The employees play a crucial role in determining the performance of a business, therefore, the economic performance of the country. With the goal of attracting highly skilled labor, countries enact laws to guide businesses in the provision of employees' benefits. The benefits can, therefore, be used as a measure of how attractive a country can be by caring for its workers, both local and foreign. The paper will carry out a comparison of the employees' benefits offered in the United States with those provided in Germany, England, and Netherlands.
Globalization has facilitated movement and interaction between the individuals. With such easier connection, it has also become easier for companies to hire employees despite geographical challenges. It has therefore increased the competition between institutions for highly skilled labor requiring companies to adopt various strategies if they are to attract the best employees. Employees choose to work for those businesses or organization that aligns the latter's goals and objectives with the needs and goals of the workers (DeScherer, 2015). The choice of the employee benefits to be provided by the organization, therefore, acts as a great determiner of the type of talents that they can attract. With the increased competition for labor especially from multinational companies, it is becoming more challenging for businesses to retain the highly skilled labor (Bikoff, 2016). The employee benefits, therefore, act as a critical customer retention strategy thus ensuring that the high performing employees are retained within the company.
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These benefits play a great role in ensuring the stability of the employees by affecting their personal lives and how well they can cater and relate to their families. These benefits include but are not limited to compensation, social security, healthcare insurance coverage, retirement benefits and paid time off (Wentzell et al. 2016). The government influences the provision of these benefits by indicating compulsory benefits that must be offered by employers by setting up law. Apart from the benefits provided by the law, the business may decide on additional benefits provided voluntarily by employers meant to compensate for the employees. Some of the benefits that are commonly offered include health and safety, maternity leave, paternal leave, paternity leave, paid time off and minimum wage (Wentzell et al. 2016).
Maternity Benefits
Maternity benefits comprise of the packages offered to employees for reasons relating to childbirth. The United Kingdom is known to be among the best providers of maternity leave packages when compared to other European nations. The law provides that all the employees are entitled to maternity leave amounting to 52 weeks, equivalent to a year out of work. During the 52 weeks when the employee is delivering and caring for the newborn, the law requires that the employees be paid 90 percent of the earning they were making prior to taking the leave for six weeks (Wentzell et al. 2016). The employer is allowed to make a payment of at least 140 pounds per week for the remaining weeks. The employees are entitled to maintain the job and position they held before the leave with similar or not less favorable conditions for their employment (Wentzell et al. 2016).
In Germany, the law provides for job security for the expectant mothers by making it illegal for the employers to terminate their employment contract. The provision lasts up to four months after the childbirth. For the termination to be legal, the approval of public authorities is required, and such is only provided under exceptional occurrences such as the shutting down of the company under study. The law also restricts an employee from working six weeks to the childbirth although the restriction can at times be waived. In instances where the health of the mother and the unborn baby may be endangered due to the employment, the employee is supposed to avail a medical certificate (DeScherer, 2015). After reviewing for the authenticity, the employer is prohibited from employing the employee before the normal leave period that is six weeks before the childbirth. The law also puts a restriction for the employees to work eight weeks after the birth of the child (DeScherer, 2015). It does not place any waiver to the provision but also allows for the extension of the maternity leave to twelve weeks in instances of premature birth, multiple births.
During the maternity leave, the German constitution provides for the employee to receive an equal pay similar to the one they were receiving before taking the leave. Such is determined by calculating the average pay thirteen weeks before the pregnancy (Wentzell et al. 2016). The law also provides for the remuneration of the employees by the Statutory Health Insurance or the Federal Insurance Office during the statutory maternity period.
In the Netherlands, the employees are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave. During the period, the employees are entitled to full payment of the salary they were previously receiving before the start of the maternity (Wentzell et al. 2016). The United States laws do not provide for paid maternity leave. The employees rely on statutory laws to provide for the time off. Such states that have enacted the law include California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Bikoff, 2016). There is no guarantee that jobs and positions for the mothers on maternity leave are secure.
