Switching jobs and loss of benefits question

[rocksforludo]

Are there any HR people or managers who hire employees out there that could maybe offer advice? Or someone who was in a similar situation when switching jobs? I'm applying for my former boss's job at my previous place of employment. I'm currently in a position that I like with pretty decent benefits but this new job would put me on track for my long-term career goals. Currently, I get short-term disability for my maternity leave and our health insurance premiums are low. I'm trying to figure out if switching jobs is even feasible right now given that I'd lose STD and my insurance premiums would go up a significant amount (although there would likely be an offsetting pay increase).

So my question is this: has anyone ever negotiated a signing or hiring bonus to make up for an employee's lost benefits at a previous position? Is this completely out of left field and no one does it? If you did do it, how did that work? Was there a requirement to stay for a length of time or the bonus would have to be paid back?

I think I'm a really strong candidate for the job and was encouraged to apply for it, but the timing is pretty tough as I'm at a point where benefits make a big difference right now and we've already planned our finances on the assumption that I would be getting STD and that the insurance premiums we'd have to pay over my unpaid leave would be relatively low.

And I know that this could be putting the cart before the horse, but I'm a planner and am just trying to suss out different ways it could possibly work. I don't like applying for a job, especially with people I know, when I have a strong suspicion that I won't be able to accept it.

TIA.

[marybeth]

I used to work in HR but quit after DS was born. Where I worked, negotiating packages was normal for upper management.

You said your former boss contact you about the job... (If I remember correctly). Can you call her back and ask about the specifics of her benefit package? That way you could tell if what you're asking is feasible. If it's a difference in a couple of thousand a year, you can probably work out a pay increase to cover the higher premiums. Your job probably has several set plans contracted with an outside company that it offers to employees, so monetary compensation is usually easier to get that totally different insurance plan.

ETA:
Almost all bonuses have a time like attached to them. For example, if you were given $5000 in moving expenses you would have to pay it back if you quit before a year was up. Our company used to pay for people to go back to school, and you had to stay 4 years if you didn't want to pay that back. We would also sponsor people for citizenship, but you had to stay 5 years for that. It varies company to company and instance to instance.

[mlbrooks]

I do not work in HR but just a few thoughts.

1. When do they need you start by? Could they offer you the job and you accept on the basis you wouldn't start til after maternity leave? That way you would still be at your old job and get your benefits for leave.
2. ALWAYS negotiate more money, whether it's salary or a signing bonus (only after they offer the job to you).
3. I also assume they know you are pregnant? Not that this legally can change anything but if they know and they want to hire you then they might be more apt to accommodate your needs.

[rocksforludo]

Jan 28, 2015 10:07:47 GMT -5 marybeth said:

I used to work in HR but quit after DS was born. Where I worked, negotiating packages was normal for upper management.

You said your former boss contact you about the job... (If I remember correctly). Can you call her back and ask about the specifics of her benefit package? That way you could tell if what you're asking is feasible. If it's a difference in a couple of thousand a year, you can probably work out a pay increase to cover the higher premiums. Your job probably has several set plans contracted with an outside company that it offers to employees, so monetary compensation is usually easier to get that totally different insurance plan.

Thanks.  I am going to email him and see if he can send me the employee manual.  I thought I still had it at home, so I looked for it last night but no luck.  I would already be planning on negotiating the salary to cover the higher premiums.  But I know that it would be enough of a pay increase to still be slightly more take-home pay even with higher premiums.

I'm more concerned about the loss of STD benefits and negotiating a one-time hiring bonus to cover that.  I have zero experience with that.

[rocksforludo]

Jan 28, 2015 10:26:14 GMT -5 mlbrooks said:

I do not work in HR but just a few thoughts.

1. When do they need you start by? Could they offer you the job and you accept on the basis you wouldn't start til after maternity leave? That way you would still be at your old job and get your benefits for leave.
2. ALWAYS negotiate more money, whether it's salary or a signing bonus (only after they offer the job to you).
3. I also assume they know you are pregnant? Not that this legally can change anything but if they know and they want to hire you then they might be more apt to accommodate your needs.

Thanks for the help!

1.  I was wondering about the possibility of starting after my maternity leave, but then I think I could have to pay back my current company's portion of my health insurance premiums and it'd be about the same amount as what I'd get for STD.  Has anyone ever had a company make them pay back the premiums after leaving?

2.  

3.  Yes, they definitely know I'm pregnant.  My past co-workers are friends and already know and at this point, there's no missing it.

[mlbrooks]

Jan 28, 2015 10:37:52 GMT -5 rocksforludo said:

Jan 28, 2015 10:26:14 GMT -5 mlbrooks said:

I do not work in HR but just a few thoughts.

