“福利”那點事兒

黑龍江的妮妮問：

Scott你好，我目前正在準(zhǔn)備寫東西方社會制度的論文（選題好象過于寬泛了），考慮了很久覺得員工福利是文化差別最大的，但是我查了很多資料都很寬泛，不知道你能否為我講講有關(guān)西方員工福利的內(nèi)容呢？

Scott答：

哇哦！我真的很驚訝，竟然有讀者可以通過這樣的途徑變相讓我?guī)兔懻撐?，態(tài)度可不夠端正?。〉翘岬礁＠?，要講的東西實在太多，整本雜志都不夠?qū)懙摹２贿^考慮到很多中國朋友可能出國工作（還有很多人要論文，唉?。?，那我還是來講講吧，可要仔細閱讀啊，光是采訪我就花了不少時間呢！

To start this article off， a short anecdote. When I first arrived in China， I worked as an English teacher in Jilin province. It was my first job since leaving university， and I really didn't know what to expect salary-wise. I'd been told the wages were comparable to most other English teachers in the city， and that my apartment would be provided by the University I taught at， but beyond that I was utterly clueless.

首先以一則短小軼事開篇：第一次到中國的時候我在吉林省做英語老師。這是我大學(xué)畢業(yè)后的第一份工作，所以在薪酬方面我未有過任何奢求。我被告知將與本市其他多數(shù)英語教師享有同等待遇，另外校方為我提供公寓，至于其它，我一無所知。

As it turned out， the \"comparable salary\" wasn't quite speaking the truth. In fact， as I later discovered， my paycheck was pretty damn small in comparison to the other teachers in town. There were teachers who worked considerably fewer hours than me， receiving twice as much， if not more， than my paltry wage packet.

然而結(jié)果卻是，所謂的“同等待遇”根本就不是那么回事。我后來才發(fā)現(xiàn)，實際上我的工資遠遠低于市里的其他老師。有些教師課時遠遠少于我，但薪酬卻是我的兩倍甚至更多。

To say I was annoyed and felt distinctly cheated is putting it mildly. It took me about three months of bitterness and irritation to realise something important – I hadn't actually gotten that bad a deal. Sure， my pay wasn't so great， but I'd been given a lot more besides. For example， when I looked at the apartments some of my fellow teachers were forced to live in， I knew I had the best of the bunch – my apartment was a palace compared to some of the other places provided by universities. I had plenty of holidays， full insurance cover， and didn't actually have to worry about a thing. Sure， I wasn't making much in the way of hard cash， but I lived comfortably. Certainly much more sothan I did during my student days.

了解這個情況后，惱怒和被騙的憤慨已經(jīng)不能表達我的感受，然而三個月的痛苦和憤怒卻使我明白了一個很重要的事實：我的情況并不是最糟糕的。我的收入雖然不高，可我還是得到了其它的福利。舉個例子來說，當(dāng)我看到有些同事很不情愿搬進的公寓時，我才意識到我的住宿條件是最好的——比起其它大學(xué)提供的公寓，我的就像是個宮殿。我有很多假期，學(xué)校還為我提供全險，這是我不必擔(dān)心的。的確，我沒有掙到很多錢，但我卻住得十分舒適。當(dāng)然，和學(xué)生時代相比，那可真是強太多了。

The whole point of this story is that it's not necessarily the salary that makes a job worth taking. In a lot of ways， the benefits package that a job offers is worth more than the cashy - money that finds its way into the bank account every month. Retirement plans， pensions， healthcare， cars， and in some cases， a roof over your head – all courtesy of the company? Sign me Up!

我這個故事的重點是想說明：選擇一份工作時，薪酬并非是唯一必須考慮的因素。在很多方面，從工作中得到的福利可比那點死工資要實在得多。退職保障、養(yǎng)老金、汽車，在有些公司，甚至包括房子，都屬于公司提供的福利范圍？這份工作我干了！

What Are Benefits?

什么是福利？

Employee benefits are， according to Wikipedia， \"various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries.\" They're provided by companies in lieu of - or to enhance - a regular salary， to entice prospective recruits to join the company， and to help keep existing employees loyal. Normally， they are offered as part of a \"benefits package\"， outlined at the time of recruitment and added to over the duration of an employee's time at the company. They can range from medical care to paternity leave， vacation and paid sick days， are normally taxable to some degree， and are considered part of the employee's contract.

