Cruise Nation has designed a company-wide flexible pay scheme to boost employees’ wages as part of a string of initiatives to help its workforce cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
Owner and managing director Phil Evans said its new Flexi Pay initiative will mean every staff member could take home an extra £166 each month after tax if certain sales targets are met.
Evans said staff could earn an average of £2,500 more each year before tax, thanks to the scheme.
He believes sales staff will hit the target every month, except in December which is traditionally a quieter month for bookings.
However, he said: “As long as we cover the cost of [Flexi Pay] with bookings, we’re going to pay out because we want to entice more people to work for us.”
Evans is currently looking to recruit 10 more sales staff. He added sales staff generally earn an extra £3,000 in commission per month.
Any commission earned will be in addition to Flexi Pay payments, Evans said.
Cruise Nation has signed up with employee benefits platform Perkbox to ensure staff have access more than 1,000 deals and discounts.
“The thing that we like about Perkbox is it offers discounts on the weekly shop with Marks and Spencer or Asda, for example,” he explained.
“Joining Perkbox is worth around £1,000 in savings for each staff member every year.”
Evans said: “It’s all about looking after existing staff as they face cost increases and also making sure Cruise Nation is offering the leading remuneration package to entice people back into the industry.
“We want the best of best working for us going forward.”
The agency is going to offer both existing staff and new recruits private healthcare, including dental and optometry, through insurance firm Axa.
“It will enable staff to go private for things and all their prescriptions will be on there,” Evans added. “You do not have to go to your local GP, you can have an online consultation 24 hours a day.
“We’ve never offered full healthcare before. Now we’re offering it to everybody including people that are joining the business.
“The foundation of this programme was to look after people’s increased cost, look after their mental well-being as we come out of the pandemic, look after their healthcare for the future.”
Cruise Nation has also introduced a holiday concession scheme for existing employees. The agency will pay £500 towards a holiday booked by staff who have spent a year at the business.
Staff members who have spent five or more years at Cruise Nation will receive £750 off their holiday.
“I want to up our game and make sure staff do not have money worries,” Evans said.