By Ritika Dubey
Not all workplace benefits plans are created equal. Experts say it’s important to understand what’s in the plan before signing a contract at a new job, and whether there’s room to negotiate some extra perks better tailored to your life.
“Sometimes, benefits programs can seem really bright and shiny on the outside but dig into the details and ask questions,” said Jillian Climie, a compensation expert and co-founder of Vancouver-based consulting company The Thoughtful Co.
Generally, Climie said, a core workplace benefits package should include not only health care and dental benefits but also disability coverage and life insurance. However, most of it comes down to a company’s compensation philosophy and how it plans on supporting workers, she added.
Canadian companies usually opt for structured programs from providers such as Manulife, Sun Life or Canada Life, among others. While those types of plans have less room to negotiate — if any room at all — Climie said it’s important to take a closer look and see what’s in there for you.
“It’s always worth going into the details if you have a certain prescription,” she said. If there are additional medication coverage needs, those should be brought up and negotiated outside of the provided plan.
Some companies can also offer a chunk of money as part of a health care spending account that can be used toward health or dental benefits — and can be negotiated, Climie said.
“A lot of people don’t think about negotiating them, but they can be negotiated,” she said.
Andrew Ostro, co-founder of digital insurance provider PolicyMe, said it’s common for new employees to compare their previous workplace package with the new workplace coverage.
If the new package falls short, he said people can ask the company for extra annual cash in health spending so they can buy private coverage outside of their work plan.
“The easiest thing to do would be: ‘I need additional compensation outside of the benefit package to buy my own private health care,'” he said. “So maybe, you negotiate and say, ‘My expenses are too high, my dental expenses are really high. This plan isn’t covering me sufficiently for what I need.'”
Usually, any plan that covers north of 75 per cent of the health expenses is considered a strong plan, Ostro said.
Looking closely at disability coverage is also important, Ostro said.
“That’s one of the biggest risks for an individual that is typically hard or expensive to cover outside of work,” he said.
Ostro said a few key terms can dictate the robustness of disability coverage.
For instance, some long-term disability plans define occupation as any work — at or outside the main job. If a worker can no longer do the job at work but finds a second lower-skilled job to get by, the insurance company could refuse to provide disability coverage.
Ostro said it’s also important to look at the length of the disability coverage — whether it’s two years or up until the age of 65, for instance.
But there’s room to be creative beyond what’s in those structured packages.
Climie said work-life balance sits at the heart of benefits negotiations for many young workers. There are pieces such as negotiating sabbaticals, professional development coaching, parental leave policies and even fertility benefits for both sexes.
“I’m seeing people get really creative on the different things that are important to them and they minimize different friction points in the workplace,” she said.
For instance, getting a parking allowance negotiated when driving to downtown Toronto for work every day of the week.
“Those are where it’s more individualized to you and you can see what’s negotiable based on what you’re really looking for,” Climie said.
It all comes down to asking the right questions and weeding out any red flags before signing on the dotted line.
“Ask for the benefits package if they haven’t provided it to you already. Review it in detail. Take your time. Don’t be rushed by them. And make sure you understand how it works,” Climie said.
“It’s a huge decision to join a new job, so make sure you have all the information that you need.”