維基百科如是定義員工福利，“指除去員工基本工資之外，各類以非工資形式，由公司提供給員工的補助報酬?！惫窘o予員工這部分補助是為了增加員工的日?；臼杖耄彩菫榱宋聠T工為公司注入新鮮血液，還有就是為了留住現(xiàn)有員工繼續(xù)為公司效力。通常，公司會在招聘時標(biāo)明員工福利，在續(xù)簽勞動合的同時也會加上福利部分。員工福利的范圍很廣，從醫(yī)療保障到陪產(chǎn)假、帶薪休假、病假等等。這類福利在一定程度上都須納稅并寫入勞動合同。

Of course， the benefits offered are completely up to the company's management. There's no legal obligation to provide benefits for staff – it is entirely the decision of the company's directors and Human Resources specialists. Not all companies offer the same benefits packages – in fact， some companies don't offer anything at all.

當(dāng)然，這些福利完全按照公司的安排發(fā)放。公司沒有法定義務(wù)向員工提供福利，完全是出于公司董事和人力資源主管的決定。所以，各個公司為員工所提供的福利也不盡相同。實際上，有些公司根本不給員工提供任何福利。

Take the case， for example， of Sam Woodman， a 26-year-old barista for a well-known coffee chain in England. \"I work 35 hours a week\" he told me. \"But for that we don't get any benefits – the company doesn't even allow us free drinks. There are no paid breaks， and we get just under three weeks' holiday a year.\" In much the same vein， Brad Ellison， who works for a major American supermarket chain， said: \"(the company) has graciously provided me with a box-cutter， and replacement blades for same.\"

以26歲的山姆#8226;伍德曼為例，他在英國一家著名的咖啡連鎖店工作。他告訴我：“我一星期工作35小時，公司甚至連免費咖啡也不予提供，更沒有帶薪休假，一年只有三個星期的休息，除此之外我們沒有任何福利。”與此極為相似，在美國一家大型連鎖超市工作的布萊德#8226;艾里森說：“公司很‘貼心’地給我們提供開箱子用的美工刀，并且可以換同樣的刀片哦?！?/p>

\"That's， uh， that's pretty much it.\"

“那些，恩，也就只有那些了?！?/p>

Generally speaking， though， companies offer generous packages to their employees， often increasing with the length of service. By offering greater benefits and more privileges to staff members with seniority， a company gives employees something to aim for， motivating them to perform better and giving them a reason to develop a loyalty towards the company. Take care of your employees， as the old saying goes， and your employees will take care of you.

大體地說，公司在慷慨給予員工福利的同時，通常都會延長員工為公司效力的時間。公司給予資歷老一些的員工更多福利和特權(quán)的目的是激勵他們有更好的工作表現(xiàn)并給他們一個繼續(xù)留在公司效力的理由。正如老話說的那樣，“你對員工投之以桃，員工才會對你報之以李” 。

The benefits offered to senior managers， for example， are often far more than simply holidays and sick leave. William Kirk， an upper-level administrator from London， gets a pretty impressive package.

但公司給予高管的福利可遠不止休假或者病假那么點兒了。威廉姆#8226;克爾克，來自英國的高管得到的福利令人印象深刻。

\"I have a company car， a laptop and am meant to have one of those Blackberry thingies. There is a company pension and healthcare scheme too， as well as a death in service scheme that pays out three times salary in the event that I pop my clogs while still in the employ of the company. I get expenses for the usual stuff， any training courses are paid for and I get my subscription fees paid for any professional or 'professional' bodies I'm a member of. But the best benefit is that I get my own office. \"

“公司為我配備了專車、筆記本電腦、以后還打算配一款黑莓通訊設(shè)備。公司有退休金和醫(yī)療保健制度，如在工作崗位意外死亡，都會賠付三倍的工資補償以及料理后事的所有費用。在公司，我可以報銷日常的花費、免費接受培訓(xùn)，還可以獲得訂閱專業(yè)范圍內(nèi)報刊雜志的費用。我最好的福利就是擁有一間獨立的辦公室?！?/p>

Employee benefits – often referred to as perks – also often take the form of discretionary allowances and privileges – the use of company resources， for example， or discounted products and services. Many companies， particularly in the UK， offer corporate memberships to gyms， clubs， and other social or professional facilities. Restaurants or service-industry companies may offer their employees free meals or drinks while on duty. If an employee has to go away on business， the company may provide food and a hotel for them. These discretionary benefits are often not written in to the employee's contract， but are just as important a part of the benefits package offered.

