JobatWorking Belgians can count on more and more perks: over the past five years, the average number of fringe benefits has increased by 10 percent. What exactly are the benefits (and which ones are in decline)? What role do your position, status, education and the sector in which you work play? And what about the differences between men and women? Jobat.be looked into it.
By Thomas Rosseel, in collaboration with Jobat
25-04-24, 07:20
Latest update:
10:04
Source:
Jobat.be
Greater focus on working from home
The average working compatriot receives 6.63 fringe benefits. This is evident from the most recent Jobat Salary Compass. Partly due to the corona crisis, the benefits of working from home have increased significantly.
For example, 27 percent more employees are receiving a laptop today compared to 2019. The possibility of working from home itself has increased by no less than 64.7 percent, mainly among white-collar workers and civil servants. There has also been a significant increase in expense reimbursement (+14.5%), again mainly among white-collar workers, and internet subscription (+20.9%).
The term ‘cafeteria plan’ is being used more and more often: what exactly it is and what benefits it offers you.
Only two decliners in the list
Most fringe benefits have increased over the years, except for the tablet and the allowance for commuting. There we have seen a decrease of 14.1 and 11.3 percent respectively since 2019. Regarding the second point, we can of course also look again at the significant increase in working from home.
The commercial vehicle continues to reach more and more employees, with an increase of 11.1 percent since 2019.
The meal voucher/reimbursement (78%) and end-of-year bonus (75%) are the most common perks among employees. Hospital insurance closes the top three with 68 percent.
Soon 10 euro meal vouchers? This is what employers and employees think.
Fringe benefits and the percentage of employees who receive them:
1. Meal vouchers: 78%
2. End of year bonus: 75%
3. Hospital insurance: 68%
4. Thirteenth month: 65%
5. Laptop: 59%
6. Pension plan or group insurance: 59%
7. Possibility to work from home: 55%
8. Mobile phone or smartphone: 50%
9. Commercial vehicle: 45%
10. Commuting allowance: 43%
11. Expense reimbursement: 39%
12. Internet subscription: 22%
13. Tablet: 7%
What influence does your status have?
There are major differences in fringe benefits per status. For example, the average worker only receives 3.81 fringe benefits. The end-of-year bonus remains the most important for them: 67 percent of workers receive it.
With the government you can count on 5.12 extra-legal benefits, with 80 percent receiving an end-of-year bonus.
As an employee you receive by far the most fringe benefits: 7.09 on average. The meal vouchers are number one: 81 percent of the employees receive them.
Calculated. Fringe benefits are often used in the ‘war for talent’: but what exactly are they worth in euros?
What about your position, education level and sector?
Your specific position also determines a lot. The number of benefits for a manager or director has decreased slightly. Yet this group, together with profiles in ICT and consultancy, still forms the top three with the highest average number of fringe benefits.
According to the Salary Compass, employees without higher education receive clearly fewer extra-legal benefits compared to other groups. For people without higher education, this amounts to an average of 5.28 extra-legal benefits, and for an academic master’s degree it is 7.69. In between are the professional and academic bachelor’s degrees with 6.67 and 6.86 respectively.
Employees within the energy and telecom sector still receive (on average) more than 8 fringe benefits. At the bottom of the list of sectors are education – with an average of 4.25 extra-legal benefits – and the catering industry with 3.9. At the lowest you will also find the lowest wages in the country.
How much does an extra diploma yield in terms of salary? This is the difference: from just secondary education to an Academic Master.
Gender and region play this role
The difference in gender is very striking. Women have to make a loss in terms of mobile phone and company vehicle, while these two increase sharply for men. Today, a man receives an average of 6.84 fringe benefits, a woman 6.24.
Finally, in terms of region, employers from Brussels and Flemish Brabant grant on average more benefits to their employees. The opposite applies to West Flanders and Limburg. The differences between provinces are becoming increasingly smaller. View the average wages per province here.
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This article was brought to you by our partner Jobat.be.
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