What are the top rated employee benefits for 2014?
Benefits make a real difference in attraction and retention of applicants and employees. Here are the highlights of the HR Daily Advisor 2014 Perks Survey of over 2000 employers:
- The #1 perk is paid holidays
- Also in the top five:
- life insurance, LTD, STD, and paid vacation.
- For exempt employees, flextime is offered by 60.9%
- Other benefits being offered include:
- Financial planning assistance (51.7%)
- Telecommuting (49.2%)
- Legal assistance programs (39.8%)
- On-site fitness centers (29.2%)
- Commuter benefits (24.7%)
#1 Employee Benefit: Paid Holidays
Paid holidays is the number one perk provided for both exempt and nonexempt employees, with 97.5% and 95.9%, respectively. Up from last year (85%), life insurance is provided by 95.3% for exempt employees and by 93.7% for nonexempt employees. Rounding out the top five benefits for exempt employees are long-term disability, paid vacation, and short-term disability. The top five benefits for nonexempt employees include paid vacation for 87%, short-term disability for 83.9%, and long-term disability for 83.8%.
At the other end of the spectrum…the least-offered benefit is concierge service at 4.4% for exempt and 4.2% for nonexempt. The bottom five benefits also include on-site child care, pet insurance, job sharing, and childcare referral options.
Exempt Employee Benefits
| Top 5 Exempt Employee Benefits |
Bottom 5 Exempt Employee Benefits |
| Paid holidays 97.5% | Childcare referral options 18.4% |
| Life insurance 95.3% | Job sharing 13.2% |
| Long-term disability 88.3% | Pet insurance 9.5% |
| Paid vacation 87.9% | On-site child care 6.2% |
| Short-term disability 84.8% | Concierge services 4.4% |
Nonexempt Employee Benefits
| Top 5 Nonexempt Employee Benefits |
Bottom 5 Nonexempt Employee Benefits |
| Paid holidays 95.9% | Childcare referral options 18.2% |
| Life insurance 93.7% | Job sharing 14.6% |
| Paid vacation 87.0% | Pet insurance 9.5% |
| Short-term disability 83.9% | On-site child care 6.9% |
| Long-term disability 83.8% | Concierge services 4.2% |
Atypical Benefits
For exempt employees, flextime is the most commonly offered (60.9%) atypical benefit offered by employers. Other atypical benefits being offered include: financial planning assistance (51.7%), telecommuting (49.2%), legal assistance programs (39.8%), on-site fitness centers (29.2%), and commuter benefits (24.7%).
For nonexempt employees, however, financial planning assistance tops the list at 50.9%, followed by flextime at 48.4%. Other atypical benefits being offered to nonexempt employees include legal assistance programs (39.2%), telecommuting (27.8%), commuter benefits (23.4%), and job sharing (14.6%).
Both exempt (71.2%) and nonexempt (69.6%) employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement and part-time employees are eligible for 17.8% (down from 21% in 2013). For those that offer this benefit, less than a year of employment is required for employees to be eligible at 42.1%, and at least 1 year is required for 49.1%. The maximum annual amount of tuition reimbursement is less than $1,000 for 16.9% of survey participants. It is up to $2,000 for 27% and as much as $3,000 for 14.5% of employers. The reimbursement level is above $3,000 for 42.3%. Repayment of tuition reimbursement is never required by 30.5% of employers, even if the employee leaves the company. Repayment is required on a case-by-case basis for 17.3%. It depends on the timing of the departure for 52.2%.
