In the current environment of rising health care costs-with no end in sight-the staff benefit most treasured and most desired is a contribution by the practice to pay for health care. I would also offer an opinion that failure to offer healthcare as a benefit will limit your choices of attracting quality staff. Here are my thoughts and recommendations.

The days of you paying 100% for single person health coverage are gone. The costs are just too prohibitive and it is impossible to anticipate or budget for the inevitable annual increases. And we all know that it is very difficult to take away a benefit that staff are accustomed to. But all employees-whether in big companies or small companies-are rapidly understanding that going forward, they are going to be required to share part of these increased costs of health insurance.

As a matter of courtesy, any change that you intend to make as an owner regarding what you will contribute towards healthcare should be made known almost a year in advance to allow employees time to adjust their own personal budgets.

My recommendation is to offer staff one of the following choices that you decide on. One option is to take what ever dollar cost you currently pay monthly, and announce that as of the beginning of the next calendar year, that dollar amount will represent your total contribution no matter what the actual premium is. A second option that is a bit more generous would be for you to take the dollar cost you currently pay-calculate what percentage that is of the total cost-and announce that going forward you will continue to pay that same percentage.

The point is that you have to take control of these spiraling costs and put some kind of cap on what you are willing to contribute. A new year is about to begin, so this is the perfect time to let your staff know of your intentions. You want to continue to be fair-but it is also time to stop the bleeding!

This is my last post in this current series on the topic of office policy manuals and staff benefits. It has been wonderful to hear from so many of you, and I hope you will feel free to continue to contact me with any questions or comments.

There usually is no confusion regarding paid holidays for full time employees when properly listed in the office policy manual. But you can run into problems if you give a pro-rated number of paid holidays for part time employees. What do you do for example when you have a part-time hygienist who normally works two days/week on Monday and Thursday. As a part timer she perhaps is entitled to two paid holidays a year – but the office might be closed for six Mondays, a day she normally works. Here is the proper language to use.

The following holidays are observed by our Practice: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Full time employees are eligible for six paid holidays from their first day of employment and are compensated based on an eight hour day. Part time employees will be paid for a maximum of two holidays, only when the holiday is observed on the day they would normally work. If a part time employee requests, the Practice will make every effort to schedule that employee additional days to compensate them for any days missed due to holidays not eligible to be paid.

In addition to holiday pay, I suggest that your practice can offer four paid personal days/year as a very nice benefit to full time employees. These days can be used for sickness, bereavement, or personal problems with no rollover into the next calendar year. In an effort to prevent staff from abusing this privilege, I strongly suggest you pay a $100/day bonus for any unused personal days. It’s just human nature to take full advantage of a personal day benefit. “Why shouldn’t I take the day – I’m entitled – and I do have a headache!” But someone might think differently when they are going to get paid double. And that dental assistant or hygienist is going to cost you a lot more than $100 in lost production if they call in “sick”. Here is the proper language to use.

Paid personal/sick time applies to full time employees only. Half a personal day is accrued for every month of employment completed with a maximum of four personal days given a year based on an eight hour day. Unused personal/sick time cannot be rolled over to the next calendar year. The practice will reward a $100/day bonus for any days not used payable in the first payroll payment of the following year. Employees will not be paid for unused personal/sick days upon termination.

Avoid problems before they happen. Check your manual and protect yourself with the proper language.