Ikea staff sell Christmas gift

Employees at Ikea have put a number of company branded-bicycles given to them as Christmas presents up for sale on Ebay.

The household retail store gave each of its 9,000 staff a branded folding bicycle as a Christmas gift at the firm’s annual Christmas breakfast. More than 90, however, have since been sold by staff through online auction site Ebay.

A spokesman for the furniture retailer said: “There is only a small number of bikes on Ebay compared with the 9,000 [that were] given out. Obviously, some people must have had their own bikes or have another reason [for putting them up for sale]. It happens every year with unwanted Christmas gifts.”

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He added that the company did not intend to review any future schemes.

Richard Davies, head of Employee Benefits at P&MM, said employers which are looking to provide staff with such a perk should consider tailoring it to meet the needs of their workforce in order to maximise their return on investment.

“Different ages and different profiles of people have different wants. Therefore, a [blanket] approach from a corporate social responsibility point of view is good, but from a motivation point of view, it isn’t going to float everybody’s boat.

“Potentially a better route is invite people to apply for a bike, then you are better meeting the needs of these people.”

He added that employers should no longer take a one-size-fits-all approach. “It goes against the culture of choice we live in,” he explained.