Flexible benefits: how do they work and what are the advantages?

Flexible benefits have enormous potential to generate satisfaction among a company's employees, when applied correctly.

What are flexible benefits? Learn about some of the main ones

When we talk about flexible benefits, many believe that it involves the payment of an extra amount of salary, which allows the employee to use it as they wish, unlike what happens with Meal Vouchers, for example.

And, in fact, this view is not wrong, since commercially we have some cards focused precisely on this proposal.

However, when we talk about flexible benefits, we are actually referring to benefits that are not legally mandatory, that is, it is the company's right to decide whether or not to grant them to employees.

In this way, flexible benefits aim to improve employee satisfaction, as they provide quality of life and day-to-day solutions.

Here are some examples:

Daycare allowance

Daycare assistance is a benefit that offers an additional amount to the salary, in order to cover expenses with daycare and childcare for employees.

In general, this is a benefit paid to women, and corresponds to 5% of the gross salary, but it may vary according to the company's rules.

Salary advance

Some people think that a salary advance is a right, but in reality it is a flexible benefit.

It is also known as “voucher” and corresponds to 40% of the salary amount paid in advance, between the 15th and 20th day of the month.

Fuel voucher

The fuel voucher is paid to assist employees who use a private vehicle to travel to work.

In general, this replaces the transport voucher, and companies pay according to internal policy.

Flexible schedule

Companies that adopt flexible hours usually offer their employees some possibilities, such as:

Lack of a point system to control entry and exit;
Reduced working hours (less than 8 hours a day, or fewer days a week);
Possibility of choosing between in-person and remote work on some days of the week;
Among other possibilities.

Home office assistance

The home office allowance aims to help cover the costs of resources for remote work, such as:

Purchase of equipment;
Furniture;
Internet;
Salary supplement;
Between others.

It is worth mentioning that these are just a few examples, as there are many other flexible benefits, such as: gympass, health/dental insurance, educational incentives, among others.

How to apply flexible benefits in your company?

As we have already explained, flexible benefits are an excellent way to promote improved performance and satisfaction among a company's employees.

This is because having benefits beyond salary promotes an improvement in quality of life, in addition to providing solutions that make everyday life simpler.

However, for this practice to only have advantages, it is important to apply it correctly, since, as it is not something determined by law, there are not many rules that guarantee support for both parties on the matter.

Therefore, we will now look at some tips for applying flexible benefits in your company efficiently and safely.

1. Ensure equal application

The first step to implementing flexible benefits is to ensure equality among employees.

This is because discrepancies in this matter can generate a hostile climate within the company, after all, who wouldn't feel wronged by not receiving an advantage that another employee receives?

For example, offering fuel vouchers only to men could generate accusations of sexism, after all, are only men driving to work?

The same goes for childcare assistance, since, although it is intended for women, applying it only to them could exclude single parents, or even give the impression that only women should be responsible for children while they work.

Therefore, if you are going to apply, try to ensure a scenario focused on equality.

2. Research benefit cards

Benefits cards are excellent ways to apply flexible benefits, as they do not include labor discounts.

Some of these cards allow you to spend on fuel, food, services and many other important items.

3. Check the costs of this project carefully

If not having flexible benefits is a disadvantage, having them and having to take them out due to cost can generate even greater dissatisfaction.

Therefore, before deciding to offer childcare assistance, fuel vouchers, health assistance and salary advances, think about two main points:

What are the logistics of this?
How much will it cost?

It is better to have just one flexible benefit and guarantee payment, than to offer several and cause a financial hole for the company.

4. Know your employees’ demands

If most of your employees need help working remotely, this demand ends up being more important than a gym pass, for example.

We know that the ideal scenario is to be able to pay for both, but, as we discussed earlier, it's no use if this causes problems in the future.

Therefore, talk to your employees and understand which benefits offer them the most advantages.

This way, the chances of pleasing the customer are much greater, so that the company will reap the rewards of this satisfaction.

The company I work for does not offer flexible benefits, what should I do?

By the end of this article, you’ve probably concluded that the company you work for doesn’t offer any flexible benefits. What should you do in this case?

Well…as we discussed, in principle no company is obliged to pay this type of benefit, as it is not provided for in labor law.

Therefore, there is no possibility of making charges, since the company is not committing any infraction.

In this case, what can be done is to focus on dialogue in order to present the proposal to the company.

The idea is that you put together a project to highlight the advantages of this type of benefit, so that the company can evaluate the possibility.

It’s not a given, but it can certainly make your leaders reflect on the importance of investing in employee well-being.

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Roberta

I am a member of the O Administrador team and I produce content about career, personal finance, financial education, productivity, and professional development. My goal is to share clear and practical information to help readers with their day-to-day decisions.

April 9, 2024

Development