>Pay is of equal value to all employees. Benefits like leave and 401ks are only valuable to some
Well, no. In general, pay and leave are not 1:1 exchangeable if, indeed, they're exchangeable at all. At most companies, an employee can't just say "I'll trade 2 weeks pay for 2 weeks vacation." And, indeed, at some level an employee has to be worth more per day than they are actually paid.
(I'm talking leave generically here. I've no interest in getting into a debate over parental leave specifically which of course applies under certain specific situations.)
As for 401-K contributions, this gets into tax law and the fact that employer contributions (subject to various limits) are deductible in the US. In general, a lot of decisions related to benefits are very much driven by cost to employer (after taxes) and perceived benefit to typical employee (after taxes).
Well, no. In general, pay and leave are not 1:1 exchangeable if, indeed, they're exchangeable at all. At most companies, an employee can't just say "I'll trade 2 weeks pay for 2 weeks vacation." And, indeed, at some level an employee has to be worth more per day than they are actually paid.
(I'm talking leave generically here. I've no interest in getting into a debate over parental leave specifically which of course applies under certain specific situations.)
As for 401-K contributions, this gets into tax law and the fact that employer contributions (subject to various limits) are deductible in the US. In general, a lot of decisions related to benefits are very much driven by cost to employer (after taxes) and perceived benefit to typical employee (after taxes).