Flexible Benefits Schemes
Flexible benefits schemes—known as cafeteria plans in the U.S.—allow you to choose the benefits that you want to accept from your employer. This could include child care, your mobile phone, a company car or salary sacrifice schemes, including pension contributions. You examine a list of choices and pick the ones you need. If you decide to forgo dental care, for instance, you might be able to accrue extra holiday time. The benefit of such plans is that they can be tailored to suit your individual needs. This type of plan is relatively new in countries such as India, but many multinationals do offer it to middle management, typically through a combination of cash and benefits. In general, employee benefits have changed considerably in India over the past few years as a result of liberalisation, new tax rules and updated employee expectations.
