Skip to content

Employee Benefits

What are employee benefits?

Employee benefits: why your people are the backbone of your business.

Your people are crucial to your organisation’s ability to grow and thrive. And the benefits that employees receive can go a long way to help your company achieve its goals and objectives.

What are employee benefits?

Employee benefits, also known as perks or fringe benefits, are elements provided to employees over and above salaries and wages. These employee benefits may include: overtime, medical insurance, holidays, profit sharing and retirement benefits, to name just a few.

Why are employee benefits important?

Offering benefits to your employees shows your company cares for their overall health and future. A solid employee benefits package will help to attract and retain talent.

One employee benefit can be a health and wellbeing programme such as those offered by Virgin Pulse. Healthy employees are:

  • less prone to take sick days
  • less likely to visit the doctor
  • more engaged at work
  • more motivated and productive

Employee benefits plans

Depending on the type of organisation and the job, employee benefits may be quite different. For example, government employee benefit packages for full-time employees look very different from the packages offered to part-time employees. Employee benefits packages are typically discussed during the final interview or at the time an offer is extended. The right benefits package can give you a distinct advantage in competitive recruiting situations.

How to find employee benefits solutions?

Talk to your employee benefits advisor or specialist to learn more about the benefits packages and solutions your business is committed to providing. Some companies will have an internal employee benefits information system (also known as a benefits portal) detailing the services.

Some companies send out employee benefits news outlining current changes and solutions.

If you’re new to employee benefits, resources such as the Employee Benefit Research Institute or the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans offer information to get you started.

Popular employee benefits

Benefits include, but are not limited to:

  • Health Insurance (medical, dental & vision)
  • Holidays
  • Sick leave
  • Retirement plans including company contribution/matching
  • Wellbeing programmes that offer incentives to individuals and families
  • Profit sharing
  • Transit benefit allowance
  • Gym reimbursement
  • Tuition or student loan contribution
  • Salary increase
  • Bonus
  • Flexible working hours, including options to work from home
  • Disability insurance

How does Virgin Pulse fit into employee benefits?

Virgin Pulse can meet your businesses wellbeing requirements and evolve with you and your business. If you already have wellbeing programmes in place, Virgin Pulse can help you unify them to make them accessible through a seamless and dynamic employee communications and benefits portal. With Virgin Pulse, your business is sure to see improved personal and business outcomes.

Too often, employers have valuable benefits that go unused because employees are overwhelmed by the volume of information. Virgin Pulse’s Hub solution provides the perfect platform for providing a personalised benefit experience that presents options based on each of your employee’s individual needs, interests and eligibility.

Learn how wellbeing programmes can improve your employees and transform your workforce to become a happier, healthier, and more productive place to work.