Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

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justnathania
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Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by justnathania »

Hi all, first time posting here.

I'm Nathania from Indonesia.

I have a job offer in Cambodia from a very reputable international consumer goods company. The offer itself is good and I am keen on taking it.
The only downside is that the offer does not include health insurance. I find this odd and have negotiated for a long time for an employee health insurance with no success. The HR person told me that this is normal in Cambodia, that the other employees also don't have health coverage.

For comparison, I've worked for two other international consumer goods companies and I always get health insurance (currently I'm working for Oreo). In fact, good health insurance is often used as the main draw to get new hires where I come from in Indonesia.

Can anybody share their situation with health insurance from employer? Is it true that the norm in Cambodia is to not provide health insurance as part of a job offer?

Thank you! sorry if this has been covered in another forum, I couldn't find any info specifically on health coverage from employer.
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John Bingham
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by John Bingham »

Can anybody share their situation with health insurance from employer? Is it true that the norm in Cambodia is to not provide health insurance as part of a job offer?
I only get crap NSSF national insurance from the company. The better companies certainly do provide comprehensive insurance.
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justnathania
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by justnathania »

John Bingham wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:54 pm
Can anybody share their situation with health insurance from employer? Is it true that the norm in Cambodia is to not provide health insurance as part of a job offer?
I only get crap NSSF national insurance from the company. The better companies certainly do provide comprehensive insurance.
My company also gives NSSF but from my research online it doesn't seem to be useful?

see, this is where I'm concerned because by all means this company should be one of "the better companies".
Am I being duped?
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by truffledog »

justnathania wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:55 pm
John Bingham wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:54 pm
Can anybody share their situation with health insurance from employer? Is it true that the norm in Cambodia is to not provide health insurance as part of a job offer?
I only get crap NSSF national insurance from the company. The better companies certainly do provide comprehensive insurance.
My company also gives NSSF but from my research online it doesn't seem to be useful?

see, this is where I'm concerned because by all means this company should be one of "the better companies".
Am I being duped?
wih low living costs in Cambodia and an expat salary (if this is your case) private health care insurance should be bearable. And you get to choose the level of insurance that you want.
work is for people who cant find truffles
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by daeum_tnaot »

justnathania wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:18 pm Hi all, first time posting here.

I'm Nathania from Indonesia.

I have a job offer in Cambodia from a very reputable international consumer goods company. The offer itself is good and I am keen on taking it.
The only downside is that the offer does not include health insurance. I find this odd and have negotiated for a long time for an employee health insurance with no success. The HR person told me that this is normal in Cambodia, that the other employees also don't have health coverage.

For comparison, I've worked for two other international consumer goods companies and I always get health insurance (currently I'm working for Oreo). In fact, good health insurance is often used as the main draw to get new hires where I come from in Indonesia.

Can anybody share their situation with health insurance from employer? Is it true that the norm in Cambodia is to not provide health insurance as part of a job offer?

Thank you! sorry if this has been covered in another forum, I couldn't find any info specifically on health coverage from employer.

I have only worked in the NGO sector but it is definitely not true that it is "normal" that employers don't provide insurance. My partner also worked in the private sector and she had health insurance (and I don't mean NSSF), although it may not have been a good plan. One NGO I worked for had a plan for national staff but it was a local insurance plan. International health insurance policies are harder to get but may be possible for some top end NGO jobs.

You could just buy your own insurance, I believe Forte is one company, and a few years ago I was in touch with someone who was like an expat insurance agent. You could ask your company for a slight pay increase to compensate for this. On the other hand, healthcare is quite cheap here so it may also make sense just to pay out of pocket.
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by justnathania »

truffledog wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:04 pm
wih low living costs in Cambodia and an expat salary (if this is your case) private health care insurance should be bearable. And you get to choose the level of insurance that you want.
I get an expat salary of around USD 3K ++ per month, on top of accommodation etc. That is actually what the HR person told me: With this salary you can get your own insurance. So the lack of health insurance is being "balanced" by the salary offered. I just wondered if he was trying to play me.

daeum_tnaot wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:09 pm I have only worked in the NGO sector but it is definitely not true that it is "normal" that employers don't provide insurance. My partner also worked in the private sector and she had health insurance (and I don't mean NSSF), although it may not have been a good plan. One NGO I worked for had a plan for national staff but it was a local insurance plan. International health insurance policies are harder to get but may be possible for some top end NGO jobs.

