India: What's in a comprehensive Employee Benefits Package?

Want to attract new talents and show you value employee contributions to the company? Then benefits plans are the way to go!

Employee benefits packages are meant for all employees and are sometimes specified for full-time employees. These benefit plans are given to boost their interest in work, thereby producing more valuable output. It also makes your company an attractive option to prospective candidates.

What are employee benefits packages?

Employee benefits packages are payments employers make to staff that are beyond the range of wages. They are also non-financial compensation provided for employees as part of the employment contract.

These benefits plans could be required by laws or could be made available by the employers willingly. Employee benefits packages could include paid holidays, health security, life insurance, retirement benefits, gratuity, etc.

Employee benefits do not contemplate the excellence of any of the employees. These benefits are intended to make the employees feel appreciated.

Mandatory Employee Benefits

1. Health/ Medical insurance

Most employers are mandated to make medical insurance available to their employees following the health insurance benefit policies which can be termed indemnity commodities. The range provided by the policies covers the employee, partner, and kids. 

Few employers also offer insurance plans that offer cover for the employee’s parents as well.

2. Unemployment insurance

The unemployment insurance benefit compensates workers who were laid off.  The state and federal government manage unemployment schemes, which are financed by a charge on organizations.

Relying on your state’s requirements, you might be required to pay unemployment insurance charges. If you are obliged to do so, you must register with your state’s workforce agency or department of revenue.

3. Gratuity 

According to the payment of Gratuity Act, every employee is entitled to gratuity which is a massive payment of 15 days for every single year of employment.

A tax benefit of about Rs. 1,000,000 can be satisfied by employers just by paying gratuities. 

An employee is qualified to receive gratuity if:

• The employee resigns after working for a minimum of five years with a specific company. 
• The employee retires. It factors in the retirement plans arranged by the company. 
• The employee dies
• Due to prolonged illness or accident, the employee suffers any disability.

4. Employee's Provident Fund (EPF) 

The employee's provident fund is a part of the social security payments in India which is supervised by the Miscellaneous Provision Act.

Employers that are governed by the EPF Act must designate 12% of their employees' salaries to EPF. Furthermore, employees can decide to give up 24% of the EPF's contribution rate if they so choose.

The employer also pays 12% of the primary salary of an employee. From the 12%, 8.3% is used for pensions while the remaining 3.67% is sent towards the EPF account. 

5. Leaves and holidays

The benefits of paid time off for several reasons like annual holidays, maternity leaves, sick leaves, and so on should be made available to employees.

Full-time employees could choose to pile up their paid time off to utilize in later years. While employees in other companies might desire cash payments for their unused paid leaves when leaving the company.

6. Workplace security

It is the duty of the organization to assure the protection of workers from all kinds of harassment. Especially within females who are at a higher risk for sexual harassment (Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013). 

As sexual harassment is punishable in India under the IPC, the law demands the organizations to create a policy that forbids the vice. This policy usually comes as part of the service laws of organizations for providing their workers with a healthy workspace. 

Internal complaint committees should be set up in all offices to reasonably spot and deal with such vices.

Optional Employee Benefits 

Some employers go further in offering benefits like disability insurance, compensation package and profit sharing to their employees. These additional employee benefits packages make the company an even more attractive option to prospective candidates. Plus, it also assures current employees that they are well valued and appreciated.  

1. Wellness programs

Employers are starting to understand the significance of employee wellbeing. More companies have begun to offer several programs to boost the wellness of the employees, both physically and mentally.  There are several wellness programs like a gym membership, yoga and meditation sessions made available by employers. 

2. Food coupons

Many organizations have the requirements for making lunch available to their employees, leading to the implementation of food coupons being available for employees.

3. Flextime

Flextime is helpful to the employees of an organization in possessing a healthy work-life balance. It also aids in enhancing the efficiency of the organization. 

4. Transportation 

Numerous organizations render it less stressful for employees to move by providing a shuttle for them. This makes it convenient and safe for employees when they are travelling late due to work-related issues.

Cab or shuttle benefit for employees is a practical means of guaranteeing the safety and convenience of employees as they commute to and from the office. 

The benefit of a company car is also made available to senior management at certain salary classes.

5. Financial education

Quite a few organizations in India have introduced financial wellness programs for their employees. These programs aim to help the employees in possessing a clear idea of financial management, fulfilling financial requirements in the short term, and planning for accomplishing long-term objectives.

It also serves to help employees conquer the anxiety often associated with having retirement plans and even reduce their degree of financial pressure. 

With these, the employees would be prepared to concentrate on their work thereby increasing the organization’s productivity.

Happiness yields productivity 

The satisfaction of the employees directly affects the productivity of an organization. 

If the employees of an organization are not pleased with their working conditions, they will not be at their optimal best to deliver efficiently. The company's productivity will drastically decrease as their employees will be feeling unfulfilled and will start to look for a better alternative.

The range of benefit plans offered goes a long way in attracting and retaining your best talents. So if you're concerned about your employee productivity, you'd want to look into offering employees certain benefits to make them feel valued.

Invest in your employee happiness and they'd invest in your company productivity.