Canada’s Universal Health System
When it comes to health benefits, the Government of Canada provides basic health coverage through it’s publicly-funded universal health care system. Coverage is for basic healthcare such as hospital and emergency room care, doctor visits, and various medical services like X-Rays or MRIs.
Provinces and territories administer and deliver health care services according to the Canada Health Act.
What Are Employee Perks
Employee perks are additions to employee compensation â which includes salary and benefits. Perks are not required by law or considered basic necessities. They typically help define and reinforce a companyâs overall culture and are considered important parts of enhancing the employee experience.
What Are Employee Benefits
Employee benefits are a form of non-monetary compensation that team members receive in addition to a regular salary.
These benefits typically include medical insurance, dental and vision coverage, life insurance and retirement planning, but there can be many more types of benefits and perks that employers choose to provide to their teams. Many of the benefits employers provide are only available for full-time employees.
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Employee Benefits You Should Adopt
The employee benefits you offer are one of the most important considerations for candidates. 3 in 5 people consider benefits and perks to be a leading factor in accepting a new job.
Great employee benefits can give a boost to your employer branding, helping you attract and retain that coveted top talent. And, once you’ve landed those great hires, employee benefits and perks help to ensure that your employees remain satisfied, engaged, and loyal to your company.
Employee benefits are important for various reasons, and they’re a top priority for most job seekers today. But what are employee benefits? And which ones should you be offering?
We’ll dig into both of those questions in this article.
Social Security And Medicare Contributions
Most employers dont consider social security and medicare contributions to be employee benefits, but they are. These are long-term benefits that both employees and employers pay into, with the knowledge that the employee will have access to them in the future.
The OASDI and SSI Program Rates & Limits for 2021 published by the U.S. Social Security Administration
- Employers are required to withhold Social Security tax at 6.2%, equal to or above the maximum wage base limit of 142,800.
- Once you hit your max contributions on your wage base limit, social security stops being deducted from your paycheck.
- Individuals who are self-employed pay tax at 12.4%. The Medicare tax is set at 2.9% .
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Request A Written Agreement
In the legal realm, a handshake is not enough. Get your agreement in writing and review the details before signing any paperwork. For validity and transparency, the offer should be written with the agreed-upon terms clearly defined throughout. Document, file, and store any written communications you have that detail the terms of your agreement as well. The paperwork you keep will help to ensure that you are treated fairly and your employer upholds the terms.
Employers offer competitive salaries to attract qualified candidates, but when they extend you an offer, be ready to stand up for what you deserve. The confidence you show in your abilities and worth will help in securing an employee benefits package you deserve.
Employee Benefits Required For Employers With 50+ Full
Depending on the size of your company, you may have additional requirements for what employee benefits you must offer your staff.
There are two major requirements for employee benefits that go into effect for employers who have more than 50 full-time employees:
- Health insurance
- Family and medical leave
These two employee benefits are not required by every employer, so we will cover them in more detail in the next section. Its important to note that they’re mandatory for any employer that passes the 50+ full-time employee benchmark.
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Why Are Employee Benefits Important
Offering a comprehensive employee benefits package has several advantages for small businesses and large corporations alike.
First, it shows that you recognize that employees have needs beyond the workplace and that youre invested in employees overall health and well-being. An example of programs highlighting employee wellness include Peletons corporate wellness initiative.
Second, it can help you to differentiate yourself from competitors in the hiring market. This allows you to attract talent by offering more annual sick days than other similar businesses, or unrestricted time off, an educational stipend, or covering 100% of health insurance costs. The types of benefits offered as well as the details of each can send a message about what the company values and how in touch it is with the workforce. Are the benefits the bare minimum? Are they serviceable or compelling?
Third, employee benefits can help with employee retention, which is more important now than ever before given the rate at which people are quitting jobs post-pandemic.
Employee assistance programs that focus on mental health assist employees through challenging times. They can even give career change guidance and counseling to ensure employees find the best fit within your organization.
The survey found that benefits packages that include more than financial compensation are more likely to provide companies with a competitive edge.
What Are Workers Perks And Benefits
Perks and benefits are non-salary compensation given to workers. Some people use the terms “perks” and “benefits” interchangeably. However, there are some fundamental differences between them. Benefits are non-wage and considered need-to-haves, while perks are non-wage nice-to-haves. Some benefits are legally mandated and include health insurance and voluntary benefits such as paid vacations. Perks are additional ways employers support the needs of their employees beyond the salary and benefits. A perk could come in the form of extended paid parental leave, employee discounts, or free gym memberships.
