Should a company send gifts for life events?

If it can do it for everyone, yes. A gift for one person's loss and nothing for another's is worse than no policy at all, so the point is consistency.

There's a real cost, too. Someone has to hear the news, choose the gift, order it and get it to the right place, and in a small company that may be one person, on top of their day job.

A short written policy answers both: which occasions count, and who does the work.

Policies vary, but the same few occasions come up. As one example, Florida Tech's policy, last reviewed June 2022, covers:

• Birth or adoption: a floral arrangement for the employee.
• Hospitalization or death: a floral arrangement or a donation, for the employee or an immediate family member.
• A limit: $50 for either.
• Who arranges it: HR, told by the employee's team, including any request for a donation in place of flowers.

(Florida Tech: Flowers and Gifts, read October 29, 2026)

Some policies also cover weddings and retirements. Whatever you choose, write it down so the next person who hears the news knows what to do.

In sensitive cases, yes. Before anything goes out for a loss, an illness, a pregnancy or a new baby, check quietly with the person, or with someone close to them:

• Do they want it known? Not everyone wants their news shared with the team. A gift signed by twenty people tells twenty people.
• Where should it go? Home may not be the right place during a hospital stay or a funeral.
• What would help? Some families ask for a donation in place of flowers. Some people would rather have a meal than a bouquet.

If you can't ask, a short card from their manager is always safe.

Something that helps, from the team, with a note:

• A new baby: something for the parents, such as food they don't have to cook, or a comfort for them rather than another thing for the baby.
• A loss: a plant, food for the household, or a donation if the family asks for one. A card signed by the people who work with them matters.
• An illness: something practical and comforting. Keep it simple, and don't ask about their health to choose it. When you ask Gratos, "a get-well gift for Sam" is enough: don't tell Gratos about anyone's condition (Terms, §4).
• A wedding: something from their registry, if they have one.
• A retirement: something for what they'll do next.

The IRS lists "flowers or fruit or similar items provided to employees under special circumstances (for example, on account of illness, a family crisis, or outstanding performance)" as examples of de minimis benefits. It also says gift cards, "no matter how little, are never excludable as a de minimis benefit" (IRS Publication 15-B).

We can't tell you how it applies to you; ask your accountant.

1. Someone asks. The manager or HR asks in Gratos, or in Slack with /gratos: "a sympathy gift for Jordan's family, under $50".
2. Gratos finds a gift from a real store, within the amount, and shows the full price, tax and shipping included.
3. Confirm it and add a card. Gratos can draft the card message, and you can edit it.
4. Approve. Someone on the team approves the exact total.

Gratos then places the order on the store's own website, and the store ships it. Someone on the team asks for the gift, and nothing is bought until the exact total is approved.