In the current economic climate every business needs to look for new ways to improve but few businesses take advantage of the HMRC approved schemes

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/exb/a-z/s/suggestion-schemes.htm

Basically there are 2 types of award:

Encouragement Awards where the employer can pay £25 tax and NI free

Financial Benefit Awards where employees can be paid up to £5000 tax and NI free

Financial benefit awards are exempt from tax and NICs up to the greater of the following, subject to an overall limit of £5,000:

• 50 per cent of the financial benefit you reasonably expect the suggestion to lead to in the first year following its adoption
• 10 per cent of the financial benefit you reasonably expect in the first five years following adoption

Sounds like a win win to me

steve@bicknells.net