Overview of Employee Benefits
This section provides an introduction to the subject of employee benefits. Benefits are becoming a more important component of the total employee compensation package. This has become an increasingly important issue to employers, as benefits represent a significant portion of the overall compensation paid to employees. On average, employers spend 20% to 33% of payroll on employee benefits.
Mandated and Voluntary Benefits
The full range of benefit programs is discussed in this section, including benefits that are required by law, such as Social Security and workers' compensation, as well as voluntary benefits—time-off benefits, such as leaves of absence, vacation and holiday pay; retirement benefits; health and related insurance benefits, and a variety of other miscellaneous benefits commonly provided by employers, including tuition assistance plans, referral bonus plans, adoption assistance plans, and club memberships.
The most common types of benefits coverage offered, include...