Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
Divorce, Maintenance, Personal Injury, Medical Negligence
One of my favourite things, when people apply for jobs with me, who seem to have unusually high salaries, is to look into the job perks. I find the second I start hearing about the cost to the company, that I already know that the actual salary is going to be considerably lower.
The cost to the company includes bonuses, and things like that, which my company typically pays, or at least has done every year so far, but which I don’t guarantee in terms of a contract, because a bonus must always be dependent on performance of the company and the individual for that year. It becomes clear however that you can inflate somebody’s salary and make it look like they are earning an incredible amount, without actually giving them money. The most common way that companies do that is to allocate a parking space, and then give a value to that parking space. Typically, I see amounts at about R2 000,00 a month allocated to parking spaces and then all sorts of amounts of money for group life cover, funeral cover and all sorts of other products which are “provided” at values that are considerably higher than you would actually pay for those products if you went out and got them on the open market. So, in theory, you have a whole lot of benefits valued at R4 000,00 to R10 000,00 a month but none of them are any use to you, especially while you remain alive! It is not to say that a parking space is not valuable, but in most cases the employer is not really paying for the parking space, other than having paid to build it in the first place, and I would be more impressed if they were in fact renting that parking space from somebody else and then providing it to their employee – which is not actually the case in most scenarios.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Tuesday 06-Dec-11
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Comments
kaylene said:
on Thursday 08-Dec-11 02:24 PM
I do agree that parking and other stuff should be provided for the employees, it should defenitely not be added into the package. Bonuses, well everything is said already on this matter. And it should defenitely be left to the managers, etc based on yur hard work, attendance, etc and not the rest of the staff, obviously they will vote for their friends.
Corné Romer said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 03:58 PM
I agree with everybody that bonuses should be earned and not a given. If you work diligently all year and give it your all you should not have any panic attacks this time of the year. I also don’t think the voting thing means much because people vote for their friends or they don’t give it much thought at all or they don’t know how hard somebody in another department works but because it’s compulsory they just have to choose somebody. I also agree with Julie that senior managers should be asked their opinion before bonuses are decided on as they have a good idea of who the hard workers are and who not. It cannot be left to junior staff or new staff members’ votes to decide on bonuses.
Julie said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 10:37 AM
Enough said. The criteria for bonuses should solely depend on your contribution to the company through the year - not only from November through February (at times when you know bonuses and increases are being negotiated). I am still part of that company "it's in da bones", lol. Work hard, be honest, be loyal, pitch up for work and take your responsibilities seriously and you should have no problem.
Alexis said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 09:29 AM
There is not much to say after what Julie said. She pretty much got it spot on. I agree with what she said about parking being provided by the employer and that bonuses should be earned, not expected.
Lucretia said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 09:21 AM
I am in agreement with being rewarded for the work you have done. I for one do not befreind people in order to be voted in. I come to work to work not to be popular. I leave my popularity to my home life. Voting for employer of the month, year, etc is, in my opinion, a waste of time. Work hard and it will be notices amongst all and sundry and not just your friends. If an employer wants good, hard workers, make people work for their bonuses.
Lizanne said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 09:16 AM
I also agree with Julie, the employer should provide parking for employees. Some employees do come from far, and unfortunately you cannot choose where to work these days, you have to take what you can get. I also agree that bonuses should be earned and not only be given out because there is employees that works harder than others, so it will not be fair to the harder working employee to get the same amount of bonus money than the one working less harder.
Jessica said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 08:49 AM
I agree with Julie that parking space should be covered by the employer as is the employee is paying for the wear and tear of their vehicle, petrol which forever increases and your salary only gets increased once a year if you have earned it, so parking should be covered. As for the bonuses, you so right a bonus isn't compulsory but most people do count on it as December is the season to be jolly and it's Christmas, as is with your normal salary we just get through the month and it would suck if you don't get a bouns to buy Christmas gifts for (your children, niece's & nephews or even just to spoil yourself for your hard work you have done) I believe that it should be based on how hard you have worked and what all you have accomplished with your work. The voting is also okay to use being that people are being honest with who they voting for and not just voting for their friends (Like I vote for people I know have worked hard). Leaving the choice to be up to one person is wrong as not everyone can be watched or noticed for what they do. I have seen a very hard worker not been noticed for employee of the month once which proves my point. I think that is why most companies do the whole 13th cheque cause it's standard and people don't get offended and a wrong choice being made if that person did work hard or not (based on if a person likes you enough to tell the boss if you worked hard enough) not saying it always does go like that but just saying.
Julie said:
on Wednesday 07-Dec-11 07:30 AM
Should you go shopping, you are expected to pay for parking - you know that beforehand. Should you drive, well, basically anywhere nowadays, you know you are to pay toll fees. Living in the Johannesburg/Pretoria area, a very high percentage of people have to drive 40kms, some less, some more in order to get to work. This costs you thousands - just getting to work. When you apply for a position, the last thing you think to discuss is parking and in the said area, everyone basically has some form of transport. I feel it is the responsibility of the employer to provide parking. I don't feel at all that it should be part of your "package". Parking shouldn't be seen as "theory" and should most definitely not be an issue and it should be provided for staff - no charge. If you cannot accommodate staff, you should be looking for bigger space. It is not only a frustration to the employer but create friction among colleagues. You are agitated even before you start working. The more people you employ, the better the business is doing. A wrong topic for this time of year when bonuses are considered. As an employee, after reading this, I would feel that something is lurking and I am being warned not to expect much.... Demotivating. Bonuses has never been a necessity and bonuses should be "earned". As an employer one should base an employee's bonus ONLY on his/her performance, loyalty, attendance, attitude towards his/her responsibilities - it should never be based on how other staff members vote other staff members. That is why you should have senior staff "management" who, of course, has the "ability" and the "knowledge" and have some form of "people-relation skills" to provide the employer with "reliable and trustworthy" reports on staff. And employees should see a bonus as a "reward" which are "earned" based on certain criteria.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
