Social package: what is important about it

Often one can meet the erroneous opinion thatthe social package includes an annual paid vacation, payment of a sick leave, official employment, a "white salary". But actually it is not. All of the above are the rights of employees, which are fixed by the current legislation (in particular, the Labor Code).

A social package can NOT include:

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  payment of sick leave;
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  annual paid vacation;
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  compulsory social insurance;
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  reimbursement of travel expenses;
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  reimbursement of transportation costs (if the work is connected with travel);
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  other indemnities and guarantees, fixed by law.

All this is an employer and so you must provide - It's not privileges, but your inalienable rights. A social package includes additional bonuses, which the employer is not obliged to provide to you by law, but can do it.

The social package can be conditionally divided into two parts - compensatory and motivational. Compensation part It is intended to compensate employees for costs,related to the performance of their official duties. For example, if an employee has to talk a lot on a mobile phone, and the employee is not provided, the social package will include payment for mobile communication.

When using a personal car for business purposes, it is possible fuel and depreciation compensation. Compensation part of the social package can alsoinclude assistance in the arrangement and provision of housing to employees from other cities, compensation of transportation costs to employees who work on night shifts, partial or full compensation of training costs, etc.

The motivation part of the social package is provided by the employer to employees at their own expense and on their own initiative. It allows him to win the loyalty of the staff. A motivational social package may include such benefits:

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  medical insurance (for the employee or for the employee and members of his family);
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  a system of prizes, rewarding gifts and other material incentives;
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  pension provision for employees;
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  corporate events (trips to the cinema and theater, picnics, excursions, parties, etc.);
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  granting credits on a preferential basis;
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  free meals in the office;
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  preferential vouchers for rest (treatment in a sanatorium) for employees and / or members of their families;
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  professional development at the employer's expense;
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  the provision of a subscription to the business center;
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  and other benefits.

It is impossible to say unambiguously which social package is good and which is bad: it all depends on what you need. If you are interested in a professionalgrowth, you can attract training at the expense of the company, someone more likes the free food in the office, and family people will be interested in benefits that apply not only to them, but also to members of their family (for example, vouchers to a summer camp or sanatorium for children).

Sometimes the social package may differ for new employees and those who have worked in the company for a long time: the longer you work and the more important yourmerit, the greater the benefits you can expect. In this case, when entering the workplace, it is worthwhile asking the experienced employees beforehand whether the system actually works (that is, whether these bonuses are provided in time), then not to remind the donkey that follows the carrot on the stick, but in fact Carrot this he never will not eat.

But there is one thing that needs to be kept in mindwhen choosing a job with the social package that suits you. Initially, only foreign companies provided us with a social package, and only then it became a common practice. But some domestic companies, on the one hand, want to attract employees with a social package, and on the other - They do not have enough funds to ensure that the social package.

In this case, you may find thatthe cost of the benefits promised to you (say, free meals or fitness classes) will automatically be deducted from your salary even if you do not use them or use irregularly. Therefore, when signing an employment contract it is very important to find out what benefits are provided to you and on what grounds.

So what is important to know about the social package? At first, social package - these are additional bonuses, and not guarantees, fixed by law, which the employer is obligated to provide. Secondly, these benefits are fully or partially free of charge, this should be specified immediately when hiring, so that later there were no surprises like the deducted from the salary of the allegedly free lunch.