Table of Contents

BUSINESS OVERVIEW 3
What is Employer-sponsored benefit? 4
Why are employee benefits important? 4
Gateway believes that… 5
What is Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? 9
What if the benefit not actually the benefit? 10
What are employee benefits? 12
– Salary/Wage increase 13
– Flexible working hours, including options to work from home 13
–STD/LTD insurance 13
How to make employee benefit matter most to employees? 15
•Get input – It’s definitely worth your time to talk to employees and find out what they really want.
There’s no sense paying extra for a benefit that no one really wants it. 16
•Risk management – There’s a balance between meeting employee wants and addressing the biggest risks
for your organisation. A good employee benefits program looks at the biggest risk factors for your
business and helps to mitigate them. 16
•Treat it like an investment – While many employers simply see employee benefits programs as a cost,
it’s important to consider that an investment in the health of your employees is an investment in your
company’s future. 16
References 17
Milkovich, G.T, Newman, J, Gerhart, B, & Yap, M (2017). Compensation: The pay model. Toronto, On:
Webcom Inc. 17
MacKichan, S. (2016, February 09). Starlight Casino police shooting inquest
begins. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/starlight-casino-police-
shooting-inquest-1.3440094 17
Stuart F. (2012, October 18). What’s the cost of employee benefit plans?Retrieved from
https://www.advisor.ca/insurance/living-benefits/whats-the-cost-of-employee-benefit-plans 17
Business overview
As Gateway is celebrating 25 successful years in the casino industry, and it is the largest

and most diversified gaming company in Canada. Gateway is dedicated to providing a one-of-a-

kind experience for the guests by offering unique choices in gaming, hospitality and entertainment.

Gateway’s mission is to enhance our market leadership in Canadian gaming by providing

exceptional entertainment and service to our guests. And by improving our properties and

products, we are making our casinos the preferred choice for players who seek the best possible

experience every time they visit. And all Gateway employees strive to provide exceptional service

to all our guests at all of our properties all of the time- that’s Gateway’s No.1 goal.

 While we are looking for the employees for providing that exceptional service, we

are reviewing our business values and mission. On one hand, we remember those values are the

principles, beliefs, and standards of excellence that guide how we run the business and how we

interact with our employees; on the other hand, it will help us to attract the right employee, and

will allow us to clearly identify the expectations to new employees. That’s the importance of

“hiring for the right fit” and “retaining the right person.” For this aspect, Gateway is providing

employer-sponsored benefit package covering from Employee Assistance Program to flexible

working hours.This benefit package is the key to get the right person for the job and the future

employee wants to work for Gateway that supports his or her own values. This is a win-win

situation to both employee and employer.

What is Employer-sponsored benefit?

Benefits are a form of compensation paid by employers to employees over and above the

amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. Benefits are a portion of a total

compensation package for employees. (Milkovich et al, 2017, p7)

Picture this:John, sitting in the medical office and the physician just gave him a prescription for

his antibiotics and the note for his one-week sick leave notice.

John then went to the pharmacy to fill his prescription by showing his drug card, and all his

antibiotics were filled. He then went home and called his manager and informed that he won’t be

able to attend work in next two weeks. The manager replied that HR will email the short-term

disability form to John, and he can fill everything and HR can claim the short term disability for

John after Payroll pays John his four- day sick pay.

What happened? John’s employee benefit package starts to work when he is in need. So he is

worry free.

“It’s good to have benefit,” says John, the employee of Gateway Entertainment. “I just know I

have the benefit coverage, but I was not aware my benefit coverage includes this much.”

Why are employee benefits important?

Statistics Canada 2008 Workplace and Employee Survey Compendium showed almost

75% of employees had access to at least one non-wage benefit in the form of supplemental medical

insurance, life insurance or disability insurance, dental insurance plans, retirement plans, and

personal or family support programs. Healthier employees mean reduced healthcare costs for the

organization. Employees with fewer health risks experience fewer sick days, fewer trips to the

doctor, and spend more time working at work, bringing their best selves to work every day.
 Offering benefits to the employees is important because it shows to the employee that the

company is investing not only in their overall health, but their future.A solid employee benefits

package can help to attract and retain talent and lead to happier, healthier, and more productive

employees. In his article “What’s the cost of employee benefit plans? published on Advisor Edge

by Stuart Foxman said that next to the salary, employee benefits coverage is the most important

tool attracting and retaining key staff.

