Quick Answer
Yes. David Lloyd Clubs gives its employees a free or heavily discounted club membership as a standard staff benefit in 2026. The exact level depends on contract type, role, and how long the employee has been with the company, but it is one of the most visible perks on the careers page.
For permanent full time and part time staff, the membership is usually free at their home club, with discounted access at other UK and European sites.
What the staff membership covers
- Free use of the home club. Gym, pool, classes, sauna, hot tub, and Clubroom.
- Reduced rate for family. Partners and children added on at a discounted rate.
- Cross club access. Reduced rate or free use at other David Lloyd Clubs while travelling.
- Discount on Spa Retreat treatments at most sites.
- Discount in the Clubroom restaurant as standard.
The exact percentage on family memberships and treatments is set by the company and varies by role.
Who qualifies
The benefit is open to most permanent and contracted staff, with some variation by role:
- Reception, fitness, racquets coaches, swim teachers, kids' team, Clubroom, cleaning, and management roles all typically qualify.
- Personal trainers on the employed revenue share model are usually covered.
- Casual or short term agency staff sometimes get a reduced rate rather than free use.
- New starters often have a short qualifying period before the family discount kicks in.
Practical limits
- Staff cannot use the club during their own working hours.
- Peak hour caps may apply (typical for trainers who could otherwise dominate gym floor space).
- Staff guest passes have their own monthly cap, separate from member passes.
- Membership ends or moves to a leaver rate when the employee leaves the company.
How much it is worth
At Platinum equivalent rates of £150 to £260 a month, the benefit is worth £1,800 to £3,100 a year per employee. Add the family discount and the Spa Retreat treatment rate, and the package is one of the most generous perks in UK health and fitness retail.
FAQ
Do all David Lloyd staff get free membership?
Most permanent staff, yes. Agency and short term roles often get a discount rather than free use.
Do staff family members also get free access?
No, family members get a discounted rate but pay a monthly fee.
Can staff bring guests for free?
Staff get a separate monthly guest pass allocation, usually one or two free guests a month at the home club.
More context on the staff benefit
The free membership is the most visible reason people apply for David Lloyd roles. Reception, fitness, racquets, swim teachers, and kids' team applications often spike in January, partly because new year resolutions push people into the gym and partly because they see the staff benefit advertised on the careers page and realise they can effectively get paid to use the club.
The benefit is not just a perk. It is also a quality control tool. Staff who train at the club regularly see kit failures faster, spot cleanliness issues earlier, and identify timetable gaps from a member's perspective rather than a manager's. The chain explicitly leans on this and even encourages staff to bring household guests on the staff guest pass for the same reason.
If you leave the company, the membership ends. Some long service staff do get a leaver rate option, but it is not automatic and depends on the contract type. The honest expectation is to treat the free membership as a benefit of the job, not as a portable perk.
Practical playbook for would be applicants
If you are considering a role at David Lloyd partly for the free membership, treat the perk as a tie breaker, not the headline. The roles that benefit most from the free club access are the ones where you genuinely want to be at the club outside working hours: reception staff who enjoy the spa, fitness team members who like attending classes from a member perspective, racquets coaches who play their own ladders. The roles that benefit least are back office shifts where you rarely set foot in the gym anyway.
For dual income households, the staff family rate can be the single largest financial benefit of the job. Run the maths against a Platinum family bundle and the savings often exceed several thousand pounds a year. Combine it with a tax efficient cycle to work scheme and a discounted Clubroom food bill, and the total benefit can rival the headline salary on entry level roles.
Once in role, the social network inside the team is the under appreciated extra. Many long term David Lloyd staff stay through several pay reviews specifically because the friendships and the daily routine inside a club are hard to walk away from for a small uplift elsewhere.
Related reading
Final word
Free club membership is one of the headline reasons people apply for David Lloyd roles in the first place. The package is worth around £2,000 to £3,000 a year before counting Clubroom discounts, family rates, and Spa Retreat treatments.
