The legal sector has traditionally suffered from long hours, intense workloads, and poor employee wellbeing. This still rings true, as 66% of workers say they feel ‘overwhelmed’ by their work - the highest figure across all sectors.
Despite this, the new research from Zest, the leading employee benefits technology platform, reveals that only a third (34%) of legal employees use all benefits available to them through their employer.
This could be down to either people not knowing what is available, or not finding the benefits offered of use. Less than six in ten (57%) legal workers know what perks are available to them, and only 50% think their benefits package is inadequate. Just four in ten (43%) think they get value for money from their benefits.
Poor financial support from firms, and the failure to address employee needs leads to workers feeling undervalued and under-supported. More than half (55%) want their company to invest in better benefits and 53% say the quality of benefits impacts morale, affecting overall employee engagement and threatening productivity within firms.
As well as reducing morale and performance, poor wellbeing could also have a significant impact on recruitment and retention in a competitive market. Concerningly for legal businesses, more than a third (36%) of legal employees say they want to change sectors just to access better benefits.
“With two thirds of legal professionals feeling extremely overwhelmed at work, immediate action is needed.”
Antonio Barradas, Regional Managing Director, Zest
“The legal sector has always faced the brunt of stress and poor workplace wellbeing, and it’s clear that current benefits offerings are doing little to positively change that. With two thirds of legal professionals feeling extremely overwhelmed at work, and many thinking that their packages are inadequate, it is clear immediate action is needed.
“Benefits are a cost-effective solution to engaging employees and retaining talent. However, they are ineffective if they are not personalised or tailored to employee needs. Employers who are providing generic, off-the-shelf packages are only creating an expensive, ineffectual solution to the stress epidemic plaguing law firms and are getting poor value for money as a result.
“The key to effectively supporting employee wellbeing is transparent, regular communication and real time insights, allowing employers to understand exactly what benefits are in demand and enabling employees to know exactly how they are being supported by their company.”
Top sectors for employee overwhelm:
| Legal | 66% |
| IT/Computing | 62% |
| Business Services | 59% |
| Healthcare | 57% |
| Education | 51% |
| Financial Services | 50% |
| Wholesale & Retail | 49% |
| Professional Services | 49% |
Zest, part of the Epassi group, is an employee benefits technology platform allowing employers to oversee the usage of their benefits packages, allowing them to communicate, adapt and streamline benefits packages to their employees’ needs.
Methodology
Research conducted by independent research agency Opinium which surveyed 2,000 UK workers weighted to be nationally representative between 11th – 22nd June 2026.
About Zest
Zest is a multi-award-winning employee benefits platform for delivering, communicating, and managing flexible benefits.
https://www.zestbenefits.com/
