What is the norm for benefits in a development role?

Cunning Alias

So I have been working in my current web development company for two years now. It is a small company but we do work for quite a few large well known clients. Overall the company seems to be doing quite well.

The pay is standard but they offer pretty much no benefits. Pension contributions, bonus, more than the legal minimum amount of leave days, health insurance schemes etc. I asked about a number of these when I was doing my interview and was told they are in the works. It now seems like this was rubbish.

Friends who work in other industries find this surprising but I am wondering what other people here in development roles get or would expect.

The Corinthian

Irish SMEs tend to give few, if any, extra benefits unless you're at management level. Why is probably down to market forces, in that they don't need to as there are sufficient candidates seeking employment and as few other SMEs are offering extra benefits, there's little competition.

It might also be a cultural thing, in that even expecting extra benefits fifteen years ago was unusual and they really only came in with the multi-nationals.

Kinet1c

Not in development but work closely with them in my current and prior role - both multinationals in different industries.

Health Insurance: Current job is for myself only and I pay for remaining family, previous was for whole family. Obviously whatever they pay is BIK'd.
Days off: Current is 23 with 1 extra every 2 years up to 28, prior was 21 with extra day every year up to 25
Bonus: 10-15% "opportunity" with it realistically being 0-200% of that original %.
Annual stipend: got this in my previous job, was an annual balance that you could use to pay for tech etc. You pay say 500 euro for tech, you hand in the receipt and it would be treated as a BIK. So you'd ultimately get half of it back next month
Education: Paying for degrees appears to be a tough one to done but 1-2 certs per year seems feasible in prior and current role.
Working from home: Not possible for my job but for devs it was either a Monday/Friday from home or in some cases both. Some of the jobs in my prior company were completely WFH but on US hours.
Pension: Both contributed towards pension with varying levels depending on your job level and service length.

seamus

The Corinthian wrote: »

Irish SMEs tend to give few, if any, extra benefits unless you're at management level. Why is probably down to market forces, in that they don't need to as there are sufficient candidates seeking employment and as few other SMEs are offering extra benefits, there's little competition.

It might also be a cultural thing, in that even expecting extra benefits fifteen years ago was unusual and they really only came in with the multi-nationals.

Yeah, I'd tend to say it's largely a cultural thing. Benefits are big in the US, where health insurance for a family can cost you upwards of $10k per year and you have little entitlement to any days off. So companies could have crappy salaries, but a big benefits package could easily swing someone in your favour.

We've got relatively cheap health insurance here (which one can claim a tax rebate on) and generous employment laws guaranteeing a month off per year (plus nine public holidays), so there aren't a lot of traditional employment benefits that employees can be enticed with.
Someone in their 30s will probably be incentivised by a pension scheme, but someone in their twenties couldn't care less.

In Ireland I think money talks. Throw a big salary at someone with no benefits and they will leave a job with all the frills.
Last place I worked in ran a flexible benefits scheme where you were given an amount to spend on benefits every year. E.g. you were given €1,000 and you could choose to purchase health insurance, extra days off, pension contributions, etc. You could also choose no benefits and just take it in cash.
50% of the company just took the cash.

L.Jenkins

If you work for a large Multi, you're more likely to gain such benefits after your probation period. As for SME and Start ups, not so much. Much smaller Companies will always try and save money in the early years, which is why they may pay slightly higher the than industrial average wage.

When I worked for a Start up, they offered a decent living wage, but no benefits as there was no money coming it at the time, besides capital and start up grants.

Cunning Alias

Cheers for the replies. It's kinda what I expected to hear.

Elessar

Anyone I know working in development (as a permanent employee) is getting lots of benefits, so I'm surprised at the replies. These are Irish companies - off the top of my head, there's health insurance, pension, life assurance, 25+ days holidays, and a few others. One even has one of those "silicon valley" culture arrangements, where they have a quote - "fun" - office environment with soft toys and motivational posters everywhere, and a forced fun day each week where everyone is expected to go for lunch together and not talk about work. There are other team building days aswell I think. Sounds like an anti-benefit to me tbh.

These are Irish companies, one however is in financial difficulty. Personally for a young person I think contracting is the way to go. That's my ultimate goal anyway.

zig

Elessar wrote: »

forced fun day each week where everyone is expected to go for lunch together and not talk about work.

That would be kinda cool if it was encouraged, not forced. Getting people to get on very well outside of just work would set up a company nicely with a fairly reliable, low turn over, good and interested working force.

pakb1ue

I work for an American Investment Bank in Dublin and I get the following;

• 25 days leave - with the option to buy or sell 7 days and after 5 years you get 1 extra day off.
• Private Health care - Partner and up to 3 kids can be covered but there is a fee for add them but we are talking about less than €100 a month.
• Life Assurance - In the event of my death they will pay 8 times my salary to my beneficiaries but only 4 times if you don't have a partner.
• Pension - They pay in 6% then they will match anything I put into it up to 6% so you could have them paying in 12% and you putting in 6%.
• Lifestyle account - We have this account if we pay in €100 they will put in €50 and then we can make claims against it for anything that betters yourself in some way like driving lessons, gym membership, rental of sports equipment, entrance fees for sports events, cinema even the spa. There is a limit on it but it works out you can get an extra €1k a year if you put the max amount in.
• Lots of other buy into schemes like bike to work, dental cover, travel insurance etc.
• Bonus/raise depends on your rating at end of year and how much money is in the pot for your dept. From what I have heard its roughly 2-3% if you have performed well.

Berserker

Cunning Alias wrote: »

The pay is standard but they offer pretty much no benefits. Pension contributions, bonus, more than the legal minimum amount of leave days, health insurance schemes etc. I asked about a number of these when I was doing my interview and was told they are in the works. It now seems like this was rubbish.

I could have typed that about myself, as can many a developer, I'd imagine. I ended up moving to a new company, which gave me the benefits I wanted, as it became clear that I wasn't going to get them in my last place of employment, contrary to the promises they made. I now get a pension, free health care, teleworking, flexitime, bonus etc.