You could just buy your own insurance, I believe Forte is one company, and a few years ago I was in touch with someone who was like an expat insurance agent. You could ask your company for a slight pay increase to compensate for this. On the other hand, healthcare is quite cheap here so it may also make sense just to pay out of pocket.
I actually did ask for a pay increase but they refused saying this is already the max offer. they could be bluffing, but it was already a long negotiation and to be honest the offer was already around 80% increase from my current salary. And the HR person said that he himself does not have insurance only pay out of pocket so I accepted that maybe that's the norm.

I also see a lot of chatter on expat forums where people are asking for insurance recommendation so I thought maybe most expats also buy their own insurance. I was about to push harder for a health insurance until I saw the forums and started wondering if I'm asking for too much.
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

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Is it a Manager position?
Are you the best at what you do?

3K+/mo + accom isn't too bad, but really depends on the position.

That it is around 80% increase on your current salary is irrelevant. Don't mention that.
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by justnathania »

Username Taken wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:18 pm Is it a Manager position?
Are you the best at what you do?

3K+/mo + accom isn't too bad, but really depends on the position.

That it is around 80% increase on your current salary is irrelevant. Don't mention that.
Senior Planner position, reporting to a manager, so it's at Assistant Manager level. In my current company I am one of the best Planner in SEA Region with 5 years of experience.
I did share with the headhunter my current pay, that's the norm here in Indonesia. Didn't realize that its NOT the norm elsewhere. oh well, hindsight 20/20 right :(

I have a local cambodian friend and he said for a position lower than a manager, 3K is already good. So I was content, just the lack health insurance is making me nervous especially in a pandemic like this.
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by daeum_tnaot »

justnathania wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:43 pm
Username Taken wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:18 pm Is it a Manager position?
Are you the best at what you do?

3K+/mo + accom isn't too bad, but really depends on the position.

That it is around 80% increase on your current salary is irrelevant. Don't mention that.
Senior Planner position, reporting to a manager, so it's at Assistant Manager level. In my current company I am one of the best Planner in SEA Region with 5 years of experience.
I did share with the headhunter my current pay, that's the norm here in Indonesia. Didn't realize that its NOT the norm elsewhere. oh well, hindsight 20/20 right :(

I have a local cambodian friend and he said for a position lower than a manager, 3K is already good. So I was content, just the lack health insurance is making me nervous especially in a pandemic like this.
Not familiar with private sector salaries but it sounds like a good deal to me. You can shop around for an insurance policy, not sure if they are actually covering costs related to Covid or not.
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Re: Employee Health Insurance - not on offer?

Post by Username Taken »

justnathania wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:43 pm
Username Taken wrote: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:18 pm Is it a Manager position?
Are you the best at what you do?

3K+/mo + accom isn't too bad, but really depends on the position.

That it is around 80% increase on your current salary is irrelevant. Don't mention that.
Senior Planner position, reporting to a manager, so it's at Assistant Manager level. In my current company I am one of the best Planner in SEA Region with 5 years of experience.
I did share with the headhunter my current pay, that's the norm here in Indonesia. Didn't realize that its NOT the norm elsewhere. oh well, hindsight 20/20 right :(

I have a local cambodian friend and he said for a position lower than a manager, 3K is already good. So I was content, just the lack health insurance is making me nervous especially in a pandemic like this.
I didn't say that it's not the norm here to ask about current salary. It is normal here, but I don't think it is relevant and isn't a question they need to ask. In my opinion what an applicant's current salary is is none of their business.

If you're currently on 1.6K, then 3K is good. Go for it. :thumb:
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