Employees Benefits & Services

Chapter # 9

Resource person: Furqan-ul-haq Siddiqui

Reference Books:

Human Resource Management (Dessler)

Human Resources and Personnel Management ( keith Davis)

Internet

Employee Benefits Employee benefits (also called fringe benefits, perquisites,

perqs or perks) are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries.

Where an employee exchanges (cash) wages for some other form of benefit, this is generally referred to as a 'salary sacrifice' arrangement.

Some of these benefits are: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance (health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid), social security, profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits.

Private-Sector Employer

Compensation Costs, Source: “Total Employer Costs Rose to 22.61 in Second Quarter,”BNA Bulletin to Management, September 11, 2003, p. 293

Policy Issues in Designing Benefit Packages

Policy Issues

Who will be covered

Coverage during probation

Degree of employee choice

Which benefits to offer

Whether to include retirees

How to finance benefits

Cost containment procedures

Communicating benefits options

Legally Required Benefits Social Security- Social security is primarily a social

insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others.

Unemployment Compensation- provides workers compensation whose job have been terminated through no fault of their own.

Workers’ Compensation- benefits to employees who got accidents or illness due to job.

Family & Medical Leave-

Usually not practiced in Pakistan

Health Protection Programs

Programs refer to a host of practices geared toward promoting sound health

Health insurance plans represent the largest portion of a company’s health protection offerings

Health-Related InsuranceMedical Insurance:

It pays for Sickness, Accident, and Hospitalization expenses

Managed Care:

Organizations provide managed health care facilities through Health Maintenance Organizations which reduces cost.

Health maintenance organization (HMO) A medical organization consisting of specialists which cover all

areas at fixed fee from employer & may be nominal charges from employee, regardless of whether employees avail serves or not in specified fixed period.

Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) Groups of health care providers that contract to provide medical

care services at reduced fees.

Employees can select from a list of preferred individual health providers. Employees using non-PPO-listed providers may pay all of the service costs or the portion of the costs above the reduced fee structure for services.

Medical expense Reimbursement

Internal medical consultant/employee or health care department- primary healthcare services or refers for specialists and permit out of network health care access.

Three types of protection programs: Disability insurance- often called disability income

insurance, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that disability will make working (and therefore earning) impossible. It includes paid sick leave, short-term disability benefits, and long-term disability benefits.

Life insurance- or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the organization (may be outsourced), where the organization agrees to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a stipulated amount at regular intervals or in lump sums

Income Protection Programs

There are some noninsurance benefits which seek to ensure an income before and after retirement (Retirement plans). They are;

Employment Income Security Severance Pay: It entitles worker to a lump-sum

payment at the time of separation. A severance package is pay and benefits an employee receives when they leave employment at a company. It may include some of the following: Payment for unused vacation time or sick leave. Medical, dental or life insurance Retirement benefits Stock options etc

Pension- is an arrangement to provide people with an income (regular installments) when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment.

Golden Handshake: A golden handshake is a clause that provides the employees with a significant severance package in the case when the employee loses his or her job through firing, layoff or restructuring etc.

Golden parachute- A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee that guarantees the employee certain benefits, like monetary compensation or stock options, if employment is terminated.

Payment for time not worked On the job Breaks Sick Days Vocations Employee Stock Option plan- a defined plan by

organization that deals with allocation of stock shares to employees at comparatively low prices (usually to executives & rarely to lower ranked employees) . Employees are mostly not allowed to sell out these shares before separation.

Discretionary (voluntary) Benefits

Gainsharing Profit Sharing Premium Pay- Compensation paid to employees

who work for long hours or under dangerous or undesirable conditions.

General Guideline of Leave/Vocations Leave is earned by duty. It’s a privilege and mostly cannot

be claimed as a matter of right even when due. No leave can be availed unless granted by sanctioning

authority, except emergent circumstances. Leave record is maintained by HRD The Leave sanctioning authority may refuse or revoke leave

of any kind, Different organization may have varied numbers of leaves Employees are generally required to apply for leave

prescribed days in advance depending upon type and duration of leave.

