Relocation Reimagined : A New Era of Employee Mobility?

If you’re anything like me, you’ll love trawling property sites just to have a look and see what's out there… With Location, Location, Location on repeat, perhaps you’re dreaming of a townhouse in the city, or is a cottage in the country more your style? Maybe you’re even thinking of a holiday home in Spain (A Place in The Sun, anyone?)

And there’s a reason why these TV shows are so popular (no, it's not just me!), as it seems we are a nation on the move. Research conducted by Monster shows around 67% of so-called ‘Gen Z’ workers have indicated a willingness to relocate for work and Atlas’ 2025 Corporate Relocation Survey reports that companies increased their relocation budgets and numbers of employees relocated in 2024. 

So, if employees are happy to move and employers are budgeting accordingly, an employer who can offer a comprehensive and employee-focussed approach to relocation, stands to benefit in seeking to attract the best talent to their location.

Incentivising relocation 

Progressive businesses operate across all corners of the UK, offering interesting and diverse career opportunities. But with employees often gravitating towards the bright lights of London and our other major cities, how can organisations operating in less well-known areas attract talent? 

Whilst the nature of the business and the role itself will clearly be core to an individual’s desire to move, if a person is wavering, an attractive and tailored relocation package may just help tip the balance. Whilst the overall package is likely to differ depending on the role you are filling, the level and breadth of financial assistance will often be a primary factor for the employee; financial elements may include:

• Relocation expenses – these might cover the cost to the individual of transporting their worldly goods to their new location, including packing, removal and storage costs, or the cost of flights if the individual and their family are relocating from outside of the UK. 
• Housing and pet-care costs – you might cover a period of temporary hotel accommodation or rental costs or offer a contribution to sale and purchase costs where an employee is having to sell their existing home to relocate. You may even be happy to contribute to the cost of pet care if an employee can’t relocate their pet immediately. 
• Travel expenses – where an employee is struggling to sell their existing house and/or find alternative accommodation in their new location, you might consider covering travel expenses for a period of time to bridge the gap whilst they find that new dream home. 
• Time off – both a direct and indirect cost to the business, but you might offer additional paid leave whilst the employee sorts out housing and/or schooling arrangements or needs a bit of settling in time. 

Whatever package you are considering offering, you should think carefully about what is and is not included in the relocation package, any maximum caps on the amount available or the timeframe during which the benefit will be paid, and whether advance approval is required before an employee incurs a particular cost that they are expecting to be covered. You’ll need to be clear on any tax implications – some qualifying relocation costs may be tax-exempt, and so it is worth taking advice on this when formulating your relocation package. 

Equally, consider whether you will require the employee to repay all or any of their relocation costs if they leave the business within a specified period of joining. Any repayment provisions will need to be drafted carefully to avoid the risk that they are treated as a penalty clause, which could make the right to repayment unenforceable. Legal advice is recommended in these circumstances.

Whilst any financial support will certainly serve as a primary incentive, there are other measures that you might think about to further encourage employees to relocate:

• An enticing job advert which sells not just the role and your business but the wider benefits of the area is a great start and make sure to follow that experience through at interview. 
• Can the would-be recruit meet others in the team with similar circumstances? Parents, for example, will find it helpful to understand about the local nursery and school provision and someone on hand to talk about sports and leisure activities will help bring your area to life. 
• And don’t let your efforts stop once the newly-relocated employee has arrived – put together a welcome pack (or enhance your existing one) to include local guides to and signpost information about local schools, estate agents, gyms, leisure facilities and other ‘need to knows’ about your local area. 
• If you have a social network for employees, ensure signposting to this is included in your New Starter welcome pack. 
• Make sure any scheduled check-ins, post-joining, include a discussion about how the employee is settling in outside of work and whether there is anything more you can do to help. 
• A final point to consider is that relocating with a family can be a lengthy exercise, particularly where there are school-aged children.  If you want your new recruit in post before their family is in a position to move, can you offer flex through your hybrid working policy or otherwise to allow them the opportunity to work from home for part of the week/ month in the interim? 

The data would suggest that there are increasing numbers of people ready and willing to move for work, but relocating can be both stressful and expensive. So, if you want to be the employer of choice in your location attracting and retaining the best talent from wherever they may currently be based, putting in the time (and, if you can, the money) to smooth the relocation path is likely to be a worthwhile investment. 

This year, moving season may be more active than usual. According to Atlas' 58th annual Corporate Relocation Survey, which is the industry’s first and longest-running study analyzing talent mobility trends, work-related relocations are expected to rise in 2025.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2025/05/20/gen-z-corporate-relocation-trends/