An employment allowance is a fixed sum of money paid to an employee or taken into consideration when working out their final salary. Often an employment allowance is given to meet a specific need essential to their role (e.g. to buy uniform, safety equipment, or pay for travel expenses).
The allowance amount can come in many forms and may be paid as a fixed amount in basic salary or as an increase in taxable allowance leading to a reduction in the amount of tax paid.