員工福利通常包括一些額外補貼，或者是指一些員工可以任意支配的津貼和特權(quán)，再者就是擁有使用公司資源的權(quán)利，例如購買公司折價產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)等。許多公司，尤其是英國的公司大多都出錢給員工去健身房、俱樂部或者其它一些社交或?qū)I(yè)場所。餐飲業(yè)或服務(wù)業(yè)的公司大多會為當(dāng)班員工提供免費的餐飲。員工如需出差，公司也會提供食宿。這類任意性質(zhì)的福利雖不在勞動合同中寫明，但也很重要，它同樣屬于員工福利的一部分。

A Healthy Employer-Employee Relationship…

健康的雇傭關(guān)系

In many case， one of the biggest deals for a company wanting to provide a tempting benefits package is medical insurance – particularly in countries without state-subsidized healthcare， like the United States. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies， 18，000 American citizens die every year due to the widespread lack of health insurance – which many people attribute to the massive financial burden insuring every member of your household can incur. Therefore， any company that can guarantee the health of its employees – and in many cases their families as well - is going to be a lot more attractive to jobseekers than one that doesn't offer any kind of medical assistance.

在多數(shù)情況下，公司給予員工的最誘人的福利當(dāng)屬醫(yī)療保險，尤其是在一些像美國這種沒有政府醫(yī)療補貼的國家。根據(jù)美國國家醫(yī)學(xué)研究所的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，每年會有18000名美國公民因為沒有醫(yī)療保險而無力承擔(dān)高昂醫(yī)療費用從而死亡。因此，如果一個公司能夠給予其員工醫(yī)療保障，很多情況下也包括其家庭成員，那么比起不提供醫(yī)療補助的公司，此公司對于求職者來說就更具吸引力。

Medical insurance works on a simple basis – the individual or company pays a specified fee every month to purchase medical cover， and should the individual being covered get injured， fall sick， or die， the insurance company pays all the necessary fees until the patient has recovered. In most cases， this includes dental and optical care， taking a considerable amount of financial pressure off of the patient. In 2005， the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) announced that 62.7% of working Americans (that's roughly 161.3 million people) were covered by company-sponsored health plans.

醫(yī)療保險的操作比較簡單，由公司或個人按月繳納規(guī)定的費用即可。當(dāng)參保個人受傷、患病或者死亡，保險公司會支付所需費用，直至患者康復(fù)。按大多數(shù)情況，醫(yī)療保險包括口腔和眼科的相關(guān)治療，這著實為患者減輕了不小的經(jīng)濟壓力。2005年，雇員福利調(diào)查機構(gòu)宣布62.7%的在職美國人（大約有1.613億人）都由公司來購買醫(yī)療保險。

So， given the benefits for both the employer and the employee， why would any company not offer collective health insurance to their workers? Truth is - particularly， again， in the US – that providing health insurance for your company can be very， very expensive. In November 2007， Scott Hauge， the president of an insurance company in San Francisco， told USA Today that it cost $144，000 (1，023，000 RMB) per year in order to cover the 31 employees who worked for him. It's costs like this that drive many employers， particularly small companies， to refuse to offer health insurance to their employees – the Employee Benefit Research Institute recently announced that only 59% of employers with less than 200 workers offered health plans to their staff.

這樣說來，如果雇主和雇員都能得到好處，那么為員工購買集體醫(yī)療保險，公司何樂而不為呢？然而事實是公司購買醫(yī)療保險的費用相當(dāng)昂貴，尤其是在美國。2007年11月，洛杉磯一家保險公司的總裁斯科特向《今日美國》透露，公司每年為其31名員工購買保險的費用高達14萬美元（合102.3萬元人民幣）。就是像這樣的開銷使得許多雇主拒絕向員工提供醫(yī)療保險，小公司尤其如此。雇員福利調(diào)查機構(gòu)近日宣布只有59%的雇主為其員工購買醫(yī)保，其公司規(guī)模都不到200人。

Of course， health insurance is much rarer in countries where subsidized or nationalised healthcare is available – France， the UK， Canada and Australia all being examples of this. Because healthcare is provided by the state or subsidized by the taxes the employee pays， there's much less pressure for companies to offer insurance to their staff. In cases where they do， the company will generally offer health coverage from prestigious private medical care firms. This ensures much better quality and considerably faster treatment for employees， bringing them back to work much quicker.

