Seasonal workers aren’t typically offered company health insurance, 401(k), or other benefits you’d generally extend to your full-time employees.
However, when you post a seasonal job, applicants will still look at what you can offer them. That’s how they’ll evaluate your company as a good workplace.
What employers should know about hiring seasonal employees:
To correctly classify an employee or cohort as ‘seasonal,’ ask yourself the following two questions:
- Are they working for a period of six months or less?
- Does the employment period begin around the same time every year?
If the answer to both questions is “Yes” to both, your employee is probably considered seasonal.
Common examples of seasonal jobs include:
- Summer internships
- Holiday shopping season retail workers
- Restaurant staff hired during the tourist or holiday season
- Accountants specifically brought on for tax season
- Ski resort and summer camp workers
An important distinction to make is that seasonal employment is cyclical, not one-time. Graduate interns hired for 12 months, computer programmers brought on for a special project, consultants to fill a short-term need, and temporary call center employees, for example, would not be considered seasonal.
Since regulations surrounding seasonal employment don’t consider benefits as part of the total compensation employees receive, most companies don’t offer their seasonal workers the same benefits packages they provide to full-time staff. But this doesn’t mean your seasonal employees can’t be rewarded with some perks.
What are seasonal employee benefits?
Seasonal employee benefits are fringe benefits employers offer to their part-time, short-term workers. They’re taxable benefits that aren’t legally required by federal law and don’t have to follow specific regulations.
Like the nature of seasonal work, thesebenefits are characteristically smaller and more immediate than those offered to non-seasonal employees. They’re designed to draw the most qualified new talent, ensure they perform well, and reward their hard work.
Our favorite benefits for seasonal employees
Newly hired employees you bring on to accommodate the busy season may not be with you for more than a few months. But they’re still your team members, and engaging them through benefits can help improve their performance and commitment. What’s more, when it comes time to re-hire, they may remember what you offered and be more likely to recommend your company as a great place to work.
Here’s a list of our ten favorite seasonal fringe benefits:
1. Flexible schedules and working arrangements
Even during a holiday season or summer rush, your seasonal employees may have other commitments outside of work. Flexible hours or remote work options can help them manage their schedule and increase job satisfaction.
If you work in a corporate office, the best way to offer flexibility is to allow remote work (and a remote work stipend!).
For seasonal jobs in retail and hospitality businesses that may not be as simple to flex hours, you can still promote your employees’ work-life balance in the following ways:
- Allow shift swapping between coworkers
- Offer employees the option to work split shifts to accommodate peak hours
- Rotate weekend and holiday schedules so that everyone gets equal days off
Before hiring new employees, wise employers ask each employee how many hours they can work and specify the times. This allows them to set each employee’s work hours without scheduling conflicts.
2. Health and wellness stipends
You might not be able to offer temporary employees the ability to enroll in your company’s health coverage. What you can do is offer your employees a monthly stipend they can use for health and wellness expenses they incur during their employment.
Seasonal workers might spend their health and wellness stipend on the following:
- Gym memberships
- Classes, like yoga or tai chi, to reduce stress levels during the busy season
- Nutrition counseling or meal planning services
- Mental health therapy sessions
- Wellness retreats or vacations
- Meditation apps
Stipends are great because they’re easy to administer and allow your employees to choose how they spend their money. They’re the ultimate way to include everyone in your health and wellness program, regardless of their needs and interests. Just think of the possibilities your employees could have, all year long…
3. Commuter benefits
One issue with seasonal fluctuations in staffing is that you might not have enough parking spots on your property, and your interns are walking the extra few blocks and paying a meter.
If you’ve ever worked in retail or hospitality, you know it’s an even bigger problem for those workers. So employees clocking in midday frequently spend 20-30 minutes finding parking, only to use the $20 lot across the street.
If remote work isn’t an option, the least you could do is help your temp workers with their commute.
Some of the best commuter benefits include:
- parking expense reimbursement
- public transit reimbursement
- monthly rideshare stipends (for Uber/Lyft)
- gas stipends
- toll reimbursement
Offering these benefits prevents your employees from spending hours’ worth of their pay just to show up to work.
4. Reimbursements
We aren’t talking about business expense reimbursements (though you should definitely handle those efficiently). These are reimbursements your employees can use to pay for predetermined costs, whether directly related to work or not.
