When it comes to
employee benefits, it seems workers in continental Europe fare better
than those in the UK. For example, according to the Work:Life UK survey,
only 2% of UK employees are offered income protection, while in the
Netherlands it is mandatory for staff to be paid 70% of their salary for
two years if they are off work sick.
Do you think European employees get a better deal than you? Which of the benefits commonly offered in Europe would you most like to receive? Tell us what you think by voting in a live poll below
Do you think European employees get a better deal than you? Which of the benefits commonly offered in Europe would you most like to receive? Tell us what you think by voting in a live poll below
Are Britons really so hard done by when it comes to employee perks? Photograph: Reuters/Corbis
France has its 35-hour week and a less well known (but equally
beneficial) employee perk: a guaranteed minimum of five weeks' paid
leave a year.
Most German workers enjoy a bonus of an extra month's salary each year, Switzerland is debating having a minimum monthly wage of 4,000 francs (£2,806) and more than half of continental European workers are given shares in the companies they work for.
With such examples of seemingly good employment benefits, you could be forgiven for thinking Britain lags behind the rest of Europe when it comes to perks.
Even India, behind the curve in many other areas of employment law, requires that all companies employing more than 20 people give a tax-free gratuity upon retirement to all staff with more than five years' service. It's worth 15 days' salary for each year worked, up to a maximum of one million rupees (£12,600). It is also mandatory to offer pensions to Indian employees.
So, are Britons really so hard done by when it comes to employee perks? Yes, according to the results of a recent ICM survey of 5,000 UK employees, commissioned by the Guardian on behalf of income protection provider Unum.
Less than half (48%) of employees are offered a pension, while just 22% have the option of flexible working and 12% can work from home.
Only 14% of staff get health insurance, while even fewer get creches or subsidised childcare (2%). Only 5% have gym membership and 3% are offered sabbaticals.
Across the rest of Europe, these figures are consistently higher. When it comes to pensions, for example, the governments in Switzerland and Iceland are responsible for setting contribution rates and minimum rates of return for savers.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Pensions at a Glance report 2011, UK pension accruals are one of the lowest in Europe, averaging 0.89% compared with 2.25% in Portugal and 3% in Spain.
Amazingly, in Luxembourg it is possible for people to earn more in retirement (103%) than when they were in work; in the UK, contributory pensions pay out somewhere between 14-20%.
Next year all working Britons over 18 will automatically be enrolled into a pension scheme, unless they specifically opt out (contribution rates start at 3%). But with low consumer trust in pensions – particularly around pension fees, which can erode annual annuities by up to 30% – this is not expected to set the world alight. In October the National Association of Pensions Funds predicted that 3 million workers will opt out of having a pension when the scheme is introduced because they don't see the value of saving now for later. The UK already has fewer people paying into a pension than it did in the 1950s.
"The big differences [between UK and European perks] tend to be with what might be called statutory benefits – sick pay, pensions, health and wellbeing, anything state-related," says Robin Chater, secretary-general of the Federation of European Employers.
"Social security costs are far higher, but the return is that, in the Netherlands, for example, employees benefit from being paid 70% of salary by their employer for two years if forced off work through illness, rising to three years if bosses don't take steps to reintegrate them back into the workplace. And it's an immediate benefit."
In the UK, income protection has to be bought by the employer, rather than being a statutory benefit, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ICM poll found just 2% of employees are offered it.
"In many parts of Europe, companies must, by law, provide access to an independent doctor, at their cost," says Marieke Smit, HR compensation and benefits manager at Essent in the Netherlands. "Our in-house doctor specifically concentrates on how work-related issues create bad health. The results speak for themselves: absenteeism is now just 3.5%."
This week the Department for Work and Pension's Sickness Absence Review recommended that a similar solution was needed here to tackle absence. It suggests local GPs should not be involved in the process of "signing people off" because they may be put under pressure from patients with whom they have longstanding relationships. The government is proposing an independent assessment process, which it says will eradicate bogus sick notes and save businesses £300m per year.
But this is almost opposite to the paternalistic attitude to staff that is evident in continental Europe and which Chater says results in most European employees reaping a better set of benefits. "In Spain, employees can claim lump sums from employers to help them buy a house or have a year's sabbatical after one's year's service. That's why benefits are seen to be better. In Europe, flexible benefits aren't even seen to be a benefit because it's so normal."
So is it all doom and gloom? Despite French, German and Dutch workers being able to claim for the cost of travelling to work, they don't have it all their own way. Bonuses tend to be lower in Europe and company cars are a rarity – not to mention higher taxes to pay for increased benefits. But on the whole, it seems that employees across the Channel get a better deal than us Brits.
