Recent paid vacation offers suggest that many employers prefer paid vacation to meet workers’ needs as they experience certain life changes – particularly the birth of a newborn. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, there was a growing flurry of interest and legislative action to create paid family and sick leave requirements for employers in the United States. The spread of COVID-19 has increased workers’ concerns about their own health and that of family members, as well as their ability to care for their children with daycare closings and the implementation of distance and hybrid learning programs. Employers struggle with the desire to offer their employees paid vacation options and the challenges of being able to afford them.
Related: Employer Perspectives on a Changing Landscape of Paid Vacation
In early 2020, LIMRA surveyed 604 hiring managers at U.S. companies with 25 or more employees to understand their attitudes towards paid family and sick leave and their understanding of current or potential legislation. In order to participate, companies had to be in the private sector and offer at least some non-medical services that were either 100% paid for by employees or shared between employees and employers.
Recent paid vacation offers suggest that many employers prefer paid vacation to meet workers’ needs as they experience certain life changes – particularly the birth of a newborn. According to the LIMRA study, maternity leave is the most likely paid benefit offered by companies, with 7 out of 10 employers doing this. In addition, most employers (82%) believe it should be paid.
Medical leave is the second most popular paid vacation benefit offered by 60% of employers. The largest employers (with 1,000 or more employees) are much more likely than the smallest employers (with 25 to 99 employees) to offer paid medical leave.
Almost all employers surveyed (96%) said that it is important to look after their employees and that it is right to offer paid leave (87%). Employers in states without paid family and sick leave laws are somewhat less likely to agree that offering paid leave is the right thing to do (77%).
Most companies are more generous than required
Around 80% of companies that offer paid family vacations say they offered it before being asked. In addition, 55% indicate offers that are above the state prescribed values.
In most cases, employers who exceed the requirements find it important to provide full benefits to employees (53%). 45 percent of companies do this in order to be competitive and to attract and retain talent.
Despite the generally positive view of employers about paid vacation, one in four has concerns about the costs involved, including their ability to pay the leave’s wages as well as a replacement wage. In addition, reducing staff coverage or realigning the workload can result in lost productivity.
“Employers have concerns about the cost and complexity of managing and compliance. Carriers can best differentiate their offerings by offering products and services that are better tailored to employers’ needs, such as: For example, vacation management management and a single product for multiple vacation types, ”said Mary Lesch, Associate Research Director, Workplace Benefits Research at LIMRA.
(The original article appeared in LIMRA’s Industry Trends. Reprinted with permission.)
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