Your seasonal employee reimbursement policy might include:
- Childcare expenses
- Meals during long shifts
- Transportation, like Uber/Lyft rides
- Gym reimbursement
- technology expenses (like a new laptop or phone)
- Tuition reimbursement or student loan repayment
Like stipends, the type of reimbursements you offer will be closely tied to your company values. For instance, an employer in the veterinary space might offer its summer interns pet care reimbursement. A tech company might reimburse their gym memberships and cover tuition for summer courses they’re taking along with their internships.
5. Performance incentives
When a seasonal employee works hard and the value shows, it’s essential to recognize that. Some short-term employees have commission incentives (e.g., a sales intern or retail associate). But you should go beyond basic cash bonuses.
Creative performance incentives to consider:
- Peak season ‘survival’ kits with coffee and energy bars
- A summer BBQ for employees after a record-breaking month of sales
- Tickets to a local event (like a concert or sports game)
- Company swag, like T-shirts or water bottles
How will you reward your employees? The rewards could vary by team, as long as they are fair for each employee. Since they’re seasonal, the best way to offer one-off awards for a job well done is through a spot award program. Plus, they’ll be able to choose what they truly want!
6. Paid time off (PTO)
Depending on how many hours per week employees work, you can extend your PTO policy to them. Of course, it’s hard to justify the added employment costs if the personnel you brought on for support is constantly taking work off.
But, there are a few instances where offering PTO makes sense:
- The nature of your entire business is seasonal (e.g., ski resorts)
- Your seasonal employee works 30+ hours per week
- They’ll be with your company for 3-6 months
- Your seasonal program is an initial measurement or probationary period, with your top performers moving to full time.
7. Employee discounts/access to company resources
The general expectation for retail, hospitality, and entertainment workers is that they’ll get some sort of discount on store items or services (or free access). For corporate seasonal workers, you can primarily base this on your offer.
For example, Petco offers its employees access to veterinary care, training classes, and generous discounts on store items. Starbucks baristas get a pound of free coffee or tea per week plus employee discounts at Teavana and Evolution Fresh.
Note: One of the difficulties of offering discounts as a benefit is the lack of personalization (and employee personalization is incredibly important!). While some employees might take advantage of a veterinary care discount, some workers may not be pet owners. One way to combat this is by offering a stipend.
8. Training and development opportunities
One main reason to take on a seasonal role is to gain experience. 55% of employees consider career growth opportunities more important than their take-home pay. And, according to SHRM data, about half of them want to use their current job to advance their career.
Make sure your seasonal employees are learning and growing. You can offer them:
- A professional development account to use on course libraries, books, or anything you deem relevant!
- On-the-job shadowing or mentoring
- Reimbursement for continuing education credits
- Additional career and mentorship opportunities within the company
See how Compt clients use their professional development stipend on a wide variety of items, as shown through our annual Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report. Even offering a small stipend for professional development books can go a long way:
9. Create a culture of appreciation
The last piece of the puzzle is something that might not cost any money at all: a rewards and recognition program.
There are two types of recognition:
- Peer-to-peer
- Manager-to-peer
This simple act can mean so much. Just think, 65% of employees reported recently that they received zero recognition from their employer in the past year.
Ways to recognize your seasonal workers:
- Include them in company-wide shoutouts for hitting major milestones
- Create a peer bonus program
- Provide shoutouts in a company-wide newsletter (with permission, of course)
- Write thank-you notes or give small tokens of appreciation for work well done
- Give a monthly ‘Intern of the Month’ award
- Create a wall of fame or recognition board in the breakroom for employees who go above and beyond
However you decide to reward your employees, make sure you’re taking time to personally thank them for their hard work and contributions. While rewards are one thing, publicly recognizing their achievements (via Slack or during a meeting) and privately can go even further than a reward alone.
10. Company-sponsored events and outings
While we’re not into the idea of forced fun, it can be argued that a company that plays together, stays together. And as a seasonal employee, it’s easy to feel excluded. Why not use company-sponsored events or outings to build camaraderie and celebrate your team’s hard work?
Event ideas:
- End-of-season party
- Team volunteering opportunities
- Company picnic or BBQ
- Team building activities (escape rooms, bowling, mini-golf)
- Themed happy hours (karaoke night or trivia at a local bar)
Bringing your seasonal employees together in a fun, relaxed environment can help them feel more connected to the company and their team. It also gives them a chance to unwind and have some fun after working hard during peak season.
Attract seasonal talent with the right benefits program
Not sure what to give your seasonal employees? Our clients use Compt to set up benefits packages for every kind of employees, whether or not they’re seasonal or full-time.
Compt is an easy-to-use, scalable platform to offer stipends and bonuses, and manage expenses and reimbursements with 100% tax compliance.
Editor’s Note: Originally published in 2023, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers.
