Aug 15, 2023
Enrich your Collective Labor Agreement with Flexible Secondary Employment Benefits
A good Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) forms a solid foundation for salary, vacation days, and other secondary employment benefits. Yet, we often receive the question at YourCampus, "What else can I offer my employees?" A CLA seems to imply that all agreements between employee and employer are already set in stone. This gives the impression that there is no room to add anything extra. But that is certainly possible. There are options beyond the CLA. And that extra layer? It might just make you stand out more as an employer.
Quick refresher: What is included in the CLA?
As you know, a CLA (the collective labor agreement) is an agreement between one or more employers (organizations) and one or more employees (organizations) or trade unions. The CLA outlines the agreements for larger groups of employees and employers, for example, within a sector or industry.
The CLA includes agreements about:
Salary (and salary scales)
Termination regulations and notice period
Pension arrangements
Vacation days
Pregnancy leave and parental leave
Training
In addition to the secondary employment benefits ('benefits') listed here – pensions, vacation days, and training – there is certainly still room for extra employment benefits. Companies can also provide additional secondary employment benefits. EVEN if there is a CLA. In that case, these are extras, on top of the mandatory employment conditions stipulated in the CLA. These benefits can be funded from the free space of the work-related costs scheme.
The WKR
The work-related costs scheme, also known as the WKR, is an important scheme for secondary employment benefits. Although it is not a pot of money, it does involve a specific amount. The WKR offers the possibility to reimburse certain allowances, including benefits, up to a certain amount tax-free. The amount that may be spent tax-free is linked to the payroll.
In this article you can read more about how the WKR works exactly.
How you utilize the WKR is not included in the CLA. It is up to the employer to determine how the free space is used. Therefore, the employer can also choose to use the tax-free amount of the WKR to reward employees extra.
Extra benefits on top of the CLA?
There are a few things that are agreed upon outside of the CLA. Such as:
Company car
Company bicycle
Insurances
Gym membership
Volunteering
Donations
Mental health support
This is important to know because these are precisely the extra secondary employment benefits that you can offer to stand out.
The YourCampus platform
Through our platform, you can offer flexible employee compensation. We give employees the autonomy to choose their own benefits and use their budgets flexibly. Below are some secondary employment benefits that can be offered flexibly through the YourCampus app.
Vacation days
Vacation pay and free days are determined in the CLA. However, you can offer them flexibly as an employer. It is important that these are the above-statutory vacation days. Vacation pay can also be paid out flexibly, for example, monthly, as long as it meets the statutory minimum of 8%. Employees can sell their vacation days for salary, or swap public holidays for a vacation day. The payout of vacation pay can be arranged through the YourCampus app.
Company bicycle
Thanks to the bicycle plan, financing the company bicycle is outside the CLA and the WKR. Employees can request a lease bike from Lease a Bike in the YourCampus app. This lease bike is ultimately paid for by the employee themselves, but from their gross salary. This ultimately costs you, as an employee, nothing extra. It does ensure happy and healthy employees.
Do you want to introduce the lease bike in your organization? Read here more about Lease a Bike.
Gym membership
One of the largest categories in the YourCampus app is ‘Health’. The gym and sports memberships are among the most chosen benefits that YourCampus offers. These benefits are flexible because employees can select them themselves with a choice budget in the app.
There are several reasons why it is interesting for an employee to promote exercise. One of the main reasons is the health benefits of exercising itself. The entrepreneur also benefits from this. Because the health benefits of exercising ensure that employees perform better and are more productive. Better health can also help prevent absenteeism.
In the YourCampus app, users can choose from a wide range of sports partners with gyms spread across the Netherlands. Some examples are: Basic-Fit, Anytime Fitness, ClassPass, Fit20, TrainMore, SportCity, and Bedrijfsfitness Nederland.
Coaching & mental health
Personal coaching and meditation apps can also help improve your employees' mental health. A valuable addition on top of the CLA, as these kinds of services mainly focus on preventive care. Through YourCampus, there are many different options available and we offer them in two ways: as add-ons (which fall under business costs) and as benefits.
Add-ons
Inuka and Headspace are add-ons that both help improve your employees' mental health. Add-ons work a bit differently than our benefits: they are extra employment benefits that you can offer to all your employers. When an employee selects an add-on, they do not spend a budget on it. The add-ons can be budgeted under business costs, meaning they do not take up any of the free space of the WKR:
With Inuka, you improve the well-being of your employees. Inuka provides solution-focused therapy for employees. Their goal is to make problems manageable so they can be addressed. Inuka is an accessible service. The coaches on the platform are also there for daily challenges.
Headspace is a meditation and mindfulness app with hours of original sessions. Whether employees are experiencing stress, want to relax, wish to engage more in mindfulness, or need sleep meditation, there is plenty of content in the Headspace app. It turns out that using Headspace for 10 days already reduces stress by 14%.
Benefits
There are also benefits in the Health category that can promote your employees' well-being: Champ Yoga and Meditation Moments.
Champ Yoga: YourCampus users receive an exclusive deal of 3 lessons at a reduced rate. There are 250 locations where a yoga lesson can be followed. On top of that, they also get 3 months of free access to the mobile app House of Deep Relax.
Meditation Moments is a Dutch meditation app. There are more than 200 meditation sessions to listen to, ranging from 3 to 60 minutes. Perfect to take a moment of calm during a busy day. In the app, users find programs on meditation, breathing, and mindset.
Donations
Through the platform The Social Handshake, employees can make a LoonGift from their gross salary. This goes outside the WKR. Another advantage is that the net amount donated is higher due to tax benefits. As an employer, you do not have to free up any extra budget for this!
Through YourCampus, employees can also donate (part of) their benefits budget to Giro 555 (for Ukraine, Syria, and Turkey) and CARE Nederland. These charities are listed as benefits in the app. Employees can choose how much they want to donate.
Perks
In addition to benefits – the flexible secondary employment benefits that employees can spend their budget on – the YourCampus app offers a large selection of Perks. Perks are exclusive discounts and deals that are only available in the YourCampus app.
One of these perks is the collective health insurance with OHRA that YourCampus users can sign up for via the app. This way, they receive a number of healthy collective extras with their OHRA health insurance. Other examples of perks include discounts on mobile phone subscriptions via UnitedConsumers, discounts on Apple products, and cashback on a Ziggo internet & TV subscription. These discounts can contribute to alleviating fixed costs.
Curious about the possibilities for your company?
