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Appropriate Wedding Gifts for Employees

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When you take the initiative to recognizing important achievements in your employees’ lives, you build goodwill among the staff. Use major moments like weddings to show your appreciation with gifts likely to come from the boss. An appropriate gift depends on the relationship you have with the employee and whether the gift is coming from you personally or from the company.

Charitable Donation

Socially conscious couples often ask wedding guests to make a donation to a specific charitable cause in lieu of gifts, according to the Washington Post. A donation for anything from $25 to $250 in the newlywed’s names is an appropriate gesture as it shows that you have paid attention to the passions of your staff members and honored their wishes. At the same time, you can use the donation as a tax write-off.

Shop the Registry

One of the most appropriate places to find the best gift is through the couple’s gift registry. Once you’ve decided on an amount you’re willing to spend for an employee, any choice from the registry will be in line. The rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the person getting married, the more you should spend. For example, you may spend the standard minimum of $50 on a clerk that you barely know while spending closer to the $130 average spent by friends and family members.

Time Off

Build goodwill with employees by giving time off for a honeymoon as a wedding gift. According to Small Business Trends, employees who are given days off to spend time with their families tend to be more loyal, energetic and productive. Paid time off is an effective way to honor and value employees. At the same time, giving time off as a gift is an efficient way of building loyalty in your staff. Consider the high costs of recruiting, hiring and training new employees, and the money spent on two to five paid days off can look more and more like a sensible investment.

Impersonal Gifts

Emily Post recommends sticking with impersonal gifts such as food baskets or tickets to a restaurant or the theater. Books and music are appropriate if you know your employees’ tastes and preferences. If the gift is coming from your personal account, stick with gift certificates to a home store if the employee has a house or to the local specialty grocery. Cash and gift cards from the company need to be recorded as pay with the attending taxes taken out, according to the IRS.

References
Writer

Linda Ray is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years reporting experience. She's covered business for newspapers and magazines, including the "Greenville News," "Success Magazine" and "American City Business Journals." Ray holds a journalism degree and teaches writing, career development and an FDIC course called "Money Smart."

Photo Credits

Maria Teijeiro/Photodisc/Getty Images