Travel eSIMs as an Employee Perk: A Low-Cost Benefit Staff Actually Use

Looking for low-cost employee perks ideas that staff will actually use? Travel data is one. A prepaid travel eSIM for an employee's holiday, or for a trip home to see family abroad, often costs less than £10 for 5GB, and under HMRC's trivial benefits rules a gift that costs £50 or less can be tax-free if it is not cash, not a reward for work and not part of the employment contract. This guide covers ways to offer travel data as a staff perk, the UK tax basics, and how to set it up with a SimplySIM Business account.

Last checked: 27 October 2026. Tax rules and prices change, so check the official HMRC guidance on gov.uk, and the current plan price, before you rely on anything here.

Why travel data makes a good staff perk

Most perks are either expensive (private medical cover, gym memberships) or easy to forget (another branded mug). Travel data sits in between: it is cheap, it is personal and people notice it the moment they land and their phone just works. Many UK mobile plans now charge a daily fee for roaming, even in Europe, so a travel eSIM saves the employee real money. Our UK roaming charges guide sets out what the main networks charge.

Ideas that work well for small businesses and HR teams:

• Holiday data credit. Give each employee a plan for their summer or winter break, chosen for their destination.
• Trips home to see family. Staff with family in Poland, India, Turkey or elsewhere often travel for two weeks or more. A plan with 30 days' validity covers a long visit, and it is a thoughtful gesture that costs little.
• Welcome gifts. A travel eSIM for a new starter's first holiday, given with their welcome pack.
• Birthday or festive gifts. A plan for a trip they have mentioned, instead of another voucher.
• Incentives and rewards. You can use travel data as a prize or a reward for hitting a target, but read the tax section first: a reward for work or performance is not a trivial benefit, so it is usually taxable.

Example costs for popular holiday destinations

On 27 October 2026, SimplySIM plans included:

The business discount is taken off the whole order, so the total for several plans can differ by a penny from adding up the figures above. Prices change, so check the plan page on the day you buy. If you are not sure how much data to give, our guide to how much mobile data you need for a week abroad helps, and for multi-country trips see regional versus single-country eSIMs.

UK tax rules for staff perks: trivial benefits, P11D and benefits in kind

This is general information, not tax advice. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances, so check with your accountant before you set up a perk.

The trivial benefits exemption. HMRC's trivial benefits guidance says you do not have to pay tax on a benefit for an employee if all of these apply:

• it cost you £50 or less to provide
• it is not cash or a cash voucher
• it is not a reward for their work or performance
• it is not in the terms of their contract

A travel eSIM given as a birthday, holiday or welcome gift, costing well under £50, looks like it can fit these conditions. A plan given as a prize for hitting a sales target does not, because it is a reward for performance. If you promise the perk in employment contracts or offer letters, it also fails the test.

Directors of close companies. The same guidance says a director of a close company cannot receive trivial benefits worth more than £300 in a tax year. HMRC describes a close company as a limited company run by 5 or fewer shareholders, which covers many small businesses.

When it is a benefit in kind. If a perk is not exempt, it is normally a taxable benefit in kind. Employers usually report it to HMRC on form P11D and pay Class 1A National Insurance on it. According to HMRC's deadlines page, the report and the employee's copy are due by 6 July after the end of the tax year, and Class 1A payment is due by 22 July if paid electronically. Some employers payroll benefits instead. For small, occasional items, a PAYE Settlement Agreement lets the employer pay the tax on the employee's behalf: HMRC lists small gifts and vouchers and incentive awards among its examples of minor items.

Salary sacrifice is not a good fit. HMRC's salary sacrifice guidance says exemptions for benefits in kind do not apply to salary sacrifice schemes, and a new arrangement is valued at the higher of the salary given up and the normal benefit in kind value. For a perk that costs a few pounds, that removes any tax advantage and adds payroll work. Treat travel data as a gift or an expense, not a sacrifice.