Gateway believes that…

As it was mentioned in the earlier picture, working in Gateway,everyone is immediately

eligible for some benefits and perks, such as:

– Employee Assistance Program

– Paid breaks

– Sick leave

– Public/paid holidays

– Uniform

– Free Parking

– Employee discount

– Salary/Wage increase

– Flexible working hours

Most employees could be eligible in Gateway’s employee benefit plan, although they vary

sharply across employee status. Gateway employee benefits are designed to add value to the

overall compensation package. It’s quite fortunate because Gateway benefit package also includes

the employee’s spouses and the dependent children. Providing a comprehensive benefits package

shows that Gateway cares, and gives employees peace of mind.

The employee benefit with Gateway is under three primary levels based on the organization chart

(Figure 1).

Figure 1: Information about the job and where it fits within the organisation

Basic coverage:are the lowest tier- covers all union hourly employees – includes full time, part

time, and casual, (i.e. Guest Service Representative in Figure 1). Their benefit package includes

health/dental/vision insurance, vacation time, retirement pension benefit and short term disability

insurance. Their STD is covering up to 26 weeks, and 66.7 % of the weekly earning to a

maximum of $800.

This Basic coverage has the retirement pension enlisted below:

1. Employer matching: Gateway matches up to $24/biweekly to make contributions to the group

pension plan, the plan becomes even more profitable for all the eligible employees as the

accumulated funds will grow faster. A pension plan is a significant part of the employees’ total
compensation, so employees are encouraged to make contribution to the group pension plan. For

employees, this $24 “employer matching” is free moneywhichresults in greater employee

commitment and satisfaction.

Ultra-coverage: are the middle tier-covers all the non-union hourly employees-includes front
line supervisors as well (i.e. Guest Service Supervisor in Figure 1). Their benefit package
includes everything from the basic service and with higher limit, but without STD insurance and
retirement pension benefit. This coverage covers long term insurance and retirement saving plan.

This Ultra package has the some advantages enlisted below:

1. Get better benefits: In Gateway, the casino is a type of casino in which there are both unions

as well as non-union workers. Non-Union employees get better benefits than the union worker.

They tend to receive everything from the basic coverage but with a higher amount. Their benefits

include long term insurance and retirement saving plans (RRSP).

2. RRSP: Retirement saving plans is a type of government-approved account that allows

Canadians to plan for their retirement and is better than RRP. RRSP can be used as a tax

deduction, which reduces the amount of tax a person will pay on their income. This is beneficial

because, for most people, earnings are lower in retirement than when they were employed. In

other words, the contributions and investment earnings are likely to be taxed at a lower rate in

retirement than when they were made.

3. Long term insurance:Gatewayprovides long term insurance to their employees when the short

term insurance ends early whereas long term insurance can be used whether the individual is

completely unable to return to work. This covers income replacement as well as medical

treatment and rehabilitation. They are paid for much longer period i.e. until the age of 65.
Supreme coverage: are the highest tier- covers all the senior management- includes general

manager, casino manager, and all the department managers (i.e. from Guest Service manager and

above in Figure 1). On top everything of basic and ultra-coverage; they also include company

cell phone and laptop, wage continuation pay up to 17 weeks, and minimum three –week

vacation time.

This supreme package has the someadvantagesenlisted below:

1. Health is wealth:Gateway offers a comprehensive health benefit package for all the managers

and offering specific sick leave for 17 weeks will help the management to take the leave on the

day they are not feeling well and at the same time, their salary will not get affected.

2. Flexible Working hours:Flexibility in the working hour helps the manager to complete their

work assigned to them as per their condition. For example, the casino manager will need to come

in the casino to check out how the new table game working out on the weekend night with onsite

shift manager, and they both come in later on the Tuesday morning as long as they can make to

the weekly management meeting at 11 o’clock in the morning.Flexibility does not include that the

employee will get flexible hour or any retention from the stipulate working hour given to them

rather it will provide an ease that if for certain reason an employee is unable to give full time in a

particular day, she/he can compensate that by working extra for the next day or so. Flexibility in

the working hours helps the employee to work efficiently without any specific fear from

constraints.

What if the benefit not actually the benefit?

Employee benefits are supposed than just a perk; they are the key to the success of a business.

However, when the benefits are nothing more than a gimmick, they can have the opposite effect
and make employees wonder if they are really getting anything at all in reward for their hard

work and constant efforts.