當(dāng)然，在由國家補貼或提供醫(yī)療保險的法國、英國、加拿大和澳大利亞等國，醫(yī)療保險就不那么常見了。因為國家提供或由財政貼補一部分醫(yī)療保險費用，公司為員工購買保險的壓力也就大大減小了。在那些國家，公司通常選擇聲望較高的私有醫(yī)療服務(wù)機構(gòu)。這就保證了員工可以享受優(yōu)質(zhì)快捷的治療，這能使他們更快地返回崗位。

We're All Going on a Summer Holiday…

休閑夏日

One of the biggest differences between Chinese and Western holidays is that in the West， holidays are flexible. Unlike State-mandated holidays (such as Spring Festival， Golden Week， et al)， Western holidays can be taken at any time of the year， according to the needs of the individual. Normally， they are split into two types – National holidays and normal holidays， or \"vacation days\". National holidays normally last for a day or two， and are granted to most people by the order of the Government to celebrate Christmas， Thanksgiving， and other important festivals. Vacation days are days where the employee can elect not to go to work for an extended period， and are quite often used to travel or spend time with the family.

中西方假期的最顯著差異就是西方的假期更為靈活。不像中國法定的春節(jié)、“黃金周”等假期，西方可以根據(jù)個人的需求，一年里的任何時候都可以作為假期。一般來說，假期分為兩種：國家法定節(jié)日和普通節(jié)日或者說是假期。國家法定節(jié)日一般持續(xù)一到兩天，絕大部分人都會享有這些政府規(guī)定的假期，比如慶祝圣誕節(jié)、感恩節(jié)和其它一些重要節(jié)日。員工可以選擇一段時間作為假日而不去工作，他們經(jīng)常用這些時間去旅行或者和家人呆在一起。

Although most countries state that an employee must have at least 10 paid vacation days by law， many companies elect to give their staff more. In William Kirk's case， \"I get 25 days holiday， plus Bank Holidays (another 8 days)， plus paid sick leave. I'm up for paternity leave in the next couple of months and that will be at full pay.\" A 2003 poll discovered that， on average， a British worker gets around 21 days of holiday while 70% of Americans and 60% of Canadians got less than 15. More than 90% of French， Germans， and Swedes claimed to take more than 26 days of holiday a year.

盡管絕大多數(shù)國家提出員工必須享有法律規(guī)定的至少10天帶薪休假，然而許多公司則會選擇給員工更多的假期。以威廉姆#8226;柯克為例，“我有25天的假期，加上額外的8天銀行假期、帶薪病假。公司打算讓我休兩個月陪產(chǎn)假，并且我拿的是全薪?！?003年的一份調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，英國的勞動者平均有21天假期，然而七成的美國人和六成加拿大人的假期還不到15天。超過90%的法國人、德國人以及瑞典人稱自己一年的假期超過26天。

As well as holidays， many companies give their staff a certain quota of \"sick days\"， where the staff member is allowed to be absent from work due to illness yet still receives full pay， and \"personal days\"， where he can stay at home for any reason as long as he calls to inform his company of his whereabouts.

許多公司在假期之外還給員工一定比例的病假，員工因病可以全薪休假。還有一種假期，員工只需通知公司自己的下落便能以任何理由呆在家中。

Putting Something Aside for a Rainy Day…

未雨綢繆

It's all well and good taking care of your employees while they're busy being productive and earning you fat wads of cash， but what happens to them when they leave your stable at the age of 65 and settle down into a comfortable retirement complete with pipe， slippers and newspaper? Surely your obligation to them stops the minute they hang up their overalls for good?

在員工忙于生產(chǎn)替你創(chuàng)造利潤之時，你應(yīng)該更好地體恤他們。然而當(dāng)他們六旬過半離開公司，回家頤養(yǎng)天年之際，整日與煙斗、拖鞋、報紙為伍會是怎樣的情況呢？當(dāng)然當(dāng)他們停止工作之時也就是你義務(wù)到期之日。

Well， according to the law， yes. There is no obligation for an employer to look after retired ex-employees. After all， that's what the state pension is there for. Yet many employers opt to pay money into their employee's own independent pension funds， equal to the amount the employee pays himself.