To find and retain talented team members, employers are devising ways of attracting the best candidates to their organization. There’s more emphasis on healthy corporate cultures and employee perks and benefits to improve job satisfaction. Employees weigh several factors before applying for a job or accepting a job offer. A good mix of a generous salary, perks, and a benefits package is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent. Some employees also prefer additional benefits and perks to a pay rise. Perks are not a legal requirement and may also not be a part of the employees contract.
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Disadvantages Of Paying For Employee Premiums
On the downside, paying for benefits can be expensive for smaller employers. For example, if your small business has a roster of just a few workers, including yourself, then the expense might outweigh the benefits. As such, these expenses are not static, meaning the cost to your business can change every year, making budgeting for these payments difficult.
Employment law and corresponding benefits packages can also be tricky. If handled poorly, legal issues and litigation can arise, meaning extra expenses incurred through the use of an employment lawyer. At the same time, your business might need to shell out additional money to pay for any legal fees incurred through checking contracts or due to litigation.
There may be fewer plan options available for small businesses. In addition, employees can opt out of employer-run benefits packages, so you will want to discuss the possibility of providing benefits to your employees before signing up for a plan.
No matter what types of benefits you decide to offer your employees, you will need the right tools to manage the businesss finances and payroll. Accounting software, like QuickBooks Online, can help you track monthly businesses expenses, including premium payments, manage payroll, and categorize payroll deductions to maximize tax savings.
Types Of Employee Benefits Every Hr Practitioner Should Know
In its 2019 Employee Happiness Index, HR tech company Benify distinguishes 4 categories of employee benefits:
This includes working hours & leave, skills development, food & beverage, and employee clubs, activities & gifts.
Working hours & leaveThink of flextime here for instance. Flextime gives your employees the possibility to decide about their working hours and/or the location they want to work from. Other examples include additional holidays and, one of the other benefits employees value most, paid parental leave.
Skills developmentRapid technological developments and the fact that people change jobs more often make skills development more important too. Skills development, however, is not just an important benefit for employees, its also essential for organizations if they want to remain competitive.
Food & BeverageWe already mentioned the meal vouchers in France. Other benefits that fall into this category include free lunches, fruit, and coffee. At AIHR, we get to enjoy a free lunch every day and its something thats very much appreciated by the team. As an added bonus, free lunch and fruit are also a good way to promote healthy eating habits at work.
Employee clubs, activities & giftsThere are heaps of possibilities when it comes to this category of the employee benefits package: knitting clubs, running groups, game nights, Secret Santas, anniversary gifts, you name it.
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Here Are The Top 10 Employee Benefits Worldwide:
- Private Health Care Plan
- Retirement / Pension plans
- Work From Home and/or flexible hours
- Food and snacks
- Bonuses / Awards / Gifts
- Company equipment
Note that the most popular benefits vary per location and there are also benefits that are exclusive to certain areas. For example, Australians can receive novated leasing as a benefit, enabling them to lease cars with their employer taking on the contracts obligations.
In the U.S., where paid parental leave isnt federally mandated by law like in other countries , time off for mothers and fathers is a popular company-offered benefit.
In four English-speaking countries, employee benefits may include:
| US |
| Employee Discounts |
Examples Of Employee Benefits For A Greater Employee Commitment
1. Cover the Medical Expenses and Insurance Cost
As goes an old saying, health is wealth. If you want your employees to be happy, keep them healthy and fit! To build the level of commitment from your employees it is essential that you provide them with benefits first. The first thing you need to do is pen down a medical coverage plan that covers their medical expenses and insurance. You can also provide them with:
A. Offer them with facilities to exercise
Your workforce will be enthusiastic to have space to work out and stay fit. This will not only save you time and money in the number of lost working days but will also facilitate a healthy environment which will result in less number of sick days marked. And it should be mentioned that turning a room in your office into a workout space is way cheaper than you can imagine. A healthy work environment not only keeps a person fit but also relieves them of stress and this is scientifically proven.
There are many organizations that incorporate this work culture into their routine, there are other organizations that offer to pay the cost of membership for their employees. Google is one such organization that promotes a healthy lifestyle.
B. Start with a health and fitness course
2. Sponsor Events for your Employees
3. No Dress Code!
4. Collect Examples of Benefits Through Employee Surveys
5. Involve your Employees in Organizational Decisions and Policies
6. Promote Effective Communication
7. Motivate your Employees
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Should You Offer All 6 Types Of Employee Benefits
Putting together an employee benefits package can quickly go from What should we offer? to Wow, can we afford all of this?
Of course, you dont need to offer every single type of employee benefit out there. Many of them wont be important or even applicable to some of your employees.
