I work for a small company in the most expensive city in Canada. Currently trying to start my own business and ran out of savings so I had to get a job. Turns out the new job is at another startup, the pay was when I first started and I asked about benefits I was told “not at first” and the pay was 10k under what I needed, but I didn’t press the issue because I was desperate.
Now a few months down, i know our company’s margins are huge, I need some physio and stuff but can’t afford the sessions without benefits, so I ask our owner if it’s still in his plans to get us benefits, he responds that in a company under 10 employees we are too small to qualify for group benefits, and he will try to get us some when we pass that threshold (we are technically 10 employees if he counts himself, but I guess he conveniently doesn’t).
Now a few years ago I worked in a startup of 5 employees where we all had full benefits, of course that was a business of idealists who genuinely wanted to do good in the world and I can’t say I believe that for my current employer because he will screw over any customer or brand partner (and make us handle the dirty work of taking the brunt of it) if it saves him money, but if I do give him the benefit of the doubt: Is it possible that the threshold did increase from a few years ago due to inflation or whatever or is it just another excuse and my employer doesn’t give anymore of a shit about his employees than anyone else?