Do Staff Benefits Have to be Equal?

AWhat benefits do you offer to full-time staff members? I'd be interested to hear what kinds of benefits are offered to each type of full-time staff member: hygienists, front office, office manager, and chair-side assistant? Are these benefits linked to the person's experience, or the length of time worked for you, or both? Which benefits are they? Have you ever hired a staff member that had an excellent resume with 10+yrs of experience and offered them more than the typical 2 weeks vacation for the first year of employment?
trek, Official Townie

I believe you would be discriminating against some staff members if you did not offer equal benefits to all those working, for example, "full-time." Part-time benefits can be structured differently I think, but still must be equal among everyone who qualifies as "part-time."
Bill S, Official Townie

After 1 year, full timers get 8 days vacation, 6 paid holidays, $1,000 in medical reimbursement and approx-imately $400 year-end bonus. Part-timers get 4 days vacation, 2 paid holidays and approximately $200 in year-end bonus. All employees get free dental + lab costs and their family gets a 50% discount.
dj-h, Official Townie

Here are a few guidelines on benefits:
You can discriminate "by class," but not "within the class." So, if one staff member is offered medical insurance, all other staff members must be offered the same benefits. You can set up a class of "Owners, professionals" then "Staff," or whatever is appropriate, but the benefits need to be consistent within each class. The trouble you get into is if one employee disclosed the "special deal" you did for him/her and didn't offer to the others.

Another common problem is when a doctor gives their employees $100 a month and tells them to go get their own health coverage. The problem here is that the employee keeps the money and doesn't get the coverage. If you are going to do an allowance, confirm that the money is going to health insurance, otherwise no allowance.

If you have a group medical plan, always have some "cost sharing" with the employees. This is where you pay a percentage, i.e. 75%, 90% or some portion of the premium, not 100%. When the employee has to pay some percentage (no matter how small) then they can "waive out" and you will still remain in compliance.
vbruceusher, Official Townie

So, what do I do with the (interviewing) office manager who is negotiating for 3 weeks instead of the 2 weeks of paid vacation after 6 months of employment? How can I give her what she wants while staying within the law?
trek, Official Townie

As for vacations and salary that can be anything you want. The law doesn't address (as far as I know) any discrimination on what you negotiate for vacation time. When it comes to insurance benefits, that's where you have to be consistent.
bruceusher, Official Townie

Yes, experience counts, and it’s indicated in wages. You are not paying the two the same wages are you? Benefits should be the same as noted in your office policy including vacation time.
AJ, Official Townie

Two weeks after 6 mo. is incredibly generous. If that isn't enough you may find a problem in the making. I do 1 week after 1 yr, 2 wks after 3 yrs and 3 wks after 5 yrs and never had a problem. I get more raised eyebrows over no sick or personal days. Those get paid at my discretion since it is too much of a disruption to have someone out in a small office.
david_f, Official Townie

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Professional Advice from Practice Management Consultant Sally McKenzie
We consult with dentists all over the United States so we are exposed to many situations in this area. The benefits are usually part of an office policy that apply to any job description and are not discriminatory. They are usually provided to full-time employees. Full time in the "policy" is defined as working a minimum of 32 hours a week. Usually the employee needs to work in the practice from 3 to 6 months before certain benefits such as hospital stay and retirement apply. Vacation and sick days are usually compensated from the first day of employment. We recommend paying a flat amount for hospitalization, such as $100/month. This way the practice can 'budget' better than saying to the employee, I will cover your hospitalization. As you know, it goes up every year and sometimes more than what you can handle. Then you're backed in a corner to pay it. If you elect to raise the $100 next year you can do so, but if revenues level or decline you're stuck. We know of doctors that have acquiesced to the wishes of newly hired employees. Our experience has been that the employee doesn't live up to the performance expectations of the practice, or if the other employees find out, they are resentful. You may end up with staff conflicts. A dental office is usually too small for privileged information to not sneak through the cracks.

Sally McKenzie, CMC, has been a practice management consultant for over 20 years, and is President of her dental consultant business, McKenzie Management & Associates.

For more information go online to www.practicemanagement-online.com or at www.mckenziemgmt.com or call 1-877-777-6151.