根據(jù)法律規(guī)定，這是理所當(dāng)然的。雇主沒有義務(wù)照顧已退休的前員工。這也就是國家退休金存在的原因。許多雇主選擇在員工個人的獨立退休基金賬戶中存錢，存入金額與員工自己存入的相當(dāng)。

Before we go any further， a quick explanation of the differences between a pension and a pension fund: a pension is a monthly stipend paid out to retired or disabled people who are no longer able to work. A state pension is provided by the government， and paid for by the taxpayer. A pension fund is like a bank account， into which the owner pays a certain amount every month and from which he can draw a regular monthly payment in his old age.

在接著往下說之前，我們來簡要介紹一下退休金和退休基金的不同。退休金是指按月發(fā)放給已退休或因殘疾而喪失勞動能力者的費用。國家退休金是由政府提供，也就是納稅人進行支付。退休基金則是像銀行賬戶一樣，賬戶所有人每月向其賬戶中存入一定金額，在其年老時

就可以每月從中支取費用。

In many cases， companies will pay the same， or more， as an employee pays into his own account. This helps to ensure that the employee will have enough cash in their pension fund upon retirement to comfortably supplement their state pension. In an economy where many people believe that the state pensions provided will not be enough to sustain them after they retire， a company that offers a stable and prosperous pensions scheme is an attractive prospect indeed.

許多情況下，公司會向員工賬戶中存入的金額與員工個人存入的金額相同或者更多一些。這樣就保證了員工退休金賬戶中的前夠他們花費以此補充國家退休金的不足。許多人認為國家提供的退休金不足以支撐退休之后的生活，公司提供的穩(wěn)定、豐厚的退休金方案的確是很有吸引力的。

Looking after the Little Ones

家庭新成員

Becoming a new parent is hard work. Lots of nights with no sleep， plenty of stress and all sorts of other annoyances are the unpleasant side-effects of having a new member of the family. Imagine all of this， with the added pressures of going to work every day as well! Half-asleep staff members， worrying more about what's going on at home rather than focusing on the job， are obviously not a particularly desirable thing for a company to have to deal with.

初為父母不是件輕松的事。家里多了個新成員隨之而來的就是許多個不眠之夜、令人不堪重負的壓力還有很多瑣碎的煩人事。想想這些，還要加上每天工作的壓力！這些半夢半醒的員工更多地是擔(dān)心家中現(xiàn)在怎么樣了，而不會去專心工作。這明顯不是任何公司想要的狀態(tài)。

This is why， when an employee or an employee's spouse has a baby， companies quite often grant them parental leave (known as maternity leave for the mother， and paternity leave for the father)， a period of grace in which the employee does not have to work and receives full pay. In many countries， this is a statutory right， and employers must give their staff a minimum set period of leave – 36 weeks for women the UK， 16 months in Sweden， and only 6 weeks for the United States， for example. However， companies often grant male employees longer terms， as they quite often get much shorter statutory paternity leave.

這也就是為什么當(dāng)一個員工或者其配偶有孩子的時候，公司常常會給他們產(chǎn)假（對母親來講是產(chǎn)假，對父親而言就是陪產(chǎn)假），在此期間，員工不需工作仍可照常拿到薪水。在許多國家，這是法定的權(quán)利——在英國，雇主至少給員工為期36周的假期，在瑞典則是16個月，但在美國僅有6個周。然而，公司通常會給男性員工更長些的假期，因為他們的法定陪產(chǎn)假太短了。

During this period of time， the new parent's jobs are legally protected， so that the mother will never return to work to discover that somebody else has been given her job.

