I’d like to get you to consider what employee benefits mean to you. Or could you imagine even changing jobs for better benefits?
As many as 90% of people under 30 would be willing to change jobs for better employee benefits, according to research quoted by Edenred. From this, one can conclude that the younger generation has higher expectations of employee benefits. In principle, they also demand these from their employers. The figure is great, and I think it gives a clear message to organizations: if you want to stand out from competitors and attract skilled talent to your group, focus on creating attractive employee benefits and at the same time a new corporate culture. (Edenred 2022.) Next, I’ll tell you why the investment is worthwhile and what new opportunities are possibly coming to it.
In my text, I speak about employee benefits. Inspiration for the text got the bud from working on the subject. I am involved in an international project aimed at identifying the practices and patterns of companies and organizations about employee benefits. So, we are researching to find out how organizations are currently operating and what employee benefits they have in practice. Some have more of them, others have less. The types of employee benefits, the amount of money invested in them, and their numbers vary widely. However, the public sector, for example, will have to stay within the prepared budget, while private organizations are freer to decide what employee benefits they offer to their employees.
Changes in the legislation could provide more effective solutions, making it more appropriate for the employer and the employee to provide and use employee benefits.
-Linda-
It is important to be aware that matters relating to employee benefits are not only up to organizations to decide. The legislation strictly provides, for example, which employee benefits are tax-free, and which are not. If the employee benefit is not tax-exempt, it shall be considered taxable earned income under the law, whose invoice basis is the Tax Administration (Income Tax Act 1535/1992, 4:64). It can therefore be noted that the input of the workplace alone is not enough, but the creation of new business culture is a common goal. Changes in the legislation could provide more effective solutions, making it more appropriate for the employer and the employee to provide and use employee benefits. In principle, the education paid for by the employer is tax-free. This will apply in situations where the employer is either obliged to provide employment promotion training to a redundant employee or in situations where the employer requires training, pay for it, and is supposed to serve the needs of the enterprise (Income Tax Act, 69 a & 69 b). If the employee wanted to be trained on his own accord, he should pay for it himself. The tax administration has its guidance on how and in what situations these education expenditures can be reduced in personal tax action (Tax administration 2018).
As the world situation changes, working life changes too. Skills development and promotion of employment have also been on the board’s desk. In September 2021, the Finnish Government highlighted an interesting new employee benefit in its draft budget for next year. It’s an education note. I’m sure you’ve heard of cultural notes, so you know what principle it works on. So, the Finnish Government is going to work out the potential for its introduction, which I think is very positive news. (The Finnish Government 2021.) As a result of my current project, I am very pleased that solutions are being sought in terms of future working life and to be prepared to make investments in the face of sustainable growth and access to a knowledgeable workforce. Since working life relies heavily on legislation, there are changes to the legislation above. The education voucher could be the perfect solution for many companies , as it would be a hybrid model of current legislation. The training voucher is a virtual, hassle-free, and cost-effective solution. It works on the same idea as, say, the E-passport, which is a virtual personnel benefits passport. The employer chooses the amount to be downloaded on the voucher, and the employee himself selects the training. Education vouchers can pay for education effortlessly upon enrollment. (Auramo 2019.) The training voucher would also motivate the employee to develop their skills because he would not be subject to extra costs if the voucher would work with the same idea as a cultural voucher. Since the issue is still on the table , of course, one cannot know for sure whether reform is coming and what it would be like in the end. All we can do is stay watching the situation and hope for the best.
Thank you if you could read all the way here. On behalf of all of us, I hope that the working life will be ready for the change that we of, the younger generation, expect it.
Sunny spring for everyone,
Linda
References
Auramo, H. 2019. Koulutusseteli on uusi suomalainen innovaatio työntekijöiden osaamisen kehittämiseen. LinkedIn. Referenced 27.3.2022. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/koulutusseteli-uusi-suomalainen-innovaatio-osaamisen-helene-auramo
Edenred 2022. Vaihdetaanko työpaikkaa työsuhde-etujen perusteella?. Kauppalehti. Referenced 23.3.2022. https://www.kauppalehti.fi/kumppanisisallot/hrx-2022/vaihdetaanko-tyopaikkaa-tyosuhde-etujen-perusteella/
Income Tax Act 1535/1992. Finlex. Referenced 23.3.2022. https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1992/19921535
The Finnish Government 2021. Hallituksen talousarvioesitys rakentaa tulevaisuuden kestävää kasvua. Referenced 24.3.2022. https://valtioneuvosto.fi/-//10616/hallituksen-talousarvioesitys-rakentaa-tulevaisuuden-kestavaa-kasvua
Tax administration 2018. Koulutusmenot henkilöverotuksessa. Referenced 24.3.2022. https://www.vero.fi/syventavat-vero-ohjeet/ohje-hakusivu/48182/koulutusmenot-henkiloverotuksessa/
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