One-size-fits-all may not be best for global health and wellbeing benefits

Got employees spread across different countries? You’ll probably want to match their health and wellbeing benefits, right? Not necessarily, argues Sarah Dennis.

For global or multinational employers there can often be an assumption that, when you have employees spread across different countries, you will need to be matching their health and wellbeing benefits or taking, in effect, a one-size-fits-all approach.

This is something we at Towergate Health & Protection often see employers decide to do, and often for very laudable reasons.

But we’d argue this may not necessarily be the right approach. While it is of course vital to ensure that all employees are fully supported in terms of health and wellbeing, this does not necessarily also mean offering the same health and wellbeing benefits to all overseas employees as those based in the home country

Trying to match the benefits for those working in different countries may mean that employers end up either over- or under-providing.

Six areas to consider

It can lead to a lack of support in some areas and overcompensating in others. Instead, employers should consider what they are trying to achieve and what they need to offer to accomplish this. We’d argue six considerations are key.

1. Find the right balance. It is often necessary to look separately at specific areas of health and wellbeing support to ensure they are given the right weighting in each location.
2. Think about care for dependants. Where employees may expect two- to four-times salary, or even higher, for life assurance in the UK other countries will have different expectations. Overcompensating can cost employers unnecessary money that could be better spent elsewhere.
3. Consider maternity support (and costs). The cost of giving birth differs enormously from country to country. In the UK, where the NHS covers the cost of having a baby, it is easy to become complacent and forget the costs elsewhere. In the US, however by comparison, it costs nearly $19,000 (£15,200) on average to give birth.
4. Factor in evacuation and repatriation. Requirements for evacuation and repatriation cover will differ according to the countries in which employees are based. Some areas will have a greater level of risk, will be more remote, or have less access to medical care, meaning greater support is required.
5. Recognise support may need to be industry dependent. The level and type of wellbeing support offered will also depend upon the industry. Sectors such as technology and financial services are highly competitive and so tend to offer higher levels of benefits. So, companies in these industries must provide top-of-the-range support in order to recruit and retain the best people.
6. Understand the value of access to specialist local knowledge. Employers must look at what is covered by the state and what benefits they need to provide, before making any decision on what to offer. Having access to this degree of detailed knowledge for each benefit and each country is specialist, so it is important to have access to it. A regionally based adviser will know what state provision is in place, what support is mandatory for employers to provide, and what benefits local employees expect.

Conclusions

In summary, if an employer wants to harmonise health and wellbeing benefits globally, a good adviser will ask why. Health and wellbeing support should be about providing the appropriate benefits, not necessarily the same benefits.

The best way to treat employees fairly is to ensure that all four pillars of health and wellbeing are being supported: physical, mental, social, and financial.