‘UK’s best boss’ splashes £100k on Christmas gifts for staff

“Giving back is what this is all about.”

Benjy Leslie, 26, believes "creating the right environment helps people thrive" and has always treated his employees well.

And in the run up to Christmas he runs the 'Santa Leslie incentive' where the employee of the day and the salesperson of the day get to pick out a present.

The gifts range from a trip to Barcelona, a Range Rover Evoque worth £44k, Ninja gadgets, iPhone and iPads.

The car was won by an employee who had only been there for four months.

The CEO and founder of Connect Management also treated his team to an end of year two day Christmas retreat to a mansion - where they played sports and had an awards ceremony.

He said the party and the gifts have cost him £100,000 but says "giving back is what this is all about".

Benjy, from Willesden, London, said: “It’s completely crazy.

“It’s not even about how long you’ve been here or how senior you are.

“It’s about turning up to work every day and giving it your all.”

Benjy quit his job in advertising in 2019 and set up the business in 2020 and as his success has grown he has wanted to share it with his team.

And after treating his team to £20k worth of gifts last year he decided to run the initiative for a third year running.

One team member won a trip to Barcelona - after spinning a wheel of destinations from across the world.

Benjy said: “I was hoping it was going to be something big.

“It landed on Barcelona, so we said while you’re out there we’ll pay for excursions and all your bits and bobs.”

In the run up to Christmas, the team were also treated to a supermarket sweep at Aldi and had 90 seconds to grab as much as they could.

Everything they collected was later donated to a local foodbank.

Benjy said: “That was one of my favourite parts. Giving back is what this is all about.”

The entire Christmas party and gifts cost around £100,000, something Benjy says people didn’t expect.

He said: “People thought I’d try to do this as cheaply as possible, but I genuinely want to give back to my staff.”

Benjy added that the generosity has also had a huge impact on the business, with videos of the giveaways receiving more than 50,000 shares online.

He said: “We’ve had so many comments, likes and new clients come from it.

“In a way, I almost see it as a marketing cost – even though it’s really for my staff.”

Around 10 per cent of the company’s profit margin is put aside to look after employees, something Benjy believes is key to success, especially for younger workers.

He said: “We want people to work hard, but creating the right environment helps people thrive.

“The happier the staff are, the better the workflow and work ethic is.”

Benjy believes more businesses would do the same if UK regulations made it easier to reward staff.

He said: “The government only lets you spend £350 untaxed on employees.

“Anything above that gets taxed at 40 per cent, which limits what employers can do.”

Despite the costs, Benjy says he has no plans to slow down – and hopes others will follow his lead.

He said: “I’d love to see more people do this. Look at MrBeast for example, he’s created a multi-million-pound empire by giving to people and doing things others wouldn’t think are possible.

“If you treat people well, they’ll work harder for you, and everyone wins.”