How To Compute for Filipino VA Benefits

When you find that rockstar VA — that VA who can take over your business if the need arises — you’d want to keep that VA for as long as your business allows.

Luckily, keeping Filipino workers happy and productive doesn’t take much. The simplest would be giving them a raise or a monthly bonus for a well-done job.

If you’re not one to give out cash bonuses, there’s another way that would not only tell them that you value their presence in your life and your business — benefits.

Benefits equal security. In fact, many Filipinos would willingly forgo large salaries or multiple clients for jobs that offer benefits.

Also, providing your Filipino VAs with employee benefits doesn’t cost much. Offering to pay for your VA’s benefits is one way of earning their trust and keeping them happy. It also lends your business an air of stability and respectability, characteristics that experienced Filipino workers look for in employers.

What Benefits Should I Pay For?

A typical office employee has four main benefits:

1. Social Security System
2. Philhealth (or socialized medical insurance)
3. Pag-IBIG Fund (socialized housing loan)
4. The 13th-month

Businesses registered in the Philippines are legally obligated to provide these benefits.

We’ve already discussed the 13th month in great detail, so we’ll focus on the top 3.

The Social Security System, Philhealth, and Pag-IBIG Fund are government-regulated systems.

The required contributions are often very low to make it easier for every Filipino to get them. This is why providing these benefits doesn’t actually cost that much.

How Can I Pay?

Your VA, under the Philippine government, is considered an independent contractor.

This means they would have to make the payments directly to the agencies.

To provide this benefit, you can either:

• have your VAs prepare a picture or a screenshot of their proof of payments and reimburse their payments or
• provide the equivalent amount on top of your VAs’ salary.

How Much Is It?

The contribution for SSS (Social Security System) is 14% of their salary. It ranges from a minimum of P560 ($10~) to a maximum of P4,200 ($76~).

Philhealth contribution is 5% of their salary, with a minimum contribution of P500 ($9~).

Pag-Ibig contribution is 4% of their salary, with a minimum contribution of P400 ($7~).

Additional Bonuses

If you feel extra generous, you can also offer to pay half of your VAs’ internet and HMO expenses.

Again, these are optional. However, these perks are becoming a practice for BPOs in the Philippines for the following reasons:

Subsidizing internet for employees to work from home is cheaper than renting a bigger office space and getting more equipment.
Philhealth is useful mainly for hospitalizations. For outpatient procedures and regular check-ups, HMOs really help cut the costs

For the Internet, there are four big players in the Philippines’ ISP scene:

PLDT is one of the oldest companies in the Philippines and undeniably the most accessible ISP. If you ask your VAs, there’s a 95% chance they’re using this ISP.
Here are their internet packages:

Globe — provides one of the most competitive prices for faster speeds, which are available nationwide.

It’s not seen here, but they actually have packages up to 1.5Gbps.

Converge ICT is the newest player in town. It’s very affordable, and there’s no data cap. They have plans up to 1Gbps. They also have “Time of Day” packages, where the “Day Plan” has faster speeds during the day, and the “Night Plan” has faster speeds at night. This makes them a good deal for VAs with permanent work schedules like graveyard shifts.

SkyCable—When it initially offered internet service, SkyCable was heralded as one of the fastest ISPs on the internet. As a Cable TV company, TV services are usually bundled with broadband internet services. But aside from availability, Sky Cable also does not really impress with internet speeds.

As you can see, P1,500 – P2,000 per month provides a decent internet connection already.

As for HMOs, there’s a lot to choose from. There are even prepaid options available. For starters, Maxicare, MediCard, and Intellicare (the biggest private medical insurers in the Philippines) offer prepaid health cards and annual health plans. They cater their plans depending on the number of employees. If you have a lot of team Filipino employees, you’d get more value.

Conclusion

Filipinos are fiercely loyal and hardworking. Treat them well; they’ll do whatever they can to help your business grow and prosper.

Now that you’ve found the one, now that your business is growing and you’re making good money, isn’t it time to return the favor? Giving your VA that small blanket of security doesn’t take much to reassure them that working for you is worth it.

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About Charlyne Lizette
Charlyne has been dipping her feet on online work since 2011 and has just recently dived in, leaving her full-time office job in the process.

A writer and an all-around VA. She has now found her home at OnlineJobs.ph.

Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.