The mobile phone exemption. HMRC's mobile phone guidance exempts one mobile phone or SIM card per employee, where the contract is between the employer and the supplier, and says salary sacrifice arrangements are not exempt. Its Employment Income Manual confirms that a SIM card provided on its own can count, but the definition is built around apparatus for spoken messages. We could not find HMRC guidance that deals with a prepaid, data-only travel eSIM, and if the employee already has a company phone the one-phone allowance is already used. So do not assume this exemption covers a travel eSIM perk: ask your accountant.

Business use is different. A travel eSIM bought so an employee can work on a business trip is a business cost, not a perk. The same HMRC manual says phones provided solely for business use stay exempt as long as any private use is not significant. If you are setting up data for work trips, our guide to cutting staff roaming bills covers policy, costs and VAT.

How to set it up with SimplySIM Business

A free SimplySIM Business account lets you buy plans for staff, send them straight to each person and keep the records in one place:

• Create the account. Go to Set up your business account, sign in or create a SimplySIM login, then enter your business name and your name (company number and phone are optional). It is free, with no contract.
• Choose plans and recipients. In your business dashboard, open Issue eSIMs, search for each destination, add the plan, and enter the name and email of the person it is for. Each eSIM goes to one person, and one order can include up to 30 eSIMs. You pay once, securely on Stripe.
• Your discount is automatic. At the time of writing, business accounts get 10% off every business order, applied at checkout, and higher agreed rates are kept.
• Delivery. SimplySIM emails the installation details straight to each person. If you would rather hand the gift over yourself, choose Send all to me.
• Records for payroll and P11D. The dashboard lists every eSIM issued (recipient, plan, status and expiry) and every order with its invoice, and you can export your orders as a CSV file. That makes it easier to show what each person received and what it cost.
• Or a staff discount code. If you would rather let staff choose and buy their own plans, you can create a code in the dashboard with 5% or 10% off, which they enter in the basket. A code can't be used on orders placed through the business dashboard, and it can't be combined with some other discounts. Ask your accountant how a staff discount should be treated.

Before you buy, check each person's phone supports eSIM and is unlocked with our device compatibility checker. Travel eSIMs are data only, so staff keep their UK SIM for calls and texts and can still use WhatsApp on their usual number (see keeping WhatsApp on your UK number). Tell them when to install the eSIM, and never post QR codes in a group chat: our guide to eSIM scams and fake QR codes explains why. If you want to talk through a perk scheme, contact our team.

FAQs

Is a travel eSIM for an employee a taxable benefit?

It depends on why you give it. A gift costing £50 or less that is not cash, not a reward for work and not in the contract can be a tax-free trivial benefit. A reward for performance is usually a taxable benefit in kind. A plan for a business trip is a business cost. Check with your accountant.

What are good low-cost employee benefits for staff who travel?

Travel data is one of the cheapest: a 5GB plan for Spain, Greece, Turkey, Poland or the USA cost under £10 at SimplySIM on 27 October 2026. It works as a holiday gift, a welcome present or support for staff visiting family abroad.

How much can I spend on a trivial benefit?

Each gift must cost £50 or less to provide. Directors of close companies cannot receive more than £300 of trivial benefits in a tax year. HMRC's gov.uk guidance has the full conditions.

Can I offer travel eSIMs through salary sacrifice?

You could, but it is rarely worth it. HMRC says benefit in kind exemptions do not apply to salary sacrifice, and the benefit is valued at the higher of the salary given up and its normal value, so there is no tax saving on a low-cost perk.

Does the mobile phone tax exemption cover a travel eSIM?

Don't assume so. The exemption covers one phone or SIM per employee on a contract between employer and supplier. We could not find HMRC guidance on prepaid data-only travel eSIMs, so ask your accountant.

Do employees need a special phone?

They need a phone that supports eSIM and is unlocked. Many recent iPhones, Pixels and Samsung Galaxy phones do, but check the exact model on our compatibility checker before you buy.