Board One-Pager · The Belonging Economy

The Severance Gap

Including a fitness membership in a redundancy package costs less than two hours of employment solicitor time — and addresses the one risk the package currently ignores: what happens to a person’s health, and their goodwill, in the months after they leave.

The comparison

Line	Figure	Note
Gym membership, corporate rate	£30–£50 pp/month	A NICE-recommended, evidence-based mental-health intervention at roughly the price of a phone contract.
Cohort of 50, three months	£4,500	At £30 per person per month, negotiated with a multi-site operator or aggregator.
Per-person, 6–12 months	£240–£720	Bulk negotiated rate. Less than two hours of employment solicitor time.
Employment tribunal claim	£10,000–£25,000	Legal costs alone, straightforward unfair dismissal — before any award.
Unfair dismissal compensation cap	£123,543	Cap removed entirely from January 2027 (Employment Rights Act 2025).
Failure to consult (collective)	180 days’ pay	Protective award doubled from 6 April 2026.
Survivor-syndrome productivity loss	5.2% of payroll	Year one. Layoffs also drive a 26% rise in active disengagement among those who stay.

The asymmetry: supporting a 50-person cohort for three months costs roughly £4,500. A single straightforward tribunal claim costs two to five times that in legal fees before anyone is awarded anything — and the reputational and retention damage lands on the people you kept.

Why fitness, specifically

This is not a wellbeing gesture. Structured physical activity is a first-line intervention for depression under NICE guideline NG222, and a 2024 BMJ meta-analysis found exercise produces effects on depressive symptoms comparable to antidepressants and psychotherapy. Regular exercisers carry a 30% lower risk of developing depression. Redundancy removes routine, social contact and identity at the same moment — a gym replaces all three, which an outplacement webinar does not.

Four UK tax routes (take advice on structure)

Within the £30,000 termination threshold — ex-gratia termination payments are exempt from income tax and NICs up to £30,000 (ITEPA 2003 ss.401–403). A £240–£720 membership is dwarfed by the allowance. This is the default route for a standard 3–6-month package.
Outplacement counselling exemption (ITEPA 2003 s.310; EIM13745) — outplacement services are entirely exempt and do not count toward the £30,000 threshold at all, where the provider integrates structured physical wellbeing.
Employer-controlled recreational facility (ITEPA 2003 s.261; EIM21825) — relevant if you are converting vacating space into a community fitness and social hub.
Corporate charitable contribution (CTA 2010 s.189) — where a registered charity or CIC operates the facility, contributions are deductible against corporation tax profits.

What to ask for

A Transition Membership: a fixed-term membership of 3–24 months, duration matched to the restructuring timeline, negotiated at a bulk corporate rate with a multi-site operator or an aggregator platform, with utilisation reporting back to HR. Roughly 400,000 people are made redundant in the UK each year — operators will take the conversation.

Sources: NICE NG222 (Depression in adults: treatment and management); Noetel et al. (2024), “Effect of exercise for depression”, BMJ; ACAS redundancy guidance; Employment Rights Act 2025; ITEPA 2003 ss.261, 310, 401–403; CTA 2010 s.189; HMRC Employment Income Manual EIM13505, EIM13745, EIM21825; Glassdoor Economic Research (layoff impact); Lattice, 2024 State of People Strategy Report; ONS rolling redundancy data.

Figures are correct at time of publication and may have been updated since. This is not legal, financial or tax advice — qualified advice is required to confirm any structure meets the statutory conditions.