The 10 most frequently asked questions about benefit and wellness services

Of course, what companies offer for benefit and wellness services varies between industries and company-specific policies, but in many cases, the associated questions about benefit and wellness services are quite similar. Benefits can play a significant role in how attractive a workplace is perceived to be, and offering different types of benefits is highly valued among employees. Here we go through some of the most common questions regarding benefit and wellness services.

We start with the most common question that companies receive regarding the benefits offered: What do employees really have access to when it comes to benefit and wellness services? It is not uncommon for employees to feel uncertain about what the company actually offers when it comes to benefits, and questions about what the company’s wellness allowance maximum is are also common. It is therefore good to be clear and provide employees with easily accessible information about how they can use the various benefit and wellness services offered.

It is important that the employees know how they can apply to gain access to the various benefit and wellness services. This is most easily achieved if the company uses a so-called benefit portal where the employees can easily register for access to the selected benefit and receive all the necessary information they may need.

There are several positive aspects to offering employees access to various wellness services. Among other things, it makes your company a more attractive employer and it strengthens your brand. But above all, it contributes to your employees becoming healthier and it also helps them live a healthier lifestyle. Because healthier and fitter employees contribute to increased productivity at work.

Examples of things you can use your wellness allowance for:

Yes, even the use of apps can count as wellness. Something that is relatively new is that the Swedish Tax Agency also approves tax deductions for various apps that contribute to better health – for example Weight Watchers or an app with various exercise programs.

If you have previously used wellness services, you may know that the Swedish Tax Agency used to have its own list of what counted as “approved activities” for the wellness allowance. The Swedish Tax Agency has now stopped using this list and it is instead up to the employer to assess what is considered approved activities.

It is up to the employer to decide the level of the contribution to wellness services, but the ceiling according to the Swedish Tax Agency is set at SEK 5000 per employee per year.

It can be a bit tricky to figure out the limit for what you can – and cannot – use the wellness allowance for. For example, it is not possible to use the wellness allowance to buy equipment or to pay for membership in, for example, a golf club. However, it can be used to cover the cost of the activity itself, such as a golf course, a gym memberships, a group training session, or a lift pass for skiing.

The price of different wellness services can vary significantly; an annual pass at a gym can easily land on the total amount for the wellness allowance (the Swedish Tax Agency’s ceiling of SEK 5000). There is therefore no limit for wellness services that have an element of exercise. On the other hand, for example, massage is counted as a wellness service and for that type of service the cost must not exceed SEK 1000 per occasion.

As an employee, you pay yourself at the time of the activity and you then receive the grant by showing the receipt to the person responsible for benefits at your workplace. If your workplace uses a benefits portal, these deductions are usually made automatically, saving employees from saving receipts and spending time on paperwork. An advantage of Benefits is that employees do not have to spend money as purchases are made directly in the portal.