A good way to approach benefits packages is to have a wide variety of services that you can offer. This allows you to craft specific packages for each new hire that is a good fit for them. It’s also a good practice to analyze your cost of benefits for the best return on investment.
If youre looking for other ways to improve organizational health and well-being, check out how BetterUp redefines employee productivity and engagement.
Flexible Working Hours And Remote Work Options
Some employers are exploring offering their employees the choice to work flexibly. This includes plans such as having employees work four days a week instead of the standard five days a week. This arrangement is an attractive prospect for employees as it saves money and time that could have gone into car fuels and public commute.
Besides flexible working hours, some employers are allowing their employees to work from home. This is workable for jobs that do not require an employee’s physical presence and which rely on computer technology and internet connectivity.
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Benefits For Financial Security
The number one thing here are pension plans. Other benefits for financial security are insurances, financial benefits for employees, and personal finance benefits.
Pension plansInterestingly, according to the research study, pension plans are considered as a very important benefit by every generation, but theyre not among the top ten most appreciated benefits.
InsurancesAs we mentioned above, in some countries health insurance is something that comes with the simple fact of being an employee. Other types of insurance benefits for employees cover parental leave or injury.
FinancialbenefitsThink of commissions, bonuses and the possibility for employees to buy shares of the company they work for.
PersonalfinancebenefitsThe Benify report too shows that stress about personal finances has grown bigger over the past year. Yet another reason for employers to seriously start thinking of benefits such as advice about loans and savings. In other words: employee financial wellness.
Common Employee Perks And Benefits Explained
Understanding the core benefits and perks that your company offers its employees makes it infinitely easier to explain the total compensation you are providing to potential new hires. Likewise, any adjustments to your benefits and perks can be articulated to existing employees to ensure transparency and candid communication. Naturally, before you choose a benefits and perks plan or modify an existing one, you should consider soliciting feedback from your current staff to determine their preferences and priorities, especially as many workplaces continue to reorient from fully remote to hybrid work configurations.
Although you want to offer the most comprehensive and attractive plan possible, its also important to avoid investments in any superfluous programming or benefits that may be a lower priority to your employees. Our recent article on Build an Employee Benefits Program that Won’t Break the Bank, is an excellent resource to help you explore this topic and allocate your benefits budget thoughtfully and tactically.
To help you navigate this process, weve created a comprehensive profile of the 15 most common employee benefits and perks. This will grant you insights into the range of features employees most frequently consider, particularly as they adjust to post-pandemic realignments in their future or current workplace.
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Employee Benefits Plan Structures
In many organizations – especially those that don’t have endless capital like Google – it will be necessary to establish a payment framework for your offer’s employee benefits.
Two popular ways that companies can structure their employee benefits plans are:
- Organization-led benefits
- Employee-led benefits
Organization-led benefits occur when the company offers its employees a specific and clearly defined benefit or group of benefits. These employee benefits are both owned and structured by the employer, with no input from the employee. Examples of organization-led benefits include health insurance and retirement plans.
This benefits plan ensures that the organization has complete control over the cost associated with these programs and how they can use them.
ââ¬ï¿½Employee-led benefits, on the other hand, are funded by the employer and customized by the employee. These benefits can be used in a way that suits each employee’s needs. Examples of employee-led benefits might include healthcare spending accounts, personalized benefits programs, or fitness subsidies.
Large organizations might choose to take a hybrid approach to their total benefits program to ensure that each offering provides the best value for them and their employees.
Get the
Top 25 Employee Perks And Benefits To Retain Talent In 2021
In-and-Out offers employees free burgers, and Intel provides free car washes and notary services.
One of the best ways to attract and retain great employees is with competitive benefits and perk packages. After pay, robust benefits â especially health benefits â are routinely cited as the most important factor for employees when considering a position. Workplace offerings that used to be seen simply as perks, such as remote work, educational subsidies and parental leave, are now increasingly seen as essential options for todayâs dynamic workforce.
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Is Fedex Required To Cover Your Injury
As an undergraduate student at Yale University, Frederick W. Smith wrote a term paper proposing a way to accommodate time-sensitive shipments. Despite receiving a poor grade for the paper, Frederick persisted and founded FedEx in 1971.
The popularity of online shopping has grown about 15 percent every year for the last decade. In 2020, due in large part to the Coronavirus pandemic, e-commerce sales jumped an astonishing 50 percent.
E-commerce growth is good news for FedEx, whose annual revenue tops $75 billion, but the rapid growth of online shopping should raise concerns about the safety of the 400,000 people employed by the worlds largest transportation company.
Lets take a closer look at whether FedEx employees can receive workers compensation benefits after suffering a work-related injury.