New U-of-I employment plan offers less benefits, more pay

Would you give up some of the benefits your employer gives you if it meant you’d be paid more money? Nurses at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City are going to get a chance to answer that question in a first-of-its-kind program. U-of-I spokesman Tom Moore says they could earn five dollars more an hour by giving up some benefits. He says that includes things like health insurance, dental and life insurance and sick leave. Moore says the idea for the “more pay/less bennies” option came from employees. He says the employees were the driving force for the change as they asked for it. He says the nurses say they’d be more likely to stay with the change. Moore says there are a variety of reasons that would make the new plan attractive. He says they may be younger and the benefits don’t have as much meaning to them at this stage of their career, or they could be covered by their spouses’s benefits and don’t need the U-of-I’s plan. Moore says the university can benefit from the plan too. He says they look for a benefit in the long term by not having to hire as many temporary staff and saving money. From the pay versus benefits aspect, he says it’s about a wash in what it would cost. Moore says there are just over 13-hundred employees who could try the new option. They can choose on a case-by-case basis, and will get a chance to change their mind each year.