly not taxable on the freelancers but I haven't delved deeper.
et al

I had a quick look and tbh whatever I do I'll probably do it from my own tax-paid pocket. That solves any issues all round. Won't touch the sides of my Annual Exemption as I'm not giving money away elsewhere and can't see it being taxable on the Freelancers in that situation.

Cash directly from the Business has to be taxable, otherwise what's to stop a one-off contractor being paid £1 for some work then the balance as a cash gift. If there's a loophole it will get exploited. That it isn't (AFAIK) leads me to guess that it is taxable somewhere along the line.

How about Virgin Experience vouchers. £100 can get you a wide variety of things, covering most of UK, with a lot online. It won't cover a hotel visit, but would knock a good chunk off.

A staff christmas party (up to £150 per head) is an allowable cost and not taxable on the employee.

Maybe in Covid times send them each a good christmas hamper to be opened over a Zoom christmas get together

AndyPandy wrote:OK, so 2020 has not been brilliant. I run a Training Company and use a bunch of Freelancers to deliver the courses. It's been tough for us all as everything dried up for 3 months.

Work has actually picked up and I'd like to thank some of them around Christmastime, but with something tangible (or convertible to tangible such as vouchers) rather than hard cash. Thinking £50-100 or so per person for those that qualify.

I don't know my Trainers well enough to know if they drink / what they drink / are on the wagon as otherwise I'd be happy to provide Majestic vouchers. It's a bit difficult to start an email "Do you drink alcohol and, if so, what sort" without giving the game away or have it taken the wrong way.


Any thoughts from the e-collective here about what might be a nice thought? They are scattered across the UK, some are full-time Freelancers, some have day jobs as well. They deliver First Aid Training for me.

Food selection, which could include a bottle of vino (that could be given away diplomatically if appropriate)?

Great gesture. I'd stick with the thought of hard cash to be honest. Then they can get something that they want. The problem with gift vouchers is they limit where people can shop/spend.

AiY

I love F&M , but John Lewis hampers may be better value for money (or M&S?)

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:

AndyPandy wrote:OK, so 2020 has not been brilliant. I run a Training Company and use a bunch of Freelancers to deliver the courses. It's been tough for us all as everything dried up for 3 months.

Work has actually picked up and I'd like to thank some of them around Christmastime, but with something tangible (or convertible to tangible such as vouchers) rather than hard cash. Thinking £50-100 or so per person for those that qualify.

I don't know my Trainers well enough to know if they drink / what they drink / are on the wagon as otherwise I'd be happy to provide Majestic vouchers. It's a bit difficult to start an email "Do you drink alcohol and, if so, what sort" without giving the game away or have it taken the wrong way.


Any thoughts from the e-collective here about what might be a nice thought? They are scattered across the UK, some are full-time Freelancers, some have day jobs as well. They deliver First Aid Training for me.

Food selection, which could include a bottle of vino (that could be given away diplomatically if appropriate)?

Great gesture. I'd stick with the thought of hard cash to be honest. Then they can get something that they want. The problem with gift vouchers is they limit where people can shop/spend.

AiY

The One4All cards are the worst. My kids get them at Christmas and they are a complete pain to spend / find a balance etc. Don't ever buy them as presents for darling nieces / nephews / grandkids. Trustpilot says it all:

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/one4all.ie - 75% 1 star!

AndyPandy wrote:Work has actually picked up and I'd like to thank some of them around Christmastime, but with something tangible (or convertible to tangible such as vouchers) rather than hard cash.

What a helpful gesture, good call.

Unfortunately I'm pretty down on vouchers preferring the widely accepted cash. There's a statistic that "while 50% of people preferred to give vouchers as presents, of the same group, 70% preferred to receive cash."
Where I work they sent M&S vouchers in lockdown as a thank you for the special effort of keeping working. Which was nice but I don't use M&S so gave them to my sister in law who does. I sometimes get Amazon vouchers which I do use but of course not as widely accepted as hard currency.

Caught an interesting snippet on the radio (4) this am. Someone working in the far east had wanted to buy an employee a leaving present and had the idea of a clock. Pretty standard gift in the UK. Luckily discussed it with others beforehand, who were horrified: apparently the gift of a clock there is considered a threat - as in "you've not much time left".

I agree that cash is generally well received, but it does seem a bit lacking in imagination.

How about sending them a €100 note each? It's neatly within your proposed budget, and you could accompany it with some sort of message about them being able to enjoy going on holiday again next year.

The reason I mention it is a recent personal experience. I always keep a stock of euros, usually those left over from the last trip, and I put them in a separate wallet that I never use.

So when I went to Cyprus recently I went to see what was in there. Usually there's around €100 - €200, and it's always a nice bonus if there's any more than that.

I pulled them out of the wallet, and was surprised to see a few €50 notes. I was even more surprised when I counted them to discover there was a total of just over €950!

I was genuinely bewildered, as I'd never draw out that much cash, but I then recalled that I'd done some work for a client who lives in Tenerife, and he'd come over in January and paid me in cash (yes HMRC spies, it will be declared!)

Normally, I'd have my first European trip in March, at which time it would still have been fresh in my mind, but as I'd not been to Europe at all this year I'd completely forgotten about it.

It was a really delightful surprise, and it felt as though I was having a free trip with enough left over for another one.

Although receiving €100 won't elicit as much elation as nearly €1,000 it'll still come as a very pleasant surprise, and they'll think of you again next year with warm, fuzzy feelings as (we hope) they set off on their hols with a toast to AndyPandy ringing around the airport!

Send them a copy of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays'

Christmas is a time of seasonal cheer, family get-togethers, holiday parties, and . . . gift giving. Lots and lots—and lots—of gift giving. It's hard to imagine any Christmas without this time-honored custom. But let's stop to consider the gifts we receive—the rooster sweater from Grandma or the singing fish from Uncle Mike. How many of us get gifts we like? How many of us give gifts not knowing what recipients want? Did your cousin really look excited about that jumping alarm clock? Lively and informed, Scroogenomics illustrates how our consumer spending generates vast amounts of economic waste—to the shocking tune of eighty-five billion dollars each winter. Economist Joel Waldfogel provides solid explanations to show us why it's time to stop the madness and think twice before buying gifts for the holidays.

- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scroogenomics- ... oks&sr=1-1

You can't pay an overdue gas bill with gift vouchers, but you can generally get a very high proportion of the value back on ebay*, which you might mention if sending vouchers.

I've actually had to pay over the face value for a voucher off ebay, when it was the most expedient way to take advantage of ebay's very generous offer to cover half the cost of a purchase...

* probably best to stick to very large retailers and have a little check before committing. Given the range of product, an expectation that they will hold the overwhelming part of their value when being sold, and the fact that passing on a code rather than a physical card should be all that is needed to complete the transaction (although technically a breach of ebays terms) I'd probably pick Amazon if going that route.