Firms do a great deal for staff. Of course they pay for work done, and give statutory holidays. But it goes a lot further than that. Keeping a good work-life balance and giving recognition and career builds employee commitment. Thinking about total reward helps managers add elements of great benefit to employee and firm without huge cost.

Many managers follow the economists' teaching to claim that people are rational and will strive to maximise their financial gain. But people are irrational. There are some maxims in designing performance-related pay. First, money is not a motivator. But fair reward encourages commitment. Second, offering a financial incentive will encourage isolationist behaviour. Be careful what behaviour you reward!

Broadly, most UK SME managers grant employees the bare minimum of additional benefits over and above salary. In many cases, they’ll award staff the statutory minimum. Yet a few SMEs do give their employees generous high-value benefits. So why the difference, and does it make any sense to offer more than you must? Here we discuss the origins of this minimalist thinking and explore what other options there are for beneficial benefits.

The argument in favour of granting employees 'benefits' over and above salary is sound. But employee attitudes to benefits change with age - with life stages. As a result what's really needed is flexibility in granting those benefits. But traditionally, management overheads have determined that flexible benefits has been the preserve of the large firm. In fact, designing a flexible benefits systems is simply done by all.

Job evaluation is at the heart of the process in which managers determine how much to pay one employee over another. Many managers guess where salaries should lie. This results in feelings of injustice in employees over both the method and the result. Here are some rational methods where the manager can justify decisions.

National minimum wage figures for UK employers. This data is updated whenever legislation changes.