What's the best company perk that you get, and do you still appreciate it?

At my first job, we had a free soft drink machine (one of our main clients was Coca Cola and I think they arranged and stocked it for us). This seemed like heaven to me, and so I remember indulging in three cans a day for at least two weeks. After that, I dropped down to only one can a day and didn't really think about it again.

Another time, I did a project at a cigarette manufacturing company, and each month you could take all the cigarettes you wanted to, as long as it was for your own personal usage. I didn't even smoke, but that didn't stop me from trying.

Comments

      • :P No F-18s unfortunately. I did get to see them in action, technically speaking, sort of, ish. Never liked them because they made my work very very annoyingly hard. I didn't recognise what you were talking about when you wrote S-70, then I realised that it's simply UH-60 and its variants. Frankly speaking, I like Russian equipments more in general, Ka-32 are still cool in my book. If I could ever get to see one, I really want to see SU-47 in real life.

        The discounts I got was related to military personel thing, I got out with a cool looking combat boot that has goretex on it. I know that if it is necessary, they did MRI scans for free. BX had everything relatively cheaper than the outside, even though their selection was very limited. Food was crap, but free, but it was borderline, I'd rather have something edible and pay level. I got far less than minimum wage though, and they tend to treat conscriptees very badly. In short, it was not as glorified as it sounds.

        • Lol, yes I meant the good old blackhawk and I'm a major fan on the Russian gear as-well (gimme a mi-24 hind plez, it will go with my collection of Soviet/Russian militaria)…

          Sad to hear the money and job comfort wasn't up to scratch… oh well :)

  • +1

    Use to work for Emirates Airline. 10% on stand by flights, 50% on confirmed flight. Free flight home every year. Cheap flights on other airlines. Lots of hotel discounts, and lots of discounts in Dubai (50% drinks at the clubs!). Generally it was easy to get on a flight considering how many flights they have out of Dubai, some destinations such as Bangkok would have 4 or 5 flights a day.

    Also use to work for Mirvac Hotels when they were still around. Would get cheap rooms and 50% off f&b, also would get amazing discounts with Sealy Beds.

  • Free breakfast, morning tea and cab fare home.

    But the perks are meaningless if you're there till 10pm

    • Law?

  • Free cereal was a big perk for me at my old job. Every time before work, break, lunch, break and after work I'd eat cereal. I had to buy my own milk though sometimes.

    • +14

      You're a cereal killer.

  • Public service. Don't even get coffee/tea or milk!

    • +2

      Thank god - i felt like I was the only one who just got "money" as a perk

      • +1

        A race to the bottom is exactly why we're headed back towards slavery. You should be negotiating for the things you want. These days with EBA it seems all too often they get negotiated out from under you….and unions seem to be backing it.

        • +1

          I'm an engineer so there's no union or EBA

          I mean there's stuff like income protection insurance, and company car, but no real "Cultural perks" as i can them

  • +4

    Full pay 3 months paid paternity leave.

  • +2

    My sister in law, a lawyer in Singapore once received her year's salary as a bonus… six figures!! She also worked for a high end hotel chain ( 5 and 6 stars) and would get to stay 2 weeks per year for free at any of their properties around the world. She had to pay for flights though.

    • +3

      A friend who worked for an oil company in SG got a year's bonus too. It's not that uncommon if you are in the right job and are competent and being recognised for it. The long hours are gruelling though so most of my friends retire younger.

      I used to work in Singapore for an American bank and we would get free breakfast, cabs and dinners whenever we work late (most days). One overseas trip and bonus every year and other stuff too. My fondest memory is however the free milo. I used to make milo using 1/3cup of milo powder every morning and the pantry auntie would get a new tin whenever I finish the milo. Aww miss her.

  • +1

    Anyone working for a tech startup here? No one mentioned table tennis tables in the office?!

    • Haha we have that in the lunch room.
      And fruit box, free mobile contract and phone.

    • My public service branch has one! :)

  • +5

    I have to say, I am slightly underwhelmed with the perks Ozbargainers are getting. 10% flights, a year salary - all good, but it sounds like 99.9% of Aussie's get pretty lousy perks, free coffees or sandwiches here or there…. ouch.

  • Public Service - Travel allowance.

