If you worked in Ireland in the not so distant past you may have been paid only a straight salary with no 'add ons'. Times have changed. Employers are seeking to clearly link personal efforts with reward and the incidence of variable pay for all levels of staff has been on the increase. For executives and other key employees, there is a keen interest in rewarding those who drive the business by using such tools as paying for increased shareholder value, profit sharing, and share schemes. Given the favourable tax treatment afforded to certain share schemes, their popularity is likely to continue to increase.
Employers are now more open to flexible working hours and telecommuting.
Many have vastly improved their training and development programmes in order to hold on to valuable employees. Flexible Benefits Many employers are offering some form of flexible remuneration package. A flexible package can take several forms. Many employers operate a simplified form, for example giving a choice of car versus cash. In a 'total reward' flex package the value of the benefits is added to salary to give a total reward figure which the employee can then use to purchase benefits suited to his own circumstances.