Most German workers enjoy a bonus of an extra month's salary each year, Switzerland is debating having a minimum monthly wage of 4,000 francs (£2,806) and more than half of continental European workers are given shares in the companies they work for.
With such examples of seemingly good employment benefits, you could be forgiven for thinking Britain lags behind the rest of Europe when it comes to perks.
Even India, behind the curve in many other areas of employment law, requires that all companies employing more than 20 people give a tax-free gratuity upon retirement to all staff with more than five years' service. It's worth 15 days' salary for each year worked, up to a maximum of one million rupees (£12,600). It is also mandatory to offer pensions to Indian employees.
So, are Britons really so hard done by when it comes to employee perks? Yes, according to the results of a recent ICM survey of 5,000 UK employees, commissioned by the Guardian on behalf of income protection provider Unum.
Less than half (48%) of employees are offered a pension, while just 22% have the option of flexible working and 12% can work from home.
Only 14% of staff get health insurance, while even fewer get creches or subsidised childcare (2%). Only 5% have gym membership and 3% are offered sabbaticals.
Across the rest of Europe, these figures are consistently higher. When it comes to pensions, for example, the governments in Switzerland and Iceland are responsible for setting contribution rates and minimum rates of return for savers.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Pensions at a Glance report 2011, UK pension accruals are one of the lowest in Europe, averaging 0.89% compared with 2.25% in Portugal and 3% in Spain.
Amazingly, in Luxembourg it is possible for people to earn more in retirement (103%) than when they were in work; in the UK, contributory pensions pay out somewhere between 14-20%.
Next year all working Britons over 18 will automatically be enrolled into a pension scheme, unless they specifically opt out (contribution rates start at 3%). But with low consumer trust in pensions – particularly around pension fees, which can erode annual annuities by up to 30% – this is not expected to set the world alight. In October the National Association of Pensions Funds predicted that 3 million workers will opt out of having a pension when the scheme is introduced because they don't see the value of saving now for later. The UK already has fewer people paying into a pension than it did in the 1950s.
"The big differences [between UK and European perks] tend to be with what might be called statutory benefits – sick pay, pensions, health and wellbeing, anything state-related," says Robin Chater, secretary-general of the Federation of European Employers.
"Social security costs are far higher, but the return is that, in the Netherlands, for example, employees benefit from being paid 70% of salary by their employer for two years if forced off work through illness, rising to three years if bosses don't take steps to reintegrate them back into the workplace. And it's an immediate benefit."
In the UK, income protection has to be bought by the employer, rather than being a statutory benefit, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, the ICM poll found just 2% of employees are offered it.
"In many parts of Europe, companies must, by law, provide access to an independent doctor, at their cost," says Marieke Smit, HR compensation and benefits manager at Essent in the Netherlands. "Our in-house doctor specifically concentrates on how work-related issues create bad health. The results speak for themselves: absenteeism is now just 3.5%."
This week the Department for Work and Pension's Sickness Absence Review recommended that a similar solution was needed here to tackle absence. It suggests local GPs should not be involved in the process of "signing people off" because they may be put under pressure from patients with whom they have longstanding relationships. The government is proposing an independent assessment process, which it says will eradicate bogus sick notes and save businesses £300m per year.
But this is almost opposite to the paternalistic attitude to staff that is evident in continental Europe and which Chater says results in most European employees reaping a better set of benefits. "In Spain, employees can claim lump sums from employers to help them buy a house or have a year's sabbatical after one's year's service. That's why benefits are seen to be better. In Europe, flexible benefits aren't even seen to be a benefit because it's so normal."
So is it all doom and gloom? Despite French, German and Dutch workers being able to claim for the cost of travelling to work, they don't have it all their own way. Bonuses tend to be lower in Europe and company cars are a rarity – not to mention higher taxes to pay for increased benefits. But on the whole, it seems that employees across the Channel get a better deal than us Brits.
Poll: tell us what you think
Which of the benefits widely available in mainland Europe would you most like to be offered by your company? Perhaps you would like more holiday? Maybe you would prefer benefits that protect you against illness. Cast your vote in our online poll:|
Which European-provided benefit would you most like your company to offer?
|
|
|---|---|
| 55% | A pension that pays me a decent living wage in my retirement |
| 17% | Some money now, such as help with travel to work or house-buying |
| 4% | A health-related benefit such as health insurance or income protection |
| 24% | More guaranteed annual leave |
This poll is now closed
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