    Get paid up to $320 a night when travelling - book into a backpackers or a pub at $40-odd a night and pocket the rest.
    Oh, did I mention it's tax free?

    On a downer, they have now brought in an external booking agency who book accommodation and we only get $119/night for meals and incidentals. Not a total bummer, but for someone who does around 100 nights away per year, it means less play money now :(

    • Man i wish my company did that - i just have to claim my travel expenses but i would LOVE to get a set amount

    • Damn, getting paid to travel. What do you do Sir?

      • +3

        Environmental monitoring job - covering the mid and North coasts of NSW

    • +1

      Our govt department used to do that but it resulted in people camping by the roadside or sleeping in their cars and pocketing 100% of the allowance. Now we're the same as you we just get meals and incidentals and have to book through an agency.

  • +2

    Looks like they're going to seriously limit it now, but meal entertainment and salary packaging.

    • PBI?

  • +3

    I might be hated for this but here goes:

    • Laptop + iPhone 6 + unlimited data (I return the iPhone and use my z3 compact instead, but keep the SIM)
    • Full time barista and we usually go through about 500 cups a day
    • Fresh fruits daily, ridiculous amount of biscuits and chocolate
    • Table tennis, xbox, arcade machine
    • Fully catered lunch once a month
    • Beers & wine (& crisps) on Friday arvos
    • I work in the Data Centre sometimes so they give each of us a Bose QC15
    • +10

      Yes I hate you now.

    • +1

      +1 for perks and taste in phones.

    • what job / industry?

    • +1

      Some kinda new medicine volunteers? Just kidding!

    • My company is pretty close:

      Laptop for work and whatever. (I have plenty of games on mine.)

      No mobile because you won't ever need it for work. (Though you can get one on salary sacrifice if you want.)

      Fresh Fruits daily, banana bread every other day, infinite arnotts biscuits and timtams/mintslices, biscuits w/ cheese, ice cream (magnums etc.) and chips.

      Breakfast spreads, cheese, lunch meats and vegetables. (Not'catered' but make your own every day of the week.)

      Huge variety of chocolates on Fridays.

      Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, arcade machine and of course the laptops (PC master race).

      Pool table, table tennis.

      Beers, ciders & wine any night. (Tonnes of meetups.)

      Heaps of board games.

      I'm not a fan of Bose. z3c ftw though.

      I am jealous of that in-house barista though.

  • when I am working, My employer pays everything food and beverage wise. Eat as much as can fit in

  • Office car parking- no free parking longer than 2 hours around where I work.
    Flexible working hours
    Mobile phone
    Nespresso coffee machine

    Not as good as some of the above, but can't complain.

  • +1

    Work for a retail auto chain. Get half price off anything they sell which is handy. Needless to say my garage has a lot of waxes and polishes and other stuff. It's a good perk.

  • +2

    I got to go to the test track at Boxberg, Germany working on auto electronic stuff. Got driven around at 200+ km/h on the banked track and shown what happens when the ESP stability system is switched off. Fun times.

    • that sounds fun as! Cool vid.

  • +1

    i'm a network engineer at a pharmaceutical company (more like a distributor than manufacturer), our 'consumer products' teams are a good source of free vitamins and various treats like energy gels/bars, sports drink powder etc. they quite regularly pay our entry fees to sporting events like around the bay in a day, Melbourne marathons etc

    i also get to travel a lot (domestically) so my frequent flyer miles are increasing at a lovely rate, not to mention the gold card that goes with it. will have my first trip to NZ soon with work, going to try and negotiate a 'late' flight home with the boss and take my skis…

    • sign me up!

  • +7

    Nothing. Unsure why I'm even replying.
    Is internet access to post on Ozb a perk?

    • +5

      you get to do 'client visits' in country victoria then spend half a day riding your bike around instead of doing actual work, surely that's a perk? :P

      • +2

        lies! hides

    • +2

      It actually is, I have no internet access to anything at work except government sites, and strangely enough, Wikipedia.

  • +1

    Being able to borrow / test all of the latest mobile phones and tablets, as well as other various products.

    • Where do I send my resume. Sounds like the dream job!

  • For people concerned about how their tax dollars are spent, I'm a public servant and we don't really get any perks. I think the only thing provided is christmas drinks at the end of the year. Any lunches and stuff like that is out of pocket (although I suppose you could count the labour that we're using at the restaurant).