Leaves are usually Credited on pro-rata bases Holidays falling within the period of any kind of leave shall

be counted as leave but may be suffix or prefix.

Type of Leaves Casual leave (CL)- Leave for any sudden emergency or

accidental nature of event, work etc. Ranging from 10 to 25 days in a calendar year Duration of CL varies CL balance expires at year end and cant be carried forward

to next year. Usually granted immediately on genuine reasons by

informing authorities and upon return leave application with due explanation submitted.

Disciplinary actions may be taken incase frequent absents

Earned/Privilege leave - leave earned by actual service.

Un-availed EL balance may be transferred to next year at prescribed criteria.

May be Granted with full pay Some organizations make obligatory for every

employee to avail a limit of continuous EL every year.

Non-cash able & in-cash able Some organization provide Leave Fare Assistance

(Vacation Bonus) for availing EL

Medical Leave- Leave granted for illness or on the bases of medical certificate. Usually 15 days per year.

Study/sabbatical Leave- the type of leave that provides time off for professional activities such as research or curriculum development.

Duty leave

Leave without pay (LWP)/ Extra ordinary pay

Parental Leave Maternity Leave Paternity Leave

Working hours in Pakistan

Under the Factories Act, 1934 no adult employee, defined as a worker who has completed his or her 18th year of age, can be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of nine hours a day and 48 hours a week. Similarly, no young person, under the age of 18, can be required or permitted to work in excess of seven hours a day and 42 hours a week. The Factories Act, which governs the conditions of work of industrial labour, applies to factories, employing ten or more workers. The Provincial Governments are further empowered to extend the provisions of the Act, to even five workers.

In Pakistan the workweek is composed of 40 hours per week.

Currently 5 days (8AM to 4 PM from Monday to Friday)

EMPLOYEE SERVICES Relocation benefits- Company-paid shipment of

house hold goods and temporary living expenses, covering all or portion of costs.

Educational Assistance Financial Services Food Services/Subsidized Cafeterias Child care Accommodation Transportation

Non financial CompensationThe Job

Skill Variety- The degree to which the job requires a variety of different activities so the worker can use a number of different skills for successful completion

Task Identity- The extent to which the job includes an identifiable unit of work that is carried out from start to finish

Task Significance- The impact that the job has on the lives or work of other people

Autonomy- The degree of employee freedom, independence and discretion in performing job

Feedback- The amount of information employee receive about how well he has performed the job

Workplace Flexibility• Flextime- Permitting employees to choose with certain

limitation, their own working hours.

• Compressed Work Week- Permitting employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days then typical 6-days work week

• Job Sharing- The filling of a job by 2 people who split duties of one full time job on agreed manner and defined contribution plan

• Flexible/Cafeterias Compensation- A plan which enables employees to chose their compensation package by choosing between taxable cash an numerous benefits. Flexible benefits schemes are also sometimes known as cafeteria benefits.

• Telecommting- The extent to which employees perform their work using computers and other electronic devices by being in home or a way from office.

Components of a Total Compensation Program External Environment

Internal EnvironmentCompensation

Direct

Wages Salaries Commissions Bonuses

Indirect (Benefits)

Legally Required Benefits Social Security Unemployment Compensation Workers’ Compensation Family & Medical Leave

Voluntary Benefits Payment for Time Not Worked Health Care Life Insurance Retirement Plans Employee Stock Option Plans Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Employee Services Premium Pay Unique Benefits

The Job

Skill Variety Task Identify Task Significance Autonomy Feedback

Job Environment

Sound Policies Competent Employees Congenial Coworkers Suitable Status Symbols Working Conditions

Workplace Flexibility Flextime Compressed Work Week Job Sharing Flexible Compensation Telecommuting

Part-time work

Modified Retirement

Financial Non-Financial

Pay Compression- A situation that is created when the pay differential between one or more pay levels becomes too small.

Equal Pay/Compensation Discrimination- The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are

substantially equal.

Glass Ceiling- an unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.