Shared Parental Leave
In the United Kingdom, the law provides for shared parental leave enabling the mother and the father of the child to share the benefits available to the former. A mother choosing a shared parental leave plan rather than the ordinary or additional maternal leave allows the couple to enjoy 50 weeks of shared paternal leave. During the period, the two couple also enjoys shared paternal pay for 37 weeks equaling the maternal benefits the employee would have enjoyed (DeScherer, 2015).
Germany also offers parental leave for both parents so they can take care of their child until the child is eight years old. The country offers the joint most time with France by allowing a total shared parental leave of three years. An agreement between the employee and the employer can be made to allow the transfer of 24 months leave to a particular time before the child reaches eight years of age. The authorities may pay the leave for 12 months extending to 14 months in case the other parent also decides to take the leave or for 24 months for employees under the Parental Allowance plus System (DeScherer, 2015). The employee is supposed to notify the employer of the leave at least seven months earlier, and the request cannot be denied by the employer. The employers are however not supposed to pay the employees although the employees are entitled to an allowance totaling to 67 percent of previous income for 14 months (DeScherer, 2015). The employer is also denied the right to terminate the employment contract during the paternal leave.
In Netherlands, the Work and Care Act provides for both parents to enjoy paid paternity leave (DeScherer, 2015). The provision allows for the fathers to attend the birth of their child as well as two more additional days to be taken four weeks after the child birth. The United States does not have statutory laws providing for the provision of shared parental denying the fathers the right to enjoy their rights (Bikoff, 2016).
Paternal benefits
The employees in the United Kingdom are entitled to two weeks of paternal leave where they have a right to receive statutory paternity pay. For the employees to be eligible, they must meet such conditions as given at least 26 weeks of continuous services as of the start of the expected week of childbirth (Moore, 2015). The benefits are also enjoyed by those employees who may decide to adopt a child and meet the requirement of minimum pay currently placed at 112 Great Britain pounds weekly (DeScherer, 2015). An employee coming from a paternal leave is entitled to the same job and position they held before the leave.
Germany also offers paternity benefits to the employees who are adoptive parents. The benefits include offering a leave amounting to three years before the child is eight years of age. An agreement between the employee and the employers can be made to help in transferring 24 months of the paternity leave to a specific point in time (DeScherer, 2015). During the leave, the parents receive a paternity allowance for a maximum period of one year. The employer can not restrict such a request although a notice must be issued seven days before taking the leave.
In Netherlands, the General Child Benefit Act requires the payment of regular benefits to parents of all children aged 18 and below, either adopted or foster children to help ease the cost of living (Wentzell et al. 2016). The United States statutory and federal law does not offer paternal benefits for the employees (Bikoff, 2016). However, an agreement between the employer and the employees can be made to attract and retain talent.
Health benefits
In the United Kingdom, the employees who are unable to discharge their duties and responsibilities for four or more days due to injury or illness are entitled to receive statutory sick pay for a maximum of 28 weeks (DeScherer, 2015). These benefits are not offered for the employee who misses three days or less due to sickness or injury. For them to enjoy the package, they must meet certain conditions ensuring the illness or injury was not caused intentionally. Currently, the rate of the statutory week pays an amount to 88.45 Great Britain pounds (DeScherer, 2015). An agreement between the employer and the employee can be made to facilitate a payment during sick leave at a higher rate than the statutory sick pay. There is, however, no recognition of unpaid time off due to injury or sickness although the law provides for the required reporting.
Employees in Germany are entitled to paid time off when the cause of not working is illness or injury for up to six weeks (Hanekom, 2016). The entitlement takes effect after the employee has been employed for four weeks. However, the employees are not eligible for the program if they intentionally contributed to the sickness. For the employees who subsequently fall sick because of similar underlying causes, a period of six months after the last illness is allowed before the employee can enjoy the six-week statutory sick pay (Wentzell et al. 2016). When the cause of the illness is different to the one that previously contributed to the illness, the six-week statutory sick pay commences with immediate effect.