    With all the peopole getting free coke it reminds me of Moneyball where the players have to pay a dollar for their soda and one of the new transfers were shocked that they weren't provided for free :)

    • +1

      Me too mate, not even coffee or tea, it's bullsh1t. We also don't get the Xmas drinks. You sound spoilt!

    • Spent 6 years working for the VIC government. There were absolutely no perks at all. No Xmas drinks, no tea or coffee. It was drab.

      • But good money and easy job, no?

  • Smart phone, Unlimited naitonal calls and data

  • +1

    I work at a gym. I get free access to it :)

    • +1

      imagine having to pay to enter the workplace!

  • +9

    My Dad used to work for Philippine Airlines as an accountant, after his 3rd year we (Dad,Mom and us children) get 2 Free Flights every year in any destination which Philippine Airlines has a route/flight. After we used up that allocation, we are entitled to additional flights in which we only have to pay 25% of the fare plus taxes and after that there's another 50% flight. We can use interline (use other airline for cheap flights) as well.

    Before we moved here in Melbourne, Dad accumulated 20 years of service to PAL, which entitled him for lifetime benefit of free flights =)

    Plus, his parents and sisters are entitled to this benefit as well =)

  • ozbargaining for a solid 8 hours a day, with free food, with a tv on my desk with all channels, and living 1km from home

    • +11

      Why not just live at home?

  • +1

    I use to work at a Indian resturant and they ecouraged us to come early so we could eat their food. So when customers asked for advice we could truthfully answer.

    After shift was over we could eat again!

    Food was delicious!

    • Do you not get tired of eating curry?

    • +5

      What if u got the runs while serving?

      • I didn't. That happened when I got home :)

  • +2

    my friends dad worked at rothmans tobacco. he got unlimited cigarettes, could smoke in office, and when he retired in 1996 he got 2 cartons of smokes a month for life. a good perk if you love darting up.

    • +8

      2 cartons per month for life after retirement wouldn't add up to much after those working conditions!

      • think that was the point really

  • I work for Jb Hi-fi and get free movies/ps4 games for achieving sales targets etc. probably got over 40 movies so far. Also got a $500 etf card for selling toshiba. Received dali speakers, Microsoft Surface Rt Tablet and a Sony Mini Muteki for attending training nights, Along with all the free food and booze that goes with It.

    • -2

      Sounds like a pretty good deal. If you can enlighten me, do you guys have any wiggle room on this: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/laptops/toshiba/…
      There's another laptop Asus with similar specs at dicks smiths for approx 680 once the 15per cent eBay is removed. I think I like the Toshiba more though

  • +2

    Worked in IT for 11 years, then moved into teaching which had zero perks, then back to IT again.

    I worked for Cadbury and there was an unlimited amount of chocolate outside our office. We also could use the staff shop which would let me buy my weight in chocolate for a few dollars. Great for Easter.

    That's pretty much it for job perks. Fewer companies seem to offer decent incentives, it seems.

    • +4

      I worked for them too.
      We used to get the reject hazlenut whirls. 1 kg for like $2.
      I remeber taking them home and leaving them on the table, went out for a jog.
      Came back and wondered where they were. Dog was hiding in the corner!

      Found 1 kg of regurgitated whirls underneath the curtain. The dog PERK'ed up well

  • I work for the Department of Education. The only perk we have is we don't have work during school holidays but getting paid =)

  • +26

    I get paid. I really appreciate it.

    • +1

      Blink twice if your boss is behind you while you type :)

  • -1

    For a foreign gov agency, perks were working 9-4, double the number of holidays (both local and their home country), a big brunch every Friday (some didn't have breakfast, others wouldn't have lunch after). Oh and own proper bathroom, as well as the privilege of being invited to VIP events (Melbourne races going in private jet along with heads of state/PMs, travelling to NZ, holiday islands, all free), as well as receptions and celebrations with unlimited food/drinks/laundry at the hotels but not Alcohol. To top everything off, travelling away meant getting the same number of days as paid leave, and a cash bonus for every trip. Also flying first class as they paid full fare economy outright (which was much higher than a first class fare).

