Benefits: Handbook vs Reality

[JustADude]

Okay, I've been on my new job for a few days, and everything has been pretty level, without any real problems except for your average, low-grade Cranio-Rectal Inversion type stupidity. I'm noticing, though, that the fringe benefits of the job are a lot better than advertised, and this is just the stuff the SM has okayed.

Handbook:
-$.03/gal off gas
-Free soda/coffee on shift

Reality:
-$.03/gal off gas
-Free anything-on-tap on shift or to take home after.
-The person cooking can make a "Quality-control" portion of anything they prep for the hot-food cabinet, and they can pick whatever they want as long as there's at least 3 different types of stuff up there, plus a pizza.
-Anything past its 3-hour expire time on the hot-food cabinet becomes Employee Chow.
-Rights to any Sell-By pulls from the vendor deliveries during your shifts (ex. KrispyKremes get changed out at 4am every day, just in time for breakfast when I get off).
-Occasional free food from one or another of the delivery places that hit us up, in exchange for free soda.

As you can see, most of the extras are in the "munchies" category, but that got me wondering what other "Officially Unofficial" (aka, not on the books, but Management knows and is cool with it) perks people might have at their jobs. So, anyone care to share?

[LionMan]

Okay, working at an arena:

Handbook:
Free tickets to the garden show.
Benefits: HAHAHAHAHA, you have to be kidding.

Reality:
Have keys to building, so can sneak into any show I want.

[Eben56]

free racing

Annual invitation to watch the Nascar race from the company skybox in Louden, NH.

[AKWalMartCartGuy]

i don't get any benefits not specified by the handbook, but I started $2.40 an hour higher than the store across the street, with an extra dollar in the summer, so I'm happy, even if management makes a whole bunch of head scratcher descisions(not really stupid, just not thought out completely), I rarely see management, and most of them realize that they dont have a clue about what happens outside, so it doesn't matter much.

[reformedwaitress]

Handbook:
Typical benefits (insurance, 401K, blahblahblah), 15% off services and products, shift meals from cafeteria

Actual:
Typical benefits, free services from therapists on slow days, products at wholesale price (or lower -- yay testers!), shift meals, "mismakes" from the restaurant (which conveniently are our favorite foods on days the cafeteria food isn't that good), deals on hotel rooms, use of the pool, beach, spa, showers, steam rooms, gym, free parking downtown

[Boozy]

Handbook:

5 free bottles of wine a month, 25% off any purchases. (Pretty darn good, I know.)

Reality:

"Clumsy" manager.
Manager often "drops" bottles, requiring them to be written off and taken out of inventory.
Manager gets "extra clumsy" when asking employees to work extra shifts.
Employee's favourites seem to be packaged in especially slippery bottles.

[MMATM]

Handbook:
- Opportunity to travel.
- Excuse for missing class, on rare occasions.
- Good feeling.

Reality:
- Opportunity to travel.
- Excuse for missing class, on rare occasions.
- Good feeling.
- Free food and drink from any sponsored events.
- Free food and drink from anyone affiliated with the event.
- Free "giveaway" stuff in advance of the public giveaway.
- Possible sponsorship by a major clothing/sports equipment/shoe company. (This might eventually make it into the "handbook" but for now is in the works as an employee-driven thing.)

[Casino Jockey]

Handbook
Christmas Hamper (yay! mines coming soon)
uniform supplied and cleaned after each shift
Cheap gym (6.50 per week - most gyms charge at least $50 per month here)
free buffet meal whilst on shift
cheap parking ($3) with a bus that picks us up at staff parking and drops us off there

Non-Handbook

unlimited post mix during shift
"extra 5" if you work hard enough. we have 2 15 min breaks and 1 30 min break. it's not uncommon for a manager if you are busting your ass to say extra 5. this means on your next 15 min break you can take 20.

lots of good sorts to perv on

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Handbook benefits:
medical/dental, 401k, 10% discount from Dell online, weekend pay differential

Actual:
handbook benefits plus graveyard perks---graveyard differential on top of weekend differential, when it's slow late at night we surf the web and IM each other funny stuff. We get away with saying stuff to customers day people never could. We don't have to worry about suits wandering around looking over our shoulders, either. We get 4 ten hour shifts instead of 5 eight hour ones.

[Cyanocobalamin]

Office Depot Handbook: 10% employee discount, 15% discount a couple times a year

Reality: My assistant managers were cool with us keeping expired/damaged merchandise meant to be destroyed and relegated to the dumpster.

I scored a 1G MP3 player in perfect condtion this way. Apparently a customer returned it and with the package being opened, we couldn't resell it. The exbf rescued it, put nearly a hundred songs on it, and eventually gave it to me.

[edible_hat]

Handbook:
1 free coffee or icee per shift.

Reality:
1 free coffee or icee per shift
1 of whatever the boss is eating or drinking
Fuel price rises take effect only after we've filled our own vehicles

[saint]

Handbook:
Free meals for me + Family
401k, 2 weeks paid vacation, about 1 week of sick days,
health insurance, life insurance policy, flex spending plan.


non handbook:
Company hosts county fair. Free tickets, plus front box area tickets to concerts held therein, and various other shows.


Being a manager can suck most times, but the benefits are decent.

[TNT]

Handbook: 28 days off a year, fully vested 401k from day 1, holiday and summer parties, benefits to enhance benefits. Free cable and internet. Discounts from other companies.

Other stuff: cable swag. Contests. Tickets to local baseball team's games. Special events like cookouts, etc. Lots more.

Ah, the benefits of BigCable.

[Killer Bees]

Handbook
4 weeks annual leave
8 paid sick leave days
9% superannuation (pension fund) contribution by company
Supervisor in Melbourne (2 hours flight away)
Senior Manger in Sydney (1 hours flight away)


Actual
- Really flexible working times. My co-worker and I work onsite at the client's offices, so we are our own bosses. I work 10am to 6 pm, but I'm always out by 5 pm at the latest.
- Suburbs location, so no temptations to spend heaps of money as if I was working in the city. I've managed to save heaps more money this way.
- Supermarket right across the road, so nice cheap fresh meals instead of leftover greasy yucky ones from fast food vendors in city.
- Work is never too busy so I get to surf the net all day (I don't have a pc at home).
- Occasionally, corporate will fly us all down to Melbourne for team building exercises, so we get to stay in posh hotels and eat in fancy restaurants and it's all charged to the company
- The only down side is the money. It's not that great. Hence, me now applying for better paid govt jobs
- We always get invited to what the client's staff are doing: bbqs for special occasions, raffles and lotteries with prizes, morning teas, etc

[ArenaBoy]

At the old arena job.

Handbook
-----------------

1. 15% off on Whiskeyclone merchandise (This meant basketball team stuff)

2. Free parking


Reality
---------------

1. 15% off on Whiskeyclone junk

2. Free parking