What Employee Benefits Should You Expect to Have?

?Employee benefits are an essential component potential employees view when accepting or denying a job offer. They also impact whether an employee wants to stay at a company or look for another organization with better perks. In short, employee benefits are significant, and employers should take them seriously. Learn more about the most common employee benefits and what the average worker should know.

Besides salary, many employees examine a company's benefits before accepting a job. As Austin Belcak, the founder of Cultivated Culture, says, “People want to work. They just don’t want to work for companies whose greed outweighs basic happiness for their employees.” People want to know their employers care about their health, well-being and personal lives.?

However, not all companies offer the same benefits. Though larger companies usually provide more benefits than smaller companies, each organization makes its decisions about its benefits package.?

Learning about the perks of good benefits, the most common benefits available and other factors will help potential employees and employers understand why benefits matter.?

What Are Employee Benefits?

Employee benefits are those offered to employees by their employers in addition to regular wages.?

They typically include various components, such as health insurance, retirement plans and paid time off.?

Employee benefits promote a healthy workforce and highlight an organization’s values. Additionally, they are an excellent way to demonstrate to current and potential employees that the company cares for and appreciates them.?

Four Types of Employee Benefits

The major types of employee benefits include:

• Insurance: Employers may offer various types of insurance, including health, vision, dental, life and disability insurance. Health insurance or medical plan benefits for qualifying employees is mandatory in some situations.
• Time off: Many employers offer employees the opportunity to take paid time away from work. In some countries, such as Finland or Austria, paid time off is a mandated law. Other countries may not have a legal requirement, but companies that offer these benefits attract higher-quality workers.
• Retirement planning: Employees may feel more secure and content when they can save for retirement. Employers can help by offering various options, such as IRAs or 401(k)s, which give employees more control over their retirement planning accounts.?
• Other compensation: Sometimes employers offer money to employees that isn’t part of their regular compensation. This can include bonuses, gifts or commissions. Some companies may choose to?offer stock options?or even profit-sharing.?

Why Offer Employee Benefits??

Employee benefits are an excellent way for employers to show they care about their employees’ overall health and futures. This promotes loyalty and improves employee morale.

Further, employers with good benefits packages will likely attract high-quality candidates for open positions and retain more employees.

Employees with more access to resources that?improve their health?may use?fewer sick days and produce better work.

Employees have a lot to gain from good benefits as well, including a better work-life balance, increased focus and productivity and improved job satisfaction.?

Standard Employee Benefits

The most common benefits employers offer in the United States include:

• Social Security and Medicare
• Workers’ compensation insurance: Medical or cash benefit following injury on the job
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protection: 12 weeks of unpaid leave following specific life events
• Unemployment insurance
• Healthcare plan: Medical, dental and vision
• Professional development and training
• Family leave: Maternity or paternity
• Free food and snacks
• Free company-branded merchandise
• Life insurance: Basic, voluntary and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D)
• Paid time off: Sick, vacation and holiday days
• Health and wellness resources
• Work from home (or hybrid) work plans

When a company chooses its benefits plan, it should consider the needs of the employees and the company budget's limitations.?

The?most important employee benefits?include an excellent paid time off plan, flexible working options, insurance and paid family leave. People also value physical and mental health resources in a benefits plan.?

Eligibility for Employee Benefits

U.S. employers must legally offer certain benefits, including:

• Social Security
• Medicare
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Unemployment insurance
• FMLA protection

States also require certain benefits, so employers need to understand the laws that apply to them. Other benefits, like education assistance or retirement planning options, are at the discretion of employers.?

Companies may require a waiting period for specific benefits, while others may choose to have benefits take effect on an employee’s first day of work. This is at the company’s discretion.?

Additionally, an organization should explain its benefits and rules to all employees and include this information in the employee handbook. This helps ensure consistent treatment for employees.?

Most benefits are available to full-time employees, while part-time employees may receive some or no benefits. Because benefits are an employer expense, a company may opt to limit which benefits are available to part-time employees.?

However, to maintain compliance with federal and state laws, some benefits must be available for part-time employees. Examples include:

• Unemployment benefits
• Workers’ compensation benefits
• Retirement savings plans (for part-time employees working 1,000 hours per year)
• 401(k) benefits (for part-time employees working 500 hours per year for three consecutive years)
• Paid sick leave (for certain part-time federal contractors)

Beyond legally required benefits, employers may be as generous as they’d like with benefits, meaning they can offer more benefits to part-time employees if they wish.?

Learning More About Potential Employee Benefits

Employee benefit expectations are evolving. Any company that wants to attract and retain top talent within its industry needs to pay attention to these different attitudes and adapt its policies when possible.

For instance, employees desire flexibility in their work schedules — especially since the pandemic. Employers should continue to assess the needs of their employees to ensure they’re offering a well-rounded benefits package.

For companies that want to thrive with productive, healthy employees, good benefits are essential.?

Top Takeaways

What employee benefits should you expect to have?

• Employee benefits include the perks and resources employers offer, such as health insurance or paid time off.
• Employers and employees can both gain a lot from practical benefits.
• Some benefits are legally required, while others are up to an employer’s discretion.
• As attitudes and habits towards work change, companies may need to adapt their benefit plans.

(Reporting by NPD)