    The downer is of course, apart from the bog down local receptions, one cannot take his/her BH along. Expect odd calls/requests. Having to go interstate at short notice.

    Funny thing is, most of this was NOT advertised when taking the job and wasn't even in writing/contract. The only thing was 'economy fare travel - full unrestricted fare (or YY fare)', but it was at the discretion of the accountants to either pay a travel agent or pay the staff and have him book himself.

    A friend got a brand new Mercedes Benz at 20 percent discount because the agency were getting a couple S-classes.

    • At least someone having a great time, don't tell TPs.

      • :) I forgot about getting VIP tickets to major events (think Rugby WC final, FIFA games overseas, recently the AFC in Aus). A privilege that spread to even ex-workers because of having too many tickets issued.

  • +1

    IT Managed Service Provider.

    • Read people's emails.
    • Monitor their Internet traffic and find out who's a sexual deviant.
    • Find their Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/Social Media passwords and scrutinise their private lives inside out, including their obsessive stalking of love interests and exes and easily correlate their bitter personalities to recent episodes of rejection/sexual frustration.
    • Browse their photos on their smartphones, i.e. those of an embarrassing or adult nature.
    • Know who's screwing who/who's not screwing who and read up about the sexual lamentations of today's forlorn, middle-aged office women and the rapacious desires of the sex-crazed young graduates.
    • Know some of their most intimate secrets, i.e. wives in splitsville with their husbands who are attempting to screw them over in court with flat-out lies that could be used to seriously undermine their case for custody settlements and child support payments.
    • Know when they're talking sh*t about you and slyly slip in the exact remarks they used to describe you, in face-to-face meetings with them, while giving them a distinctly smug, shit-eating grin.
    • Offer ridiculous pricing for projects/managed service contracts, see the Directors' hostile chatter on their emails; lower it to just above what they think is ideal and flatter their egos with the deal of the century because you really want their business. Look like a hero.
    • Instigate feuds, distrust and sow discord amongst clients by suspiciously deleting files, logging onto computers with accounts that should not be accessing them, changing permissions, browsing histories and planting red herring files where they shouldn't be.

    I am of course, joking. But, it wouldn't be too difficult.

    • +1

      oh man. someone should start a website where IT people submit the emails/pics they find anonymously. I would read that.

    • Flexible hours
    • 6 weeks leave
    • Extra super
    • Free soft drinks
    • Free biscuits
    • Beer & wine at staff meetings
    • Business class flights (overseas, not for Domestic travel)
    • Tennis court
    • Free coffee (service cappuccino machine, plus plunger/instant provisions)
    • Free Christmas party including full meal (partners invited)
    • Gifts (sometimes $$$) for milestone birthdays, weddings etc.
    • 2 Weeks "Daddy leave"
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • An office ;-)
    • What industry is this?

      • I'm in engineering and the perks above are for all employees with the exception of the office. That comes with some rather random and arbitrary combination of luck, tenure and management responsibility.

        We used to have a few other perks, largely due to our parent company being European. However, over the years there have been several management "tweaks" to perks, primarily to save money (sensible, given the economic climate).

        Next contenders for being dropped (guessing): business class flights, two weeks extra leave.

  • I used to work at a Dutch dredging company. They were loaded with cash and we would get free lunch everyday. Every morning we had to look at a menu, and send off our orders to reception. Food was generally ordered from a variety of cafes around the area. There were also unlimited drinks and fruit in the fridge. Too bad I left too early and worked for the government instead. Government offered 0 work perks except working a slightly shorter day and flexi time.

    Current work offers flexi time, good overtime rates if you can pull it off and salary sacrifice. However, my salary is very low haha

  • Bank I work for gives me a fee free black credit card. We also get discounted home loans and fee waivers slightly better than available to general public.

    • +3

      I think they all have to do that. Just imagine when somebody else knows that non of the bank staff using any services from their own bank
      as they found the next door is cheaper & more competitive.

      • Just imagine when somebody else knows that non of the bank staff using any services from their own bank
        as they found the next door is cheaper & more competitive.

        hahahhahahahahha

    • +1

      And then all of your colleagues can look up your financial history :) If I worked in a bank, all of my accounts would be with a different bank.

