KEY POINTS:
Great perks can make you happier on the job. But if you don't ask, you don't get, says Melita Sharp, director of Career Coach, a firm that coaches employees to get what they want from their job.
Perks are generally handed out to give to staff with an impact on the company's objectives to achieve greater results.
The top perks in New Zealand are arguably:
* Company cars
* Flexible working arrangements
* Health insurance
* Laptops
* Car park
* Cell phone
* Gym membership
* Sabbaticals
* Gym allowances
* Childcare
One man's meat is another man's poison. For example many employees would jump at a central city car park. It may not be so popular if you live near the train station in Papakura or five minutes walk from the ferry terminal in Devonport.
Growing in popularity is onsite or subsidised childcare, says Sharp. Westpac is in the process of setting up three childcare facilities for its employees after signing an agreement with ABC Learning Centres.
"Over the last couple of years we consulted extensively with staff and their feedback has showed that having a childcare facility close to or en route to work will help employees to balance work and home life, and support Westpac's staff retention goals in what is a tight labour market," said chief executive Ann Sherry. The company already provides staff subsidies for school holiday programmes.
It will also ensure loyalty as few people would want to move their children from one childcare centre to another.
A bit more unusual is the Google headquarters in the US where staff have the use of heated toilet seats - with push-button operated bidet and drying.
Other unusual perks offered by companies here include:
* Massages on demand
* In-house counsellors
* Car washing and waxing while you work
* Being paid to attend conferences in exotic locations
Whether you get the perks you want can depend on the personality of the hiring manager in question, says Kim Smith recruitment consultant at Robert Half Finance & Accounting. Some are open to creative approaches to attract talent; others are more set in their ways. However, employers are realising they need to be more creative to attract talent, says Smith.
As a not-for-profit employer The Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand, voted New Zealand's best place to work in the Unlimited/JRA Best Places to Work in New Zealand Survey - announced in February last year, has to be creative in its perks because it doesn't have deep pockets.
Trevor Taylor, Outward Bound chief executive says: "What we have found is that you have not got to spend a lot of money on perks to entice staff to feel great about working for the organisation."
Some of the "perks" of being an Outward Bound employee include:
Clothing and equipment allowances, plus allocations of gear from sponsor Kathmandu.
An opportunity to undertake their own Outward Bound course at no cost and a 50 per cent discount for family members.
Individual training programmes, contributing to individuals' personal development and also the growth of the staff and organisation.
Quality onsite staff accommodation for couples and singles - creating a community feel.
Regular community meals where staff, and families join students for the evening meal.
Another "perk" of being an Outward Bound member of staff is having the resources and equipment that they need to undertake their roles. It's a "perk" that Microsoft employees also get both at work and at home.
Microsoft was voted one of the best medium-sized employer in the same survey. Many of the most sought-after perks are soft dollar ones, says Leishman. "Work life balance features quite prominently in New Zealand." As a result Microsoft "trusts" its employees to work from home and also sets them up with the technology they need.
Ninety one out of the largest 100 companies in New Zealand have Southern Cross group health schemes.
Ian Norman, communications manager at Southern Cross says Southern Cross has around 820,000 members in total. About 420,000 of these are employees and members of their families who have signed up via an employer group scheme.
"Within some large companies it's not uncommon to have health insurance fully subsidised for senior employees and their families, and a partial subsidy or non-subsidised health insurance schemes for other staff. In many cases an organisation will subsidise all staff to the same level," says Norman.
The government's Kiwisaver work-based savings programme may well be a perk worth having when it launches this year. Employees who join agree to save four per cent or eight per cent of gross salary in the account. Any additional money your employer contributes up to four per cent of your gross salary is deposited tax free.
Even if you can't convince your employer to pay the four per cent, you might want to take a salary sacrifice of four per cent in order to get the tax benefits. Someone earning $100,000 a year would have paid $1,560 tax on that $4,000. By having it paid into Kiwisaver they're saving a significant amount of tax.
Thanks to the fringe benefit tax rules which make perks expensive and bureaucratic for companies to give employees perks, New Zealand companies hand out fewer perks than Australian ones. It's worth familiarising yourself with the rules before negotiating and knowing about the exceptions such as:
Employees can receive up to $200 of "unclassified" benefits per quarter without their employer being liable for FBT, says Murray Brewer, tax associate of accountancy firm Grant Thornton.
Typical 'classified' fringe benefits include employer provided vehicles, loans, and life or health insurance cover. The limit per employee of unclassified perks is $200 per quarter or $800 per annum up to $15,000 for the entire company, says Brewer.
Certain employee costs can be reimbursed by their employer tax free, says Brewer. That, may, for example mean trade publications, courses, stationery or certain home office costs.
It can make sense from a taxation point of view to take a salary sacrifice and allow your employer to reimburse certain items out of the company's pre-tax income rather than your post-tax income. Having a lower salary might also afford you other benefits such as dropping you into a lower tax bracket or even enabling you to qualify for Working for Families benefits.
Perks provided on the premises, such as free Outward Bound courses are generally exempt from FBT, says Brewer.
Another tax-efficient perk that might be worth suggesting to your boss, says Brewer, is income protection insurance - which is free of FBT.
If there is a perk on offer that you don't want, it may be worth cashing it up and having it added to your salary. But employees should negotiate hard. You're not only saving the employer the cost of the perk. You're also saving the fringe benefit tax.
Perk up
* Think of what perks would make you more efficient
* Ask or you don't get
* Get to know how the fringe benefit tax rules work
* It's a tight labour market, argue your corner
* Consider cashing up perks
* Be creative
