'Perks don't pay bills': Ankur Warikoo slams fake HR benefits, urges focus on real pay

Perks may look shiny on paper, but as Ankur Warikoo puts it, they don’t pay bills. The entrepreneur and content creator took to LinkedIn to call out companies that dangle “benefits” in place of fair pay. In his viral post, he decoded what HR really means when they say, “We don’t offer a high base, but we do offer perks and benefits,” urging professionals to see through the illusion and bring every negotiation back to one thing — real money.

Warikoo’s post began with a simple yet stinging observation: when an interviewer emphasises perks over pay, what they’re really saying is they expect you to value comfort over compensation. To prove his point, he broke down three of the most common corporate “perks” — ESOPs, free meals, and unlimited leave — and revealed the truth behind each.

ESOPs
He explained that ESOPs are often treated like lottery tickets, even though only a few people actually see them materialise into real gains. The payout, he said, depends entirely on timing, vesting schedules, and whether the company even survives long enough to make them worth anything.

Free Meals

On free meals, Warikoo was even more blunt. He pointed out that a meal plan might save you Rs 4,000–Rs 5,000 a month at best — hardly a substitute for a stronger salary. He added that such perks often exist to make gruelling hours feel more tolerable, quietly shifting the focus away from fair compensation.

Unlimited leave

As for the much-hyped “unlimited leave,” Warikoo called it a mirage of trust and flexibility. Without any clear structure, most employees end up taking less time off. When boundaries blur, he said, rest becomes something people feel guilty about rather than entitled to — making “unlimited leave” more of a psychological trick than a real benefit.

How to steer the conversation to money?
Warikoo also offered a practical way for professionals to handle such conversations. He advised bringing the focus back to real numbers by asking about the actual cash value of the role rather than getting swayed by the listed perks. According to him, any company that hesitates to give a clear breakdown of compensation is a major red flag. He ended his post with a reminder that while perks may sound impressive, they don’t cover expenses — only cash does.