UK employees hoping Christmas gift to boss will help maintain employment

More than a quarter of employees in Britain intend to lavish gifts on their boss this Christmas, with many hoping it will help them hang on to their job, research from Capital One found today.

A total of 27% of those polled plan to butter up their boss with a gift, with £27.40 (€31.91) being the typical amount workers plan to spend.

Londoners are much more likely to give something to their manager than the national average, with 52% planning to do so and spending around £35.70 (€41.57).

Despite the generosity planned in the workplace amid deteriorating employment conditions, 26% of people across the UK are not planning to buy their spouse anything for Christmas.

The study of 2,000 people also predicted that spending on Christmas gifts will be down by almost £100 (€116.47) compared with last year, with a figure of £443 (€515.94) per person for 2011 compared with £541 (€630.02) in 2010.

Capital One released the research to highlight its financial education initiative called Credit Made Clearer, to encourage responsible spending.