In Netherlands, the employees are allowed a sick leave of up to 104 weeks, amounting to 2 years (DeScherer, 2015). During the period, the employers are restricted from terminating the employment contract. They are also obliged by the law to compensate the employees with a minimum of 70 percent of their average salary thirteen weeks before the sick leave (DeScherer, 2015). However, the employees are exempted of the health benefit if an investigation reveals they intentionally contributed to their illness.
The United States lacks statutory provision detailing the number of days an employee is entitled to a paid sick leave (Bikoff, 2016). Such depends on the agreement between the employer and the employee as part of compensation package.
Paid time off
Employees in the United Kingdom are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid time off yearly where the week is defined as the average working week for the employee (Wentzell et al. 2016). On the maximum, the employee is entitled to 28 days annually of holiday that is paid by the employer. The payment to be made during the holiday leave should be equal to the one that was being paid before requesting for the time off. Other elements relating to the duties the worker carries such as commission and allowances are also included in the pay. In instances where the holiday was not taken, financial compensation should be made at the end of the employment contract or after termination of employment.
In Germany, the Federal Holiday Act provides for employers to grant the employees a minimum of 20 days when basing on five days working week and 24 days based on a six-day working week (Moore, 2015). During the period, the employee is entitled to a holiday payment where they are supposed to receive the average salary during the time off as they were being paid 13 weeks before taking time off. Since the entitled time off is done annually, the employee is obliged to take it or else it is forfeited. However, the days can be transferred up to 31st of March the next year in instances where taking time off was made impossible by personal challenges or those of the workplace (Wentzell et al. 2016). The employees are also entitled to claim any financial compensation for not taking time off in cases where the employment contract is nearing completion.
In Netherlands, the employees receive a total of 28 paid vocational days annually (Moore, 2015). The employee and the employer agree on the most appropriate days through a notice. There is not statutory provision by the United States regarding annual leave. It is up to the employee and the employer to agree on the number of annual leave. In average, the employers in the country offer ten days of paid leave annually (Bikoff, 2016).
Minimum wage
The Minimum Wage Act provides for a minimum wage of 8.84 Euros per hour for employees working in Germany (Moore, 2015). The provisions, however, do not apply to minors, volunteers, and trainees. The employees are therefore entitled to file for claim of the difference between the actual pay and the minimum wage. For the employees in the United Kingdom, the minimum wage is structured depending on the age. It ranges from 3.4 to 7.20 for workers under 19 years old and 25 or above respectively (Hanekom, 2016).
In the Netherlands, the minimum wage is set at 1,551.60 Euros per month for the full-time employees. On the other hand, the United States federal government has set a minimum wage at 7.25 dollars per hour (Bikoff, 2016). However, states are responsible for setting their minimum wage for their citizens.
Germany should improve on the paternity benefits to ensure that it is equally competitive with other advanced economies such as Denmark, Italy, Spain, and France (Hanekom, 2016). The United Kingdom should enact laws that will help in offering unemployment benefits to the employees working in England concerning the period covered and the amount of pay. For the Netherlands, the focus should be on implementing laws meant at improving the annual leave concerning the period covered and the payments to ensure it remain competitive as other areas.
The United States should offer more employment benefits as it is currently trailing behind other advanced economies. Some of the benefits that should be offered include maternity leave, paid vacation, paid sick leave and paternity benefits. The strategy will help position the country and the businesses well that they can attract and retain highly skilled talents.
References
Bikoff, L. (2016). U.S. master employee benefits guide .
DeScherer, D. D. (2015). Employee benefits answer book . Bottom of Form
Hanekom, K. (2016). Manual on retirement funds and other employee benefits .
Moore, K. L. (2015). Understanding employee benefits law .
Wentzell, C. J. J., Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak& Stewart., & American Chamber of Commerce Resources. (2016). Employee benefits--: An employer's guide .