•Company paid cell phone-On the surface, paying an expensive cell phone bill sounds like a

great benefit. After all, that has the effect of increased compensation. However, it doesn't come

without strings attached, since it usually means the person is always on call, and taking calls or

answering emails 24/7. If there were the choice, most people would be better off if they could

truly leave work at work. He or she always remains in stress because of the priority to attend

business calls or emails of business.

•Company paid meal card-Gateway has offered $125 meal card to all the senior managers. At

head office, there is a meal account which can settle any meal bills ordering any food from all

the food venues from our gaming sites.Some managers felt that meals were meant to incentivize

them to work later after supper most likely. There is no “free” lunch after all.

•Travel expenses-Travel expenses are costs associated with traveling for the purpose of

conducting business-related activities. Travel expenses can generally be deducted by employees

as non-reimbursed costs incurred while traveling away from home specifically for business

purposes. Business expenses are usually tax-deductible in the hands of a company as long as they

are incurred to earn income for the business. However, if the employer does not have an

accountable plan, then any reimbursements are taxable income.

Employees should only have to pay income taxes on the wages they earn and certain taxable

benefits. Expenses incurred by employees in the course of business should be costs incurred by

the employer, not by its employees.

Paying the travel expense seems good, but when the employer reimburses more than the standard

rate, the excess is taxable income. Then when at the end of April; the employee may end up

paying more tax. So it’s not considered as a good benefit to take.

•Employee Discount Programs-this programs fundamentally don't work because they are about

generating revenue for the company through the partnerships. Gateway employees get 25 %

discount for food at any food venue or 15% discount of the hotel under Gateway chain. But when

did we last use our employee discount?

•Gym membership: Gateway offers $10/biweekly Gym membership to all the employees,

another benefit to employees which doesn’t really work! As Gateway wants its all employees to

be healthy and fit, it’s not really practical after a long 8-hour shift. How many employees would

like to go to the gym? The study in 2017“Why gym discounts are getting your employees

to exercise?”from Valenziano looked at the employees’ willingness to go to a gym and she

concluded that participation is not the issue, but engagement. How does the organization engage

the employee to carry on the vibe stay in the gym is the key. Valenziano said in her article,

“Simply providing discounts doesn’t really move the needle of active and healthy employees.

Turning exercise into a social hour and a community helps group fitness use the greatest

motivator to keep employees consistently exercising: accountability.”, The accountability comes

from the employees themselves, and the employer stops doing one-size-fits-all program, and start

to understand what employees really need differently. So we can change the product to fit the

need, not the price. Then we will have the healthy employees and strive the business.
What are employee benefits?

Employees love benefits because they like to feel valued and appreciated by the company they

work for. Benefits should include, but are not limited to:

– Health Insurance (medical, dental & vision)

– Vacation

– Sick leave

– Retirement plan including company contribution/matching

– Wellbeing program that offers incentives for both individuals and families

– Profit sharing

– Volunteer Time off

– Salary/Wage increase

– Flexible working hours, including options to work from home

–STD/LTD insurance

But, most employees have only a passing understanding of the workplace benefits– until they

realize there some change in the renewed collective agreement and it affects their workplace

benefits, of course. Then, they’re either grateful for the protection the plan provides, or

disappointed to find that their expenses aren’t covered.

There is no cookie-cutter, or one-size fits all benefit package, but what do employees really

want?

In early 2012, Monster Insights conducted a survey, it concluded that the top 5 average important

benefits:

•Healthcare plan-After salary, this benefits staple is of the utmost importance to many job

candidates and typically includes medical, dental, vision and/or life insurance coverage for

employees and their families.

•Paid time off-Whether it’s for vacation, illness or bereavement, PTO — personal time off — is

highly valued by employees and a great way to combat burnout. Two weeks is standard for all

the employees in Gateway, whether full-time, part-time or casual, but three or more weeks of

PTO can be hard to pass up for anyone. A global survey from Global and Mail shows Canada is

the only country where workers would rather have more vacation time than a modest pay raise.

Who will say “No” to time off?

•Pay Raise (2-5 %)-Gateway provides raise is an increase in the amount of hourly pay or salary

that an employee receives for work performed in the company. Because of the collective

agreement between union and the company, the union employees will have the guarantee of 2%

wage increase until the contracts expires. The non-union employees or the management will have

at 2% to 5% wage or salary increase. A raise is considered a positive event because it increases

the employee's take-home pay and spending power.