1. When do they need you start by? Could they offer you the job and you accept on the basis you wouldn't start til after maternity leave? That way you would still be at your old job and get your benefits for leave.
2. ALWAYS negotiate more money, whether it's salary or a signing bonus (only after they offer the job to you).
3. I also assume they know you are pregnant? Not that this legally can change anything but if they know and they want to hire you then they might be more apt to accommodate your needs.

Thanks for the help!

1.  I was wondering about the possibility of starting after my maternity leave, but then I think I could have to pay back my current company's portion of my health insurance premiums and it'd be about the same amount as what I'd get for STD.  Has anyone ever had a company make them pay back the premiums after leaving?

2.  

3.  Yes, they definitely know I'm pregnant.  My past co-workers are friends and already know and at this point, there's no missing it.

In regards to having to pay your current employer back... I don't think they can do this.. you would have to go back to work after leave and then give notice... so I would say go back to work after leave for like 2 weeks, then put your 2 weeks notice in. So you are back for a month before you leave. That's just my logical thinking but I have no idea for sure how that works. Look into your current employer benefit program/policies... this should be outlined there. 

[evpwed]

I don't work for HR and so don't have any answers that are helpful, but I was in a similar situation last month so I know how stressful it can be. Switching jobs ended up not being the best choice for us (even tho it was pretty much the stepping stone to my dream job) but I figure things work out the way they should. I hope this all works out for you but if it doesn't, I'm sure there will be other opportunities for you to advance in the future! Good luck girl!!!!

[veenie]

I think STD would depend on the company's policy. I am in my 4th week at a new job, and will get STD. I don't qualify for FLMA, so technically they could require me to go back after 6 weeks. Thank they are not, and truthfully, if they had I wouldn't have gone to work there. It was about finding a better employee focused environment for me, so it was a big deal to me. Good luck! I hope it works out!

[emu0013]

I am in HR. Have you looked into the new companies STD policy? Some have only a 30 day waiting period. With that being said, if you are not eligible and unable to get a signing bonus to bridge the gap (alot of companies do them for mgmt) I have worked for large companies that do anywhere from $5-20K and payback (if you were to leave) would depend on the amount of the signing bonus typically 1-3 year requirement.If you were to accept the job and start after your mat leave, I would go back to your current employer for 2 weeks so that you don't have to pay the portion of medical they were paying back or any STD. Hope that helps.

[rocksforludo]

Jan 29, 2015 7:29:39 GMT -5 emu0013 said:

I am in HR. Have you looked into the new companies STD policy? Some have only a 30 day waiting period. With that being said, if you are not eligible and unable to get a signing bonus to bridge the gap (alot of companies do them for mgmt) I have worked for large companies that do anywhere from $5-20K and payback (if you were to leave) would depend on the amount of the signing bonus typically 1-3 year requirement.If you were to accept the job and start after your mat leave, I would go back to your current employer for 2 weeks so that you don't have to pay the portion of medical they were paying back or any STD. Hope that helps.

Thank you emu0013!  I haven't looked closely at the STD policy yet, so I've basically been assuming worst possible scenario.  I appreciate the advice!

[purpleroses]

I'm a benefits attorney, so I think these are all important questions. I would DEFINITELY at least ask about the signing bonus, and also ask for information about the old/new employer's STD policies and group health benefits on the front end. Since you said you were encouraged to apply for the position, they obviously value you from your history with them and (in my opinion), it doesn't hurt to ask in a polite and professional manner. In terms of whether you would have to pay the bonus back, probably if they are willing to give you anything substantial, they'll want you to sign some type of employment agreement and they may want to include a "clawback" if you didn't remain with them for some period of time. But, there's typically not a set legal requirement for what happens in that situation -- more of a contractual matter between the employer and employee. Perhaps you could also just negotiate a higher salary, in which case you wouldn't get the $ up front, but it's less likely they'd look to get any money back if things didn't work out.

Regarding the STD policies and health benefits, DH switched jobs at the beginning of the year and I think I drove him crazy making him ask his new HR a bunch of questions before he accepted the job. It would probably be a good idea to verify that there's no waiting period on when you would first be covered by the new plan and you might also want to try to find out when your health coverage would cut off at the company you're leaving. Unfortunately, we ended up having to elect COBRA for a short period of time to bridge a gap between DH's old and new coverage, since being uninsured while pregnant was kind of a problem (although it was worth it for other reasons). Your employer is supposed to have a document called a Summary Plan Description for its health plan, that you can either request from HR (a pretty routine request) or sometimes find online if your employer has a company intranet. I also had DH get a summary of benefits for his new company, so we could attempt to verify that it will still cover the same basic maternity expenses and providers. You might feel like you already know all of that stuff from your prior time at this company, but keep in mind that a lot of employers have tweaked their health coverage over the past few years because of health care reform.

