Jobs website Adzuna analysed the 750,000 plus open roles featured on the site in February to pick out some of the more unusual perks currently being offered by employers.

It said that in recent years it has seen a rise in perks like nap rooms, free food and on-site medical care, but noted that the current perk trends focus on staff who work remotely.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of the site, said that offering perks is a way for employers to attract top talent without having to cost the earth, and said it was a “welcome step forward that employers are starting to choose more inclusive work perks”.

Here are some of the most unique job perks currently being provided by UK employers.

Work from Home allowance

Working from home has been unavoidable for many of us over the last year, but setting up a useable home office doesn’t come free. 

Adzuna said there has been a spike in employers offering an allowance to help get new recruits kitted out at home, such as digital consultants RedBadger which is promising a £2,000 work from home budget and Facebook which is paying employees £750 to sort out a home office.

Other employers are going a step further by offering to pay their workers’ internet and phone bills.

Virtual exercise classes

Keeping fit is not always easy when you aren’t supposed to leave the house, which is where virtual exercise classes come in.

Bloom & Wild, an online florist, is offering virtual yoga classes to new recruits, while news site Citywire has a personal trainer who runs workout sessions over lunchtimes.

Mental health support

The last year has been a challenging one for our mental health, with a host of employers stepping up to provide support for their staff and new recruits.

Adzuna pointed to the example of fashion site Depop, which provides staff with subsidised counselling, access to mental health first aiders and yoga sessions. 

The site noted that there has also been a range of employers introducing ‘wellness allowances’ for staff, which can be spent on anything from meditation app subscriptions to earphones.

‘Pawternity’ leave

The idea was first popularised by brewery Brewdog, which allowed employees time off when adopting a pet, and it’s becoming more common too according to Adzuna, with Sofology the latest to introduce it.

Duvet days

 A duvet day is leave that you can take with no notice, and without having to provide an explanation for why you want to take the time off.

Importantly, it’s distinct from a sick day and it doesn’t come out of your annual leave.

A whopping 520 employers currently offer duvet days according to Adzuna, with the likes of the Money Advice Trust providing staff which two per quarter.

Language lessons

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of people decided to put their time in lockdown to use by learning a new language. And employers are now picking up the tab in order to attract staff, with Tui and Flight Centre both providing free language lessons.

Birthday treats

More than 2,100 job openings on Adzuna promise applicants the day off on their birthday, while Bloom & Wild go one step further with a letterbox cake delivered on your birthday.