Without a doubt, so-called “economic benefits” represent a mystery for many employers; how to provide them to their workers without any risk in personnel administration.
An economic benefit is a non-monetary contribution provided by the employer to workers by virtue of their providing services for their company or place of work.
It is very common for some companies to not be able to offer high salaries to their workers, but they find it more affordable to propose certain non-monetary benefits in exchange for their service.
For example, a parking space, a cell phone, even family health insurance among other benefits.
The foregoing encourages an employee to accept job offers where they are offered such in-kind remuneration, and during their work performance, the employee works more motivated for the benefit of the company's progress or workplace.
The mystery lies in the fact that our labor legislation does not clearly explain what economic benefits represent, their scope, and their consequences, but rather the regulation is limited to establishing that they constitute “thirty percent of the amount of wages earned, unless otherwise agreed.”
This means that, unless otherwise specified in an individual employment contract or in a collective bargaining agreement, it is understood that the amount the employee receives in cash represents only 70 % of the earned wages, and the remaining 30 % represents what are known as “economic benefits”.
The foregoing may represent a high risk when a judge makes a liquidation of how much is actually owed to a worker in terms of compensation and damages, for labor judicial processes unjustified dismissal.
Labor judges have full authority to decide what constitutes an economic advantage and what does not.
Although it is up to the employee to prove in court whether he or she actually received such benefits, once the judges have established that the employer provided benefits in kind, they may increase the employee’s earned wages by 30 %, thereby causing even greater financial burdens for employers—burdens arising from the employer’s goodwill in providing such incentives.
This can be better managed by including in an individual contract, agreement, or arrangement a percentage lower than the 30% recognized by our labor laws, since those regulations state “unless otherwise agreed.”.
Therein lies the solution: to record that pact to the contrary and not fail to provide the worker with such benefits that ultimately represent added value for the service provider's work, improving their performance, increasing their productivity, and helping to give the company or workplace a better image so that it can fulfill its objectives.
In conclusion, economic advantages can be economically beneficial to both the worker and the employer, as long as they can be managed correctly and real percentages are set in accordance with each particular case.
