Employee benefits

[PhilB]

Hi

I am currently in the telephone interview process of applying for a job in Wellington. Its a fairly senior role with a multi national.

Can anyone let me know what is usual for the benefits an employer will provide. The list i got was health, life and income continuation BUT no pension (sorry superannuation) I know about kiwisaver but i was just a bit surprised that the company would not contribution anymore than the basic minimum.

Also, i was thinking about asking for some help with relocation, not necessarily financial but more the logistics such as somewhere to live, banks etc. Has anyone else done this or had any luck asking?

Thanks

[JandM]

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you - I expect you'll get some comments when NZ wakes up.

Remembering your first posting - so DID you have PR, then, when you checked?

[PhilB]

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you - I expect you'll get some comments when NZ wakes up.

Remembering your first posting - so DID you have PR, then, when you checked?

Hi,

Yeah we did. good memory you have there.

have passports any everything back now, so next step is just sorting out a job before we hand in notice etc. Fortunately a ideal job has come up for me, which is paying a decent salary. Had two telephone interviews last week, so looking good so far....

[Sun777]

Congrats Phil and thanks for raising this one, I've similar question and looking forward for an answer to this thread.

[pcsourcepoint]

When I had a senior role with one of NZ's leading corporate/manufacturing companies they gave listed stock shares at a reduced price - but could only purchase in limited lots per year. They also had a reduced interest loan scheme and free medical insurance. Super scheme had to contribute in 2 % lots of my salary after a base 4%, and with that in mind you may want to check on their redundancy policy, such as no. of weeks payout and super contributions, etc. But had to attend several courses and some senior jobs require certification/membership/testing (e.g. with IANZ) in various pro committees in your particular field.

But also check policy for health benefits - as some may require employees to be quite sick, i.e. unable to work effectively for several weeks, and repeat checks/verification with the doctor. Some provide relocation (even overseas) and even housing - but generally I found for multi national companies.

[James 1077]

There aren't normally a huge range of benefits in NZ from my experience. The main reason for this is that companies have to pay additional tax of 64% of the value of the benefit (Fringe Benefit Tax - FBT). With superschemes other than kiwisaver (and also contributions above the legal minimum to Kiwisaver) there is also an additional tax of 33% of the contribution called ESCT.

So together this normally means that benefits are hard to come by! For most roles there are none but often you'll get subsidised health care with Southern Cross (and Southern Cross offer discounts to employees of large employers if you want to top up). Life and income protection would be very rare (I never came across it when I was talking to clients in my previous job).

The good news though is that relocation assistance is now tax-free (previously there was much debate with the IRD saying it was subject to tax). Quite a few businesses will pay for relocation if you are senior enough so you could ask.

[nativecolo]

I've had relocation assistance - shipping a container load of household effects upto 10k and flights plus 4 weeks accomodation. I also was given a relocation consultant. I had kids who needed school, so I did lots of research which was important and had a lot of support form ENZ when I was still in India.

Hope that helps.

Let me know if you want more specifics.

Cheers, and all the best - Welly is quite a nice place.

[teamplayer2003]

Health Insurance is about all you get now days. They often will subsidise other froms of insurance as well but take care to check that they are actually good value before you commit. But Kiwisaver is about all you get in the way of pensions. Its heading that way in the UK too with quite a few of my friends not getting anything in the way of pension help. NZ will need to look to copy australia who have to give you 7% of your salary to an appoved pension provider. It will come here its just that Kiwis dont like being told what to do and as a result things like this take time.

[Wooly_Cow]

Keep in mind many company pension schemes are way under water still, and the gap often having to be met by the employers, and in this risk averse world it's hardly surprising the companies are opting out of pensions.

Personally I reckon we'll all be working till we are over 70!

The other change was the government repealled a change in Kiwisaver that would have increased the mimimum to be saved up to 4% by btoh employer and employee with tax breaks. These days it's sits at 2% with no real incentive to save more. It's a time bomb that needs sorting....but it won't be for years.

btw Relocation costs are only tax free up to a limit

[PhilB]

thanks for all the replies guys. guess i will just have to see what they offer!