Closed petition Introduce tax savings for gym membership salary sacrifice schemes

Closed on 12 April 2021

Introduce tax savings for employers who pay for their employees’ gym memberships, exercise classes, and home workout programmes through a salary sacrifice scheme. This would promote a fitter, healthier population and reduce the strain on the NHS, which is particularly important during COVID-19.

HMRC provides guidance for employers who want to incentivise employees to keep fit and healthy by offering a salary sacrifice scheme to cover the cost of gym memberships. However, there are currently no associated tax savings for the employer or employee. Such savings would reduce the cost of the membership and promote a healthier workforce, potentially reducing time off for sickness and mental health reasons. A similar scheme was previously scrapped by HMRC and I would like to see it brought back. This could also help the struggling fitness industry recover from months of closures during the Corona virus outbreak.