Employee Benefits 101: A Glossary of Basic Employee Perks

There are many things that managers can do to retain their employees.

If you read one of my earlier posts on low cost/ no cost ways to retain employees, you know that you don’t need a large budget to show your employees that you appreciate them by offering a variety of employee perks an incentive ideas.

But, there are certain benefits that are considered almost mandatory in today’s workplace as a supplement to a regular salary.

Some basic employee benefits that employees expect to receive in the workplace: 

Vacation Time – Paid time off which allows your employee to retain their full pay for time away from work.

Personal Time – Similar to vacation time, personal time is another form of time away from work with pay.  Employees can use personal time for any reason that requires that they be away from the office.

Sick Time – Paid time away from work due to illness.  Many companies allow employees to use sick time in order to take care of a sick child or spouse, or for medical appointments.

Health Insurance – Insurance that allows partial to complete coverage for medical visits and expenses such as doctors visits, or medical tests.

Life Insurance – Allows employees to purchase the minimum equivalent of their annual salary or more which is bequeathed to a designated beneficiary at the time of death.

Disability Insurance – Protects your employees in the event of an accident or illness that prevents the employee from working; regardless of whether the disability is work related or not.  Disability insurance usually covers a percentage of salary.

Retirement Benefits – Allows employees to set aside pretax dollar savings towards retirement.  Some companies supplement retirement benefits for employees or offer matching funds up to a certain percentage based on the employees’ contribution.  Employees can only take advantage of this benefit once they reach retirement age without risking tax penalties.

Tuition Reimbursement – Encouraging your employees to continue with their education by obtaining degrees that will help them advance, or by taking classes that will enhance their overall skills is money well spent.  Employees incur the expense up front and then are reimbursed based on pre-determined criteria.

There’s no denying that the cost of providing some or all of these basic benefits may be beyond the reach of some small businesses.

But, if your business is in the position to provide the types of benefits that support work life balance and your employee’s piece of mind, it’s money well spent.