      • +2

        I've got nothing to hide …. but access is logged and if people are looking up other information 'just for fun', action is taken so it is not something people generally do.

  • +2

    worked at a high end retailer of luxury goods.
    Whenever certain companies had incentives for us like sell a product and get $100 gift card,we were nasty to the other brands.
    One month I received a $400 gift card and a gift worth $500.
    This used to happen a lot.
    Also when they took us out for training,it was only at 5 star restaurants with free food and alcohol and a free gift !
    We used to also get to wear their products FREE !!!

    • how did you land the job? same as any retail job, or the process is a lot more picky and demanding?

  • Used to work in public health.

    Tax-Free meals (anything that takes eftpos)usually means 30-47% off.

    Tax-Free venue hire (weddings or hotel stay) usually means 30-47% off.

    Tax free salary packaging rent up to 9056$ which means around 2000-3000$ net benefit.

    Apart from annual leave was up to 7 weeks.

    Shift work is gruelling though glad I got out.

  • Dominos - Free pizza that you make (unlimited toppings), free cancelled orders.

    Bottleshops (DM, BWS) - Free mandatory taste testings and on rare occasions you could buy nearly expired/unsold alcohol dirt cheap.

    Various design/advertising jobs - Got paid in a lot samples/promo items when I did a few internships. Cases of wine, vouchers, clothing, etc.

  • +2

    I get 5% discount on everything we buy from them plus other retail shops.
    Get to try all the different kinds of alcohol. Upto 30% bonus of your salary every year. Company car, free petrol, mobile phone, ipad etc.

  • $4k max 12 months interest free loan. This applies to phone laptops iPads solar panels white goods and rain water tanks. I work for one of the big 4 banks.

  • +1

    When I worked at a Japanese restaurant, the chef would sneakily gave me a bowl of fresh salmon sashimi (off cuts) during lunch break. And then he would pack me some Chicken Katsu/Teriyaki Chicken along with Unagi Eel. Flavored drinks are free as well.

    Then I worked at Subway and pretty much had access to anything (owner is a friend of mine). So I used to make a triple cheese sub, with chicken fillet, meatball, double bacon, a bit of veggies, and add some fried egg to it when I get home.

    And then I worked at an engineering company and now I only get free coffee :( :( :(

  • +4

    worked at pumpkin film production in england filming porn. there were plenty of benefits, but equally a few things you don't wanna see….

    • +3

      Fluffer are you?

    • +12

      Can we request an AMA? Pretty please?

  • In house gym where membership is the equivalent of $6 per week. Includes classes such as spin, pump, etc if you want to do those. Brilliant benefit and I'm fitter than I have been in years as a result.

    We also have discounts on insurance and a very good home loan rate which I will think about more when my current fixed rate expires.

    In the past in the UK we had a free canteen with hot meals, sandwiches, salads, desserts, everything - like a hotel buffet every day. Plenty of people loaded up there so they only had to spend minimal on food at home. Those were the days where I could get away with eating a 3 course lunch and then an equally large dinner at home.

  • +9

    I work at Atlassian - we've got so many perks here!

    • breakfast(available all day) - everything. Fruit, banana bread, all kinds of musli and cereal, yougurt, milk, honey, golden syrup, cookies, tea, coffee etc.
    • lunch(available all day) - everything. All kinds of cold meat, smoked salmon, all vegetables, salads, tuna, avocados, all kinds of bread, heat-up ready to eat lunches, etc
    • free drink vending machines everywhere with everything - juice, cola, energy drinks, water, coconut water etc. 4 machines on every floor
    • on the premises yoga, pilates, outdoor fitness sessions
    • beer, ale, cider, non-alcoholic beer, wine in variety
    • on-tap beer on Fridays - 4 taps with craft beer
    • table tennis, pool table, board games, video games
    • free T-shirts on occasions
    • motorised desk and a really comfortable chair

    I might missed something, but you get the idea

    • +1

      Also, at my previous job, we had a large outdoor space with faux grass, picnic tables and two built-in beefeater BBQs, overviewing Circular Quay. I used to have a freshly grilled steak on lunch with Opera House views.

    • +1

      cool company

    • +3

      They didn't win the Australia's best place to work for nothing! Great company!

  • salary packaging.
    and free parking in the basement when lots of people are on leave.

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