Revealed: Work perks being offered in Australian workplaces

Benefits being offered to Australian workers are adding up to $20,000 value to their annual wages. Find out what perks you could be getting, and how to ask your boss for them.

Aussie job seekers are being wooed with discounted home loans and financial assistance to pay for student loans and fertility treatment, as employers step up their work perks to attract new talent.

Subsidised health insurance, gym memberships and access to financial counselling are also on offer to new workers, adding thousands of dollars to value to their salaries.

Experts say job seekers now expect roles to come with a certain level of employee benefits in addition to pay.

“Job seekers definitely expect benefits (outside of their salary),’’ says Angela Anasis, executive general manager at recruiter Randstad.

“They will actually decline a role if (employers) don’t provide the benefits they want.’’

What’s on offer?

Flexible and remote work arrangements are the most common non-monetary benefit offered by employers. But extra annual leave, as well as volunteer and mental health leave, are increasingly popular, Anasis says.

“Creative’’ perks are also popping up in job advertisements, she says, including access to fertility treatments such as IVF, adoption leave and pet-friendly workspaces.

Pet-friendly workspaces are among the work perks popping up in job ads. Pictured: Jess Walker, with her dog, Magnus, at work in Sydney. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Financial assistance to pay for fertility treatment is another benefit being offered …

… along with wellness programs, including gym memberships.

“They’re the unusual ones,’’ Anasis says. “You don’t always see them but they really say a lot about an organisation.

“There’s a boom in (people seeking) IVF and surrogacy so we are definitely seeing a lot more (employers provide financial help and extra leave for workers undergoing fertility treatment), particularly the corporates at the bigger end of town.

“Some organisations provide young job seekers with student loan assistance – that’s something that is really important to some people.

“There can also be benefits specific to the sector you are in. For example, if you are working with a bank, you may have specific discounts available to you, like discounted home loans.’’

Career coach Sally McKibbin, from job site Indeed, says access to financial planning services and budgeting tools is becoming a popular work perk for employees struggling with costs of living.

Food vouchers, meal box subscriptions and free in-office meals and snacks, as well as free work parking, are also in favour with those trying to make ends meet, she says.

Other non-salaried benefits that employers might offer include subsidised mobile phone plans, gym memberships, health insurance and child care.

“These (work benefits) can really drive down (living) costs,’’ McKibbin says.

“(It could equate to) up to $400 a month … that (workers) are adding to their salary by not having to pay for something and, in a cost of living crisis, we know that (some of these benefit items) are the type of thing people might stop spending money on because they need to buy food and pay for electricity.’’

Always ask, never presume

Not all non-monetary benefits are listed in job ads so it is worth asking what’s on offer, McKibbin says.

Unless it’s a “deal breaker’’, she advises the best time to ask about employee benefits is at the second or third interview – any earlier and job seekers risk being seen less favourably.

McKibbin also suggests double-checking the perks most take for granted, noting a friend recently found out they were not entitled to paid parental leave as they had always believed.

“Unfortunately, what you might think is standard is not always the case,’’ she says.

“So it’s always worth having those discussions (with a potential employer), especially if you haven’t seen a full list of benefits.’’

Krish Waje estimates non-monetary benefits added up to $20,000 value to the salary she received while working for a tech company.

Income boost

Business analyst Krish Waje estimates non-monetary job perks, including top tier health insurance, free meals and reimbursed transport, parking and phone costs, added up to $20,000 value to the salary she received while working for a major Sydney tech company.

Made redundant earlier this year, Waje applied for a position with another multinational tech firm but when informed at the final interview stage that it was a contract role, with no access to perks and no equivalent salary bump, she turned down the job.

“All those benefits can really add up and there was just nothing to entice me to take the job,’’ says Waje, who now runs her own company, Lunaire, selling refillable candles.

“The phone and travel to work (reimbursements provided in Waje’s previous role was equivalent to) at least $500 a month (in savings), which really helped make ends meet.

“And the gold cover on health insurance was really great. I got $8 massages every week because 90 per cent (of the full cost) was covered. It was incredible.’’

Waje says the benefits increased worker engagement and retention levels and, as a result, she plans to offer employee benefits when the time comes for Lunaire to hire staff.

Perks of the job

What you may be offered in non-salaried benefits:

• Health and travel insurance

• Fertility treatments

• Wellness programs, including gym memberships

• Meal and food vouchers

• Fuel, parking or public transport discounts

• Finance loan discounts (typically restricted to those working in the banking or loans sector)

• Company car or phone

• Increased leave entitlements