Other things to negotiate than pay

One thing I have noticed in my job as a career consultant is that a lot of internationals are not used to negotiating their pay. However, in Denmark, this is the norm.

I would say that in about 95% of cases, the company will be willing to give you a higher salary than their first offer.

But sometimes you cannot get quite the amount you want, so what do you do? You negotiate other things as part of your pay. Here is a list of things you can go for. Remember that not all of this is an option at all companies, and also look at what is attractive for you. There is no reason to negotiate something that is of no use to you.

Transportation

There are multiple things to negotiate when thinking about transportation, where some depend on your job tasks and others are just a convenience.

The top item is off cause a car. If you are a traveling sales consultant or a boss, this could likely be something to look at. However, if you like and work in Copenhagen a bike might be a better choice for getting around the city. It’s also way easier to find parking for a bike. If you do have a car whether your own or a company car, then parking could also be a thing to look at, especially in the larger cities where this can be a fairly large expense.

If you travel by public transportation to and from work, this is also something you could talk to your new employer about. Either pay for the actual transportation or the time you use for transportation. I will get back to the last point a bit later.

Working from home

It is becoming more are more normal that there is an option to work at least some days from home. This is also something you can look at what the value for you is. One of the benefits here is often that on the days you work from home, you have no transportation, and often a lot of people are also more effective when working from home, due to fewer interruptions from co-workers.

Employee discounts

In some situations, there might be an option for an employee discount on the product or service that the company offers. Do not ask if it is not relevant to you.

Working fewer hours

This first part is not actually working fewer hours, but it might feel that way. As I mentioned earlier you could negotiate for your employer to pay for the time you have transporting yourself to and from work. A lot of people have long commutes by public transport to and from work on the train or on the bus. So if you have an hour each way by train, you might be able to shorten your day at the office if you just work while on the train or bus instead.

Then you can of cause also negotiate actual fewer hours in your contract than full time. Just keep in mind if you think that the job you are supposed to do can be done in the number of hours you are going to work. If it turns out that is not the case, you can then renegotiate your work hours, meaning that if you then go up in hours, you also go up in pay.

More days off

You can negotiate more vacation days. If your employer is not able or willing to pay you a higher salary, you can negotiate more days off in a year.

This also goes, if you are earning an amount of money where you actually value the vacation time more than the money. You can then let the employer know that you would rather than a higher pay have 1-2-3-4-5 days more vacation a year.

Pension

Pension in Denmark can vary A LOT, from nothing up to about 20 %, depending on your workplace. In the public sector, the pension is often quite high, starting at about 15 %, whereas, in the private sector, it is more likely to be between 3-8 %.

In especially start-ups, it’s common to get no pension. So remember to negotiate a higher base salary based on the fact that you need to pay into your own pension account with the salary you are then getting. 

This is also why it is important to always mention that the salary suggestion you have is PLUS pension. 

Bonus

Whenever there is something to be measured in your job, there is theoretically an option for bonus pay.
So this could be a way to negotiate additional pay, simply agreeing on a bonus when specific goals are met this could be goals specifically for you or for the team.

Renegotiation of salary

Well, this is actually negotiating your pay, but not right now. If you feel like you need to prove your worth to the company, it might be an option to say that you want to be able to renegotiate your pay after 6 months. This way you have the option of getting a pay raise earlier than normally expected. And even if this is only a small about, everything counts, and it ends up being a lot in the long run.

Education/courses

It’s in both your and your employer’s interest that you keep up to date on your area of expertise, or maybe learn about new areas, that you find interesting.

It might seem like a strange thing to negotiate when you are going to have a steep learning curve in the new job, but its often easier to get it into your contract from the beginning than having to negotiate it later.

If you choose to do it later, it may also be at the expense of getting a pay raise.

Networking

Just like networking is important when you are looking for a new job, it can also be a great help in your job. So look into if there are any relevant networks in your niche that you could ask your employer to pay the admission fee for.

Health insurance

In Denmark, we have good health care in general, but it might still be an idea to look at if you can get extra coverage, especially if something unexpected is going to happen for you health-wise.

Kid’s first/second sick day

Depending on your place of work you might already have Childs’s first sick day as part of your compensation package, here is an opportunity to negotiate for an extra day. This can be a great help.

You could also negotiate to be able to work from home if your child falls ill.

Subscription

Maybe there is a magazine or a newspaper, which is really relevant to your job, or that you can see a justification for having access to in your job. Then try and negotiate that your company pays for this. It might be something that is delivered to your home address or to the office where everyone can get benefit from it.

Clothing for work

If there is an expectation of you dressing in a specific type or brand of clothing, you might be able to negotiate a monthly amount for clothing on. top of your normal pay. Unless the company provides you with a uniform of cause.

Sports/workout

It is in the interest of the company to have the most healthy employees. With that comes fewer sick days and just more focused work, and better results.

This is why you might be able to argue that the company pays your fee to the gym or a sports activity. Some companies even let you work out during working hours, and have their own gym available.

Internet

With more and more opportunities for working from home, it might be a good thing to ask the company to pay your internet bill.

Side Hustle

In most contracts, it will say that your employer has to say okay for you to have a side hustle and that you need to get everything approved by them.

You can negotiate that you only promise to not have a side hustle that is in direct or indirect competition with the company you work for.

If in doubt ask your manager about it. Also, a small note here, use your own computer to do all things related to your own business, so there can be no discussion as to who owns the product/service you developed in your side hustle. 

Employee stocks

Some companies have the option of employee stock. Often it’s part of the contract after you have been with the company for a specific timeframe. However, is the company is listed on the stock exchange you can always ask if it’s not naturally a part of the contract. 

In a start-up, you can also negotiate part of the stock/company with time. 

Do research these topics more before jumping into negotiating this part. 

No matter what you end up agreeing with your employer about in terms of salary and compensation package, make sure to get it in writing. When you have this in writing there is no arguing about it at a later point. The very best would be to get it written in the contract itself.

Also, be aware that there might be some taxation related to these different add-ons. Remember to ask your employer about this.

One more piece of advice today

When they ask you for your pay expectations as part of the interview process, you should say your number, maybe in a range, or say ‘around xx’, and then add: Plus pension and depending on the benefit packages as a whole.

This means that you make them aware that you expect a pension on top of the number you just gave them, but also that you are open to negotiation.

Do you know how to use Jobindex in your job search? If not, I give you the most important tips in this article and video on the website.