Nowadays, the hiring market expects companies to offer their employees bountiful benefit packages, which enable them to attract and retain top employees. The first popular benefit is offering employees superior healthcare insurance (Caillier, 2017). This benefit ensures employees to stay in good health and reduces the number of days they go on sick leaves. A survey conducted by the Harvard business school team showed that 88 % of employees considered this benefit when accepting a job offer (Caillier, 2017). The second benefit is offering flexible job schedules to employees. This means employees have a compressed workweek. This benefit allows employees to manage their personal and professional obligations (Fisher, 2017). Also, it increases employees’ morale because they feel the company understands and cares for their personal needs. Lastly, it increases the employee’s loyalty and productivity. According to a survey conducted by Flex Jobs, many individuals prefer this benefit above healthcare and salary (Fisher, 2017). Trends in Employee Benefits Programs
The third popular benefit is offering extra vacation time to employees (Caillier, 2017). This benefit increases the company’s appeal to potential employees. Employing skilled and devoted workers create a secure business foundation and differentiate it from other companies. A survey conducted by Glassdoor in 2015 concerning employment confidence showed that 80 % of respondents regarded this benefit as being more appealing when accepting a job offer (Fisher, 2017). The fourth popular benefit is offering employees student loan support. This benefit enables the company to attract the best young candidates. Also, these benefits help increase the productivity of candidates and their work quality. According to a survey conducted by SHRM showed 52 % of fresh graduates prefer working in companies that provided this benefit (Fisher, 2017). The last popular employee benefit is offering employees paid parental leave. This benefit enables employees to earn salaries and pursue their careers while catering to their newborn or child (Caillier, 2017). Also, this benefit increases employees’ performance because they believe that the company has their best interests. A survey carried out by annual benefits should that 24 % of women employees preferred working for companies that offered this benefit (Caillier, 2017). Trends in Employee Benefits Programs
Recommended Employees Benefits
The first benefit to recommend is healthcare insurance. This benefit will create a healthy workforce, cater to long-term medical needs, and increase company productivity. Also, it increases the focus of employees because they won’t be worried about healthcare bills. The second benefit to recommend is flexible job schedules. Many employees want this benefit so that they can have a work-life balance. Also, it increases employee work attendance because they can create a work schedule that meets their family commitments and financial errands. The third benefit to recommend is offering student loan assistance to junior employees. This helps to attract top candidates and improves a company’s recruitment. Paid parental leave is the last benefit to recommend because it increases job satisfaction. Offering this benefit serves as an efficient tool for attracting senior employees for recruitment. Also, it increases the overall workplace happiness of employees and reduces their turnover. This is because such a benefit provides a good reason for the employees to stay in their current employment.
Legal Implications of Employees Benefits
According to Caillier (2017), the law governing healthcare insurance benefits is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires employers with 50 or more full employees to provide them with minimum healthcare insurance. If employers do not comply with the ACA provisions, they will be liable for a sizeable penalty. Also, it requires all employees benefiting from this benefit to work for no less than 30 hours per week (Caillier, 2017). This law also provides that employees receiving such a healthcare insurance benefit are entitled to cost-free medical preventive measures. Trends in Employee Benefits Programs
The law governing parental leave is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This law provides that employees who have children are entitled to a paid leave of 12 weeks per year for family purposes. Also, the employee must have worked with the company for at least 12months. Lastly, the company must have a minimum of 50 employees. The law that governs flexible working hours is the Employment Rights Act, which claims that every employee who has children, has the right to flexible working hours. Recently, these laws have extended to any employee who is taking care of a special type of adult such as spouses or parents with chronic diseases. However, this law states the employee has the right to ask for flexible working hours, not to demand this right. Lastly, the law that governs student loan assistance is the Heroes Act, which claims that an employer can pay up to 5,250 dollars per year to cater to employees’ tax-free student loan repayments. This law requires that the payments be made only to repay the employees’ student loan, not the child or spouse. Also, this law requires the employer to adopt a written plan that describes the student loan assistance benefit and communicate it to the eligible employee.
Cost limitation Strategies for employees Benefits
The first strategy to limit the cost of employee benefits is minimizing the overhead costs of the company. A company can reduce its overhead cost by leasing equipment instead of buying or outscoring a particular task or responsibility. The money saved from low overhead costs can cater to employees’ healthcare insurance and paid parental leaves benefits. The second strategy that a company can employ to limit employee benefits is taking advantage of the tax break offered on student loans. Tax breaks are means that the government is offering a tax reduction on student loans, enabling the employers to pay less for this benefit.
Follow the official APA guidelines
