Our employee benefits

Accent colleagues are entitled to 28 days of holiday, plus bank holidays, increasing by 1 day up each year up to 33 (pro rata for part time).

An extra day to celebrate your birthday.

If you need extra time off, you can buy up to two additional weeks of annual leave through salary sacrifice (at your manager’s discretion).

You can also sell up to 3 days annual leave back to us.

Your birthday, your day! Take an extra day off to celebrate. You can use it anytime in your calendar birthday month.

We understand that it can be difficult when you are diagnosed with a serious medical condition that requires ongoing treatment and assessment. It can be tough to juggle your treatment and appointments alongside your work and family life, particularly at a time when you need to put your health and wellbeing first. So, we’re pleased to offer 10 extra days paid medical leave for medical appointments and treatment which are related to a disability, serious diagnosed illness, terminal conditions, fertility treatment, menopause related treatment, and gender reassignment - without the need to work this time back.

There is no one-size fits-all way of working at Accent because a single rule or prescribed ratio that all teams must follow would negatively impact how well we work.

That’s why all our teams can discuss and agree appropriate hybrid arrangements with their leaders.

Our priority is always on delivering excellent services that meet the needs and expectations of our customers.

But the way teams work also needs to create a positive and motivating work environment, one where all colleagues feel connected and supported, and can collaborate, grow and thrive.

For more formal arrangements on an individual basis such as job sharing, working compressed hours or a different working pattern, anyone can make a Flexible Working Request from the first

Need support? Our EAP provider offer 24/7 support including virtual and face to face counselling, wellbeing tools and self-help resources and legal and financial support.

We encourage colleagues to make the most of their leave, but if you have a couple of extra days you won’t use, you can sell up to three days back to Accent (pro rata for part-time colleagues). You can also carry over up to one working week if you prefer to save it for the next year.

Additional paid medical leave We appreciate at times there might be other reasons why you need to take leave from Accent to deal with personal matters, such as caring for your family or in the unfortunate situation that a family member passes away. On these occasions, we have provisions in place to support you with both paid and unpaid time away from work.

7.5% colleague contribution

The Accent Group Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme. It gives you a pension based on the average of your pensionable earnings during your membership in the scheme. This is calculated using a fraction of 1/90th of your pensionable pay, known as the accrual rate, which is then revalued in line with inflation.

The revalued pension amounts earned each year are added together to calculate your guaranteed pension at retirement.

There's also the option to salary sacrifice contributions after two years in the scheme.

Only around 4% of defined benefit schemes in the UK are still open to new members.

4% matched colleague contribution

The Social Housing Pension Scheme, also known as SHPS DC, is a defined contribution scheme. It pays contributions into your personal ‘pension pot’, which are then invested in funds selected either by you or an investment manager.

The benefits you get when you retire are flexible and depend on the value of your pot at that time.

Contributions can be made through salary sacrifice so you can take advantage of the National Insurance savings this brings.

How auto-enrolment works

All employers are required to auto-enrol their employees into a pension scheme, although this can be affected by your age and salary.

If you decide not to join our Accent Group Pension Scheme when you start working for us, you’ll be auto-enrolled into the SHPS DC scheme. You can opt out if you prefer, but you won’t get any pension on retirement or have any life insurance cover.

For your peace of mind, we provide life assurance cover at three times your gross annual salary for all colleagues.

Colleagues are enrolled on a Health Cash Plan, letting you claim back costs on things like:

• Dental treatments and check-ups
• Optical costs like eye tests and prescription glasses
• Physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy
• Prescriptions, vaccinations, and health & wellbeing treatments
• Specialist consultations, X-rays and scans
• Hospital stays, both inpatient and day surgery
• Maternity and adoption appointments

Save up to 42% on a bike, e-bike, bike insurance and cycling accessories with our cycle-to-work scheme, Cyclesheme. You won’t have to pay anything upfront either – instead, your payments are taken from your salary. 

If your role requires you to travel regularly as part of your job, you may qualify for an Essential Car User Allowance (ECUA). This helps cover the cost of using your personal vehicle for work purposes. We have tailored our approach, with allowances increasing in line with mileage. This is reviewed quarterly throughout the year, with adjustment made to allowance payments to ensure alignment with your mileage on a rolling twelve month basis.

From supermarkets and high street shopping, to utility bills and retailers in your local community, discover a world of savings and discounts with you in mind through our Benefits Platform.

The Home and Electronics benefit gives you access to 1000s of items fulfilled by trusted retailers. You can spread the cost of your order through manageable salary sacrifice payments.

You can choose from a wide range of cars including electric, hybrid, petrol, diesel, and even preloved vehicles. Different tax rules apply depending on the fuel type, so it’s worth exploring your options before deciding.

We have enhanced family-friendly leave in place to support you as your family grows.

For maternity/adoption/shared parental, leave we have:

• 6 weeks at 100%
• 20 weeks at 50% + Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
• 13 weeks at SMP

For paternity leave, we provide:

• 2 weeks full pay leave
• 2 weeks unpaid leave

We believe in giving back to the communities we serve, and every colleague is entitled to one paid day per year to volunteer within our communities, whether through an Accent-organised event or a partner organisation. In addition, colleagues are encouraged to support at least one customer engagement event, such as ‘The Big Conversation’, and spend at least one day shadowing a frontline colleague to better understand the work we do.

While volunteering, you’ll still receive your normal pay. 

For part-time colleagues, the number of volunteering days you’re offered is calculated pro-rata. 

If you're facing financial difficulty with an unexpected cost, our Hardship Fund will be there to support you following a confidential application process.

You may be asked to attend Jury Service during your employment with us. Usually, those attending Jury Service can claim loss of earnings from the court. However, it can take a while to receive this payment. Therefore, to ensure that you are not without pay, your pay will not be affected during a period of jury service, and you will not need to make a claim for loss of earning from the court.

Book a video or phone consultation with an online GP at a time that suits you, and access free advice, reassurance, diagnosis, private prescriptions and open referrals. 

Sign up for our health club membership, and get discounts on your membership at gyms throughout the UK, including PureGym, Nuffield Health, Virgin Active and many more. 

Save up to 42% on a bike, e-bike, bike insurance and cycling accessories with our cycle-to-work scheme, Cyclesheme. You won’t have to pay anything upfront either – instead, your payments are taken from your salary. 

If you’re a member of the Accent team who uses screens and monitors as part of their work (known as DSE users), we’ll cover the cost of your eye test, and contribute £50 towards the cost of your new frames and lenses. 

We’ll contribute up to £10 to the cost of your annual flu vaccination.