•Professional development- in Gateway’s employee handbook, there is a letter from the CEO of

Gateway Entertainment Limited, the CEO say, “as we continue our road to success and long
term growth, you can expect your career opportunities will grow as well.” Offering professional

development training programs allows employees to perform better and prepares them for

positions of greater responsibility. But it can also help employers attract top employees, retain

their best workers and identify future leaders.Moreover, ongoing professional development is

very appealing to many employeestoday who are looking to keep their skills relevant in a rapidly

changing world.

In Gateway, there is learning website to train employees in relevant subjects and applications —

an advanced course in a software program they use daily, for example — how to use excel to

create spreadsheet, so it can have an immediate effect on productivity. Also the manager should

have skill-building opportunities, for example –working in a workplace with different diversity,

so it can also help raise overall staff expertise when employees with vastly different backgrounds

and levels of experience are encouraged to share information.

Most importantly: all the training is paid and sponsored by Gateway.

•Retirement Plan-is very crucial for every employee.There are different types of retirement plan

is available and in Gateway RRSP for non-union employees and Retirement Pension plans for

union employees, but the maximum employer matching is $24/biweekly.

Either RRSP or retirement Pension, it’s impossible to answer “Which is the best retirement plan

in Canada?” because there is no one plan that gives everything people need. These retirement

plans were designed to complement each other to provide you with multiple streams of income

during the retirement years. Aside from CPP and OAS, the employee should play it safe by

taking a few saving strategies.

The bottom line?Plan ahead by spreading out the savings – and you’ll be ready to rock in the

golden years! More importantly, spend some time with the loved ones.

How to make employee benefit matter to most employees?

Aside from making sure the employee benefit program works, there are a few general best

practices that can be helpful:

•Communicate clearly – This should be the number one rule for implementing any program in

the workplace. Communicate clearly via multiple channels so there’s no confusion as to the

benefits employees are entitled to and how to claim them.

•Look beyond health – As mentioned above, there’s more to employee benefits than medical

and dental insurance. Consider other perks like additional time off, company parties, and more.

•Get input – It’s definitely worth your time to talk to employees and find out what they really

want. There’s no sense paying extra for a benefit that no one really wants it.

•Risk management – There’s a balance between meeting employee wants and addressing the

biggest risks for your organisation. A good employee benefits program looks at the biggest risk

factors for your business and helps to mitigate them.

•Treat it like an investment – While many employers simply see employee benefits programs as

a cost, it’s important to consider that an investment in the health of your employees is an

investment in your company’s future.

References

Mcfarland, J. (2018, May 09). We’ll take extra vacation time, please. The Globe and Mail
Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/well-
take-extra-vacation-time-please/article5734296/

Milkovich, G.T, Newman, J, Gerhart, B, & Yap, M (2017).Compensation: The pay

model.Toronto, On: Webcom Inc.

Monster Insights. (2012). What Employee Benefits Matter Most to Job Seekers?Monster Inc.

Retrieved from https:// https://hiring.monster.com/employer-resources/workforce-

management/employee-benefits-management/job-offer/

Stuart F. (2012, October 18).What’s the cost of employee benefit plans? Retrieved from
https://www.advisor.ca/insurance/living-benefits/whats-the-cost-of-employee-benefit-plans

Statistics Canada.(2008). Workplace and employee survey compendium 2005 (No.71-585-

XIE)Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-585-x/71-585-x2008001-eng.htm
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions.html

Valenziano,C(2017, December 7) Why gym discounts are getting your employees to

exercise?Retrieved fromhttps://pulse.peerfit.com/why-gym-discounts-arent-getting-your-
employees-to-exercise

https://www.glassdoor.ca/Benefits/Gateway-Casinos-Canada-Benefits-EI_IE432939.0

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/careers-myhr/all...benefits/benefits/pension

https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/eap.html

https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/professional-development-training-a-win-for-
the-entire-team

https://www.glassdoor.ca/about/terms.html
https://qz.com/164374/companies-could-be-wasting-money-on-wellness-programs-for-
employees-who-dont-need-them/

http://www.google.ca/amp/s/business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/travel-for-business-heres-
how-to-deduct-your-travel-expenses-and-save-money/amp

https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/rpp-vs-rrsp