What You Should Know About Dental Professional Contract Benefits
Dental employment contract benefits are an essential part of a dental professional career. The benefits can influence your lifestyle and can add a huge value to the overall compensation you receive as an employee.
Salary and benefits make up the overall compensation, and the latter takes the hugest part. For example, employer A can offer a great overall compensation than Employer B even when employer B offers a higher salary than Employer B. This just shows how benefits packages can make a big difference.
In this article, we will look at several common questions about dental professional contract benefits and highlight the benefits you should look out for before signing such an agreement.
What Are Dental Professional Contract Benefits?
Dental professional contract benefits are non-wage compensation given to dental professionals by their employers. They can be in the form of paid leaves, continuing education allowance, life insurance, health insurance, professional liability insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans, and more.
Dental professionals can be dentists, dental assistants or dental hygienists. One best way to ensure that your employer offers you comprehensive benefits package no matter which department you’re in the dental practice is to get a dental contract lawyer to review your contract or independent contractor agreement. An experienced lawyer will be able to guide you and negotiate with your employer so as to obtain the best benefit package for you.
Why Do Employers Offer Dental Professional Contract Benefits?
Employers offer benefits to attract and retain skilled dental professionals. By offering a comprehensive benefits package, employers can offset the lower salaries they may offer compared to their competitors.
They also offer benefits to set forth clear expectations for the employee and offset the negatives of a non-compete clause. For example, when an employer offers health insurance, they are telling the employee that they are responsible for their own health and well-being. Simply put, they don’t have to go to work when they have paid sick leave days. They don’t have to start solving a chronic back pain when they could have seen an Orthopedic when they experienced acute back pain.
What Are the Types of Dental Professional Contract Benefits?
The type of benefits offered by employers differs from organization to organization. However, there are some common benefits that almost all employers usually offer. These include:
Health Care Insurance
Health care insurance helps to offset the cost of medical care, including prescription costs.
Employers will often offer a variety of health care plans to their employees, so it is important to compare the different options before choosing one. If you have a pre-existing condition, you will also want to make sure that the plan offered covers it.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance, or Dental Malpractice Insurance, protects you from lawsuits that may arise from malpractice.
This type of insurance is usually used to help cover the cost of legal fees and damages if you are sued in the event a patient claims they were harmed during dental care.
Most employers will require you to purchase your own professional liability insurance, but some may provide it as part of your benefits package.
Disability Insurance
Your employer should be able to provide income protection in the event that you are unable to work due to a disability. The compensation may differ from employer to employer, but it’s typically a percentage of your salary.
Paid Time Off
You’re entitled to take time off from work and not be penalized by your employer. This can include vacation days, sick days, and holidays.
Paid time off allows you to take the time you need to recharge and come back to work refreshed and ready to work.
Note that you may require to work a certain number of hours before you’re allowed to take any paid time off from work.
Retirement Plans
Employers often offer retirement plans to their employees as part of their benefits package. Your employer will match your contribution up to Y% of your salary. However, you can contribute more than Y% if you wish to.
Retirement plans allow you to save for your future and provide you with income in retirement.
Continuing Education (CE) Reimbursement
Your employer may offer to reimburse you for the cost of continuing education. You will also be offered some time off. Your meal, lodging or conference fee will also be paid by your employer.
Note that the CE must be approved by the practice.
Bereavement Leave
If you lose a close family member, you may be entitled to take bereavement leave. The leave is typically up to X paid days annually. The leave is important because it allows you to grieve without having to worry about work.
Usually, bereavement leave covers the funeral for immediate family members who include spouses, domestic partners, children, step-children, parents, step-parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and in-laws.
Relocation Reimbursement
If your contract has a relocation reimbursement, it simply means you should cover your moving expenses, knowing that your employer will reimburse the predetermined amount of money after you’ve relocated.
Signing Bonus
A signing bonus is a one-time payment that you receive when you sign your employment contract. The cash payment is typically to entice you to join the practice, and it ranges from $5,000 to $50,000.
About To Sign Contract Benefits?
Dental professional contract benefits can vary from employer to employer. However, there are some common benefits that almost all employers usually offer. These include health care insurance, professional liability insurance, disability insurance, paid time off, retirement plans, continuing education reimbursement, bereavement leave, relocation reimbursement and signing bonuses.
When choosing an employer, it is important to compare the different benefits packages offered. This will help you to choose the employer that is right for you. Again, you should always have a dental contract lawyer review your agreement. This way, you can be sure your benefits are well covered. Don’t sign a contract if your benefits packages are not clearly stated or if they don’t favor you in any way. Let our team at Chelle law review your contract and guide you accordingly. Contact us today, and let’s get started.
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