If you are a small business owner, you are not generally required to provide your staff with health insurance. But for most employees, this is their most sought-after benefits. It only makes sense since medical care is becoming increasingly expensive these days.
The kind of benefits you have to offer can make a big difference when it comes to retaining your staff and enticing the best talents to work for your brand. But just because you own a startup small business, this already meant you should skip such a benefit for now. Even if you only have less than 50 employees at a time, you can enjoy many perks for including health insurance in your employee benefits.
Why Sponsor Health Insurance to Your Staff
Improving employee loyalty and retention rate and tapping on the best talents are just a few reasons to provide health insurance. Employees who get such a benefit are more likely to stay productive and motivated. They would not want to lose their job and health insurance, which means they would do their best each day just to secure their stay.
When you offer your employees health insurance, you are promoting healthy company culture. Employees can better afford medical coverage. You get to ensure their health and wellness, leading to fewer absences and better outcomes.
Buying group health insurance plans also tend to be cheaper than simply getting insurance for yourself. You can deduct the costs and receive tax incentives. There are also pre-tax benefits you can enjoy.
Providing the Right Health Insurance
It is not enough that you are offering health benefits to your employees. It is also crucial that you provide enough coverage. This will help ensure they have enough protection in case they will be in need of health assistance in the future.
Poor insurance coverage can put your business at risk of getting sued. This is especially true if one of your employees got into an accident while working. If they get hurt and you and your health insurance company fail to provide them with reasonable compensation, this can taint your business reputation.
For instance, one of your drivers was driving a company motorcycle to deliver some goods when they got into an accident. Failure to take care of your employee’s medical needs will prompt him to seek legal advice. The last thing you need is to receive a notice from his trusted motorcycle accident lawyer about their plans to take the case to court.
If you are providing health insurance, make sure you don’t discriminate. Workplace discrimination will only drag your business down. If you are going to offer your staff health benefits, make sure everyone gets that chance to receive the same benefits.
Of course, there you need to have eligibility requirements when offering any benefit. Some are eligible for health insurance after 30 days of getting hired full-time. Others offer immediate eligibility after signing a full-time employment contract.
If you have part-time workers, you need to establish a policy if they can get insured or not. Most employers would offer health benefits for part-time workers working 30 hours each week. It is crucial that you discuss the details with your employees and your health insurance provider.
Other Considerations When It Comes to Employee Health Benefits
Before committing to providing your employees with health benefits, there are other things worth considering. For one, you need to avoid costly mistakes that other employers committed when providing benefits. Some of these are as follows.
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Including Non-Employees
Some employers would try to trick their health insurance companies by enrolling non-employees. This can be their relatives or friends that are nowhere associated with the company. Remember that insurance companies do their own investigation especially when it comes to larger claims.
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Providing Unwanted Benefits
Not everyone would appreciate getting a benefit they won’t need anyway. For instance, if most of your employees are young and single without any dependents, then they won’t need life insurance. Financial and medical insurance, on the other hand, are desirable types of employee benefits.
If you are not sure what your employees want, go ahead and ask them. Provide choices of benefits you are willing to offer and allow them to rank them according to their needs. This will give them the chance to choose the right benefits for them and avoid paying for insurance they won’t even need.
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Your Competition
If you do competitor analysis, then why skip the part when you do research on what benefits they have to offer? The better benefits you can offer, the more you get to retain your employee’s trust. You can also get ahead of the competition by providing one of the best benefits to your staff.
You may not be obliged to provide benefits to your employees. But why give them less when they deserve more? They deserve a great boss, strong leaders, and a company that makes them feel loved. If you want your employees to give their best, then you too should do your part in providing them with nothing less. Offer the right benefits for your employees and the company’s sake.
