Employee Benefits - Non-Standard - Retention Benefits - Perks

Base salary is a fixed amount of money paid to an employee by an employer in return for work performed. Base salary does not include benefits, bonuses or any other potential compensation from an employer. Base salary is paid, most frequently, in a bi-weekly paycheck to an exempt or professional employee. In most years, an employee’s base salary is paid in 26 even paychecks over the cour…

Benefits are a form of compensation paid by employers to employees over and above the amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. Benefits are a portion of a total compensation package for employees. A comprehensive, common set of benefits includes the following components.

Employers provide a package of additions to the base salary to employees. These benefits can include health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, a severance package, tuition assistance, and more. On average, organizations spend 41 cents for benefits for every dollar of payroll. That’s 29 percent of the total employee compensation package.

Benefits are a form of compensation paid by employers to employees over and above the amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. Benefits are a portion of a total compensation package for employees. A comprehensive, common set of benefits includes the following components.

A bonus is compensation over and above the amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. The base amount of compensation is specified in the employee offer letter, in the employee personnel file, or in a contract. A bonus can be distributed randomly as the company can afford to pay a bonus, or the amount of the bonus can be specified by contract.

Buyouts are a common method for reducing the number and cost of employees. In a buyout, the employer offers some employees or all employees the opportunity to receive a large severance package in return for leaving their employment.

Looking for a way to customize your benefits plan to the needs of your individual employees? A cafeteria plan is an employee benefits plan that allows your employees to choose among a variety of options to create a benefits plan that best meets their needs and those of their family. In a cafeteria plan, an employee receives a certain number of...

Traditions are important in companies just as they are in families. And, nothing is more important than the annual traditions work places establish around the celebration of seasonal holidays. A holiday celebration builds positive morale which results in increased employee motivation. Motivation contributes to team building and productivity....

Compensatory or comp time is time worked by an employee beyond their required number of work hours, often calculated at 40 for exempt employees. Comp time is calculated and recorded and employees expect some remuneration for the extra hours worked, most often paid as time off from work, or comp time which compensates for the extra hours worked...

Do Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) actually provide value for employers and employees? Or, are Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) a way for employers to feel good about doing something positive for employees? - that may or may not provide a value add for employee wellness and work productivity. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are part...

Health care premiums continue to increase and employers are shifting part of insurance costs to employees. Or, employers are not offering comprehensive health care benefits because of their cost. To help offset the sting associated with these higher costs to both employers and employees, some employers are implementing Health Care Flexible...

Advantages for employers and employees exist when the employer allows employees to work flexible schedules. Whether the flexible work schedules involve compressing work days, flexible daily hours, or telecommuting, challenges exist for the employer and the employee. Find out more about flexible work schedules.

Is your employee benefits package giving you the payback you deserve in increased employee appreciation and satisfaction? Chances are, your employee benefits are not. Employees only understand and appreciate part of the employer's cost of the employee benefits they receive. Learn more about the types of employee benefits available.

The best benefit plans recognize that customization for the needs of your workforce may result in unusual benefits. In an interesting twist on benefits plans, a Japanese marketing company offers "heartache" leave to its six female employees.

A job share occurs when two employees cooperatively share the same job. There are advantages, disadvantages, challenges, and opportunities when employees job share. As an employer, a job share can benefit both the employee and you. Find out how.

Perks are employee benefits, usually in addition to salary and standard employee benefits. The word, perk or perks, is a short form of the word perquisite which means incentives, bonuses, extras, or sweeteners. In use in business, the term perks has come to mean... Find out more about perks.

Profit sharing is an example of a variable pay plan. Profit sharing is taking a percentage of a company’s annual profits and then dividing the pool of money generated across all employees using a formula for distribution. Profit sharing payments are only made if the company has been profitable for the time period specified. Find out more about profit sharing.

The advancement of an employee from one position to another position that has a higher salary range, a higher level job title, and more job responsibility is called a promotion. Find out more about what a promotion is and how to obtain a promotion.

Issuing restricted stock is a better motivating tool than granting stock options for two reasons. First, many employees don't understand stock options. They don't know that they have to take action to realize any gain. It is far easier for them to understand a vesting period on restricted stock.

Are you taking advantage of the overall value of a service award as a component in your organization's employee recognition processes and program? The service award is a valuable component of an organization's overall employee recognition efforts. You just need to understand, value, and appropriately utilize the service award in your formal...

A signing bonus is a lump sum of money that an employer provides a prospective employee. The purpose of the signing bonus is to entice the applicant to sign-on with the employer’s organization. The signing bonus is most often used with executive level positions or to recruit employees with special, hard-to-find skills. The signing bonus is also...

Everything you need to know about stock options is explained on the About.com management site.

Telecommuting or working from home is a flexible work arrangement that enables an employee, a consultant, or a contractor, to work distantly from the employer's location all or part of the time. Learn more about telecommuting.

Tuition assistance is an employer-provided employee benefit that is a win-win for your workplace. In a tuition assistance program, an employer pays all or part of an employee's cost to attend college or university classes. Tuition assistance helps employers build employee loyalty. Find out more about how tuition assistance works for the employer...

There are employee benefit solutions that will make your staff happy without breaking the bank. Administering an employee benefit plan is a complex undertaking. Your employee benefits plan can cover regular benefits such as health care, vacation time, sick pay, and pension plans. How common are these more unusual employee benefits?

A relatively new health plan option, introduced in 2004, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) work in IRA-like fashion to cover out-of-pocket medical costs with tax-sheltered money. An HSA is an investment account funded by each individual, with optional contributions from your business. Learn more about HSAs.

A leave of absence is unpaid time off from work to cover an employee's time when unusual circumstances related to the employee’s life make concentrating on work impossible. A leave of absence policy is essential to retain employees. Find out more about leaves of absence.