Employee benefits are any benefits provided to employees in addition to their base salaries and wages. A complete employee benefits package may include health insurance, life insurance, paid time off (PTO), profit sharing, retirement benefits, and more. Simply put, any non-wage benefit offered to an employee, either mandatory or voluntary, can be classified as an employee benefit.
Required employee benefits include:
- Provide employees time off to vote, serve on jury duty, and perform military service
- Comply with all workers’ compensation requirements
- Pay state and federal taxes towards unemployment insurance
- Contribute to state short-term disability insurance
- Comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Employers aren’t required to provide the following benefits:
- Health insurance
- This is only required if you’re an applicable large employer (ALE) with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), according to the Affordable Care Act
- Retirement plans
- Dental insurance or vision plans
- Life insurance plans
- Paid vacation and holiday leave