Should Businesses be Forced to Provide Healthcare Benefits to Part Time Contracted Employees?

<p>Guests:</p> <ol> <li>Odeth Reynolds: Chief Human Resources Officer, Jamaica Energy Partners</li> <li>Jason Dear:&nbsp; Managing Director, Link2Lenders Ltd.</li> </ol> <p>Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business</p> <p>Health insurance is one of the many benefits companies offer to their employees as a part of their compensation packages. "Healthcare is free and is a right to all Jamaicans regardless of financial status" stated Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness. But do all Jamaicans really have access to proper healthcare in a timely manner? Contract employees have a lot to consider when applying for and accepting posts; health insurance coverage is definitely one of those considerations. Employers are bound by law to offer incentives to part-time employees. Some of which include sick leave, short-term disability, and health insurance premiums. But not every employee qualifies for the same. Many contract employees opt to be added as a beneficiary to their partner's health insurance plan as this route grants some amount of coverage. Through premiums paid by the partners of contract employees, it is usually much less than the cost the contractor would have to cover out of pocket. This evening on Your Business matters, we consider the question, "Should Businesses be Forced to Provide Healthcare Benefits to Part-Time Contracted Employees?"</p> <p>Some of what we discussed include:</p> <ol> <li>Should employers pay employees less if they are working virtually ?</li> <li>Mandating employers to provide health care.</li> <li>Marketing tips on the customer journey and sales tips for business owners.</li> </ol> <p>We also touched base with a member of our audience <strong>Rohan</strong> <strong>Gordon&nbsp; </strong>who posed this question to our guests “Why don’t companies increase their focus on healthcare so that they can keep healthcare premiums down?</p> <p>Connect with our g