Different types of work benefits
June 14, 2012|employees, Employers, Tips At work| No comments yet
There are many different types of benefits associated with both full time and part time jobs. Some are available for all kinds of employees including temporary or part time, while others may only be available to permanent full time staff. When you are searching for a job, it is important to keep in mind what kind of benefits you are looking for from an employer. If you must have health insurance and paid vacation, do not send your resume to a position that advertises “no benefits.”
Vacation time is one of the most common types of work benefits. Most companies offer some sort of vacation package to their employees. In some situations, it is necessary to “earn” vacation time. After a new employee has worked a certain number of hours, they will receive a certain amount of vacation time that they can take each year. In other situations, the time may come automatically upon employment. Part time employees may only receive a few days of paid vacation time a year and it may stay the same the entire time they are employed by the company. Full time employees may receive more time than part timers will, and it may grow over the time of their employment. If they begin with one week of paid vacation a year, after a certain number of years of employment, it may be two or three or even more weeks of paid vacation time a year.
Paid sick leave and personal leave are very similar to paid vacation time. Some companies offer them only to full time employees who have worked a certain number of hours, and others offer them to all employees. Usually you will receive less paid sick time and personal leave days than you will vacation time. Companies that are closed on holidays will often times pay employees for those days even though they are not working. And companies that are open on holidays will most times pay employees time and a half or double their normal rate of pay to come in on those days.
Aside from vacation time, sick leave, and holiday pay, there are other types of benefits associated with work. While small companies may not offer much in the way of health insurance or retirement accounts, larger companies will often have a variety of options available in these areas. They may provide their employees with health insurance, dental insurance, and even life insurance, all at a substantially lower rate than you would have to pay a private insurance company for coverage on your own. In some cases a company may cover all costs entirely. But usually a monthly fee is deducted from your paychecks to cover a portion of the cost. Large companies also often offer 401K and retirement accounts for their full time employees who have worked with them a certain amount of time. These can be confusing to understand if you have never had one before, so it is a good idea to talk with human resources about what is offered, when it will be available to you, and whether or not you have the option to opt-out of partaking in it if you want to.