[rocksforludo]

Jan 29, 2015 12:32:04 GMT -5 purpleroses said:

I'm a benefits attorney, so I think these are all important questions. I would DEFINITELY at least ask about the signing bonus, and also ask for information about the old/new employer's STD policies and group health benefits on the front end. Since you said you were encouraged to apply for the position, they obviously value you from your history with them and (in my opinion), it doesn't hurt to ask in a polite and professional manner. In terms of whether you would have to pay the bonus back, probably if they are willing to give you anything substantial, they'll want you to sign some type of employment agreement and they may want to include a "clawback" if you didn't remain with them for some period of time. But, there's typically not a set legal requirement for what happens in that situation -- more of a contractual matter between the employer and employee. Perhaps you could also just negotiate a higher salary, in which case you wouldn't get the $ up front, but it's less likely they'd look to get any money back if things didn't work out.

Regarding the STD policies and health benefits, DH switched jobs at the beginning of the year and I think I drove him crazy making him ask his new HR a bunch of questions before he accepted the job. It would probably be a good idea to verify that there's no waiting period on when you would first be covered by the new plan and you might also want to try to find out when your health coverage would cut off at the company you're leaving. Unfortunately, we ended up having to elect COBRA for a short period of time to bridge a gap between DH's old and new coverage, since being uninsured while pregnant was kind of a problem (although it was worth it for other reasons). Your employer is supposed to have a document called a Summary Plan Description for its health plan, that you can either request from HR (a pretty routine request) or sometimes find online if your employer has a company intranet. I also had DH get a summary of benefits for his new company, so we could attempt to verify that it will still cover the same basic maternity expenses and providers. You might feel like you already know all of that stuff from your prior time at this company, but keep in mind that a lot of employers have tweaked their health coverage over the past few years because of health care reform.

Thank you so much for this detailed response!   It confirms a lot of what I was thinking and planning on doing if I get to that point.  I've never had the benefits side be so important before, so I haven't paid that close of attention in previous hiring situations.  Now I feel like every single detail makes a big difference in how feasible it would be to do this, but I also don't want to give up my big picture career goals for temporary concerns.  Thanks again!

[purpleroses]

Jan 29, 2015 12:47:40 GMT -5 rocksforludo said:

Jan 29, 2015 12:32:04 GMT -5 purpleroses said:

I'm a benefits attorney, so I think these are all important questions. I would DEFINITELY at least ask about the signing bonus, and also ask for information about the old/new employer's STD policies and group health benefits on the front end. Since you said you were encouraged to apply for the position, they obviously value you from your history with them and (in my opinion), it doesn't hurt to ask in a polite and professional manner. In terms of whether you would have to pay the bonus back, probably if they are willing to give you anything substantial, they'll want you to sign some type of employment agreement and they may want to include a "clawback" if you didn't remain with them for some period of time. But, there's typically not a set legal requirement for what happens in that situation -- more of a contractual matter between the employer and employee. Perhaps you could also just negotiate a higher salary, in which case you wouldn't get the $ up front, but it's less likely they'd look to get any money back if things didn't work out.

Regarding the STD policies and health benefits, DH switched jobs at the beginning of the year and I think I drove him crazy making him ask his new HR a bunch of questions before he accepted the job. It would probably be a good idea to verify that there's no waiting period on when you would first be covered by the new plan and you might also want to try to find out when your health coverage would cut off at the company you're leaving. Unfortunately, we ended up having to elect COBRA for a short period of time to bridge a gap between DH's old and new coverage, since being uninsured while pregnant was kind of a problem (although it was worth it for other reasons). Your employer is supposed to have a document called a Summary Plan Description for its health plan, that you can either request from HR (a pretty routine request) or sometimes find online if your employer has a company intranet. I also had DH get a summary of benefits for his new company, so we could attempt to verify that it will still cover the same basic maternity expenses and providers. You might feel like you already know all of that stuff from your prior time at this company, but keep in mind that a lot of employers have tweaked their health coverage over the past few years because of health care reform.

Thank you so much for this detailed response!   It confirms a lot of what I was thinking and planning on doing if I get to that point.  I've never had the benefits side be so important before, so I haven't paid that close of attention in previous hiring situations.  Now I feel like every single detail makes a big difference in how feasible it would be to do this, but I also don't want to give up my big picture career goals for temporary concerns.  Thanks again!

My pleasure.  It does make a huge difference, especially when you're in the middle of a pregnancy.  We're excited about DH's job change and it makes sense for us financially in the aggregate, but we just switched to a high deductible health plan from a pretty generous, more traditional plan and my head is reeling over what we're going to pay compared to my last maternity situation.  A first world problem for sure, but when you're used to having awesome benefits there's some sticker shock to adjust to.