在此期間，新生兒父母的工作受到法律保護，這樣初為人母的員工絕不會在重返工作之時發(fā)現(xiàn)已被取而代之。

Benefits Overseas

海外待遇

In the vast global economy in which we live today， it's not uncommon to find yourself being sent abroad by your company for a spell. So do they just give you a plane ticket and the address of an office somewhere on the other side of the planet? Hardly. In fact， most companies take great pains to ensure that relocated employees live comfortably and well in their new location. According to international recruitment specialists the Leslie Corporation， the major benefits an employee should expect to be provided by an expatriate job are \"a tax-free income， paid vacation， round-trip air fare， free housing or a housing allowance， transportation， a yearly guaranteed bonus， and free medical care.\"

如今我們生活在一個全球經(jīng)濟圈中。公司將你派往國外工作一段時間也并非罕事。那么他們是否只是給你一張機票和地球另一端某處的辦公地址呢？不太會吧。事實上絕大多數(shù)公司都會花大力氣來保證另有任用的員工在新環(huán)境中生活舒適。根據(jù)作為國際用工勞務(wù)專門機構(gòu)的萊斯利集團的調(diào)查顯示，駐外員工的福利主要包括免稅薪水、帶薪假期、往返機票、免費住房或者住房補貼、交通費、年終獎以及免費的醫(yī)療服務(wù)。

So how many companies stick by those guidelines? By all accounts， most do. Many also offer extra incentives， such as free education for any children the employee may have. Most domestic companies bringing in staff from oversees (particularly in the case of teachers) offer at least a housing allowance and flights to their staff， and often more.

那么有多少公司在履行這些政策呢？據(jù)各方面消息稱，大多數(shù)是這樣做的。許多公司還有額外的獎勵，比如為員工的子女提供免費的教育。許多國內(nèi)的公司為外籍員工（尤其是外教）提供住房補貼、機票，常常還會有更多的其它福利。

Toby， a governmental secretary from Manila， has been living in Beijing with an expat package since 2006: \"I was working as a customer service executive when my company sent me out here. The job being offered in Beijing was only for a Senior Agent's post， and they were offering 60% more than my current salary. I was offered a housing allowance and yearly return tickets to Manila， as well as annual sick leave and 13th-month pay (An extra month's salary every year).\"

托比在馬尼拉政府當(dāng)秘書，他自06年起就背著行囊居住在北京。他說：“公司把我外派到這里時我就是客服主管。在北京的這份工作只是高級代理的職位，他們開出的薪水比我現(xiàn)在高出60%。公司提供住房補貼以及每年一次往返馬尼拉的機票還有每年都可以請病假和年底雙薪?！?/p>

Eventually， Toby left his job and went to work as a secretary in one of Beijing's multitude of embassies. \"The salary offer was crazy high – they offered me 150% of what I was earning at the call centre. However， they didn't offer a housing allowance， which I really think I should have been provided with.\"

但最終托比還是辭職繼而轉(zhuǎn)投北京眾多使館中的一家。“那的薪水高的不可思議，比我在客服呼叫中心時翻了1.5倍。然而他們卻不提供房補，這是我認為我應(yīng)該得到的。”

Since his experience in Beijing， Toby has come to realise the importance of benefits， particularly in a foreign environment. \"Before， I used to only bother looking at the salary， end of story，\" he says. \"Now， I've realised that benefits are very important too. In fact， they go hand-in-hand.\"

有了北京的那段經(jīng)歷之后，托比開始認識到福利的重要性，尤其是身處異鄉(xiāng)的時候。他說：“以前，我只是關(guān)心薪水，不過那個時期已經(jīng)過去了。如今，我已經(jīng)意識到福利也很重要。事實上福利與薪水是相輔相成的。”

Notes

1. in lieu of

意為“以……代替”。

例句：Many illiterate people in the past used an inked thumbprint in lieu of a signature to sign a contract.

過去許多不識字的人會用按手印來代替簽名來簽訂合同。

2. in much the same vein

該短語意為“very similar to…”，“十分相似”。用Much來修飾其相似程度之深。也可說成much in the same vein。

例句：Tony and his younger brother act in much the same vein.

托尼和他弟弟舉手投足極其相似。

3. pop my clogs

俚語，常被英國人用來指死亡。

例句：When I pop my clogs， please take care of my kids for me.

我死之后，請幫我照看我的孩子。

4. It's costs like this that drive many employers， particularly small companies， to refuse to offer health insurance to their employees…

本句為強調(diào)句型，著重強調(diào)了“costs like this”?！癷t's…that…”只起結(jié)構(gòu)上的作用并無具體含義。判斷一句話是否是強調(diào)句型時，可以將“it's…that…”從句中去掉，如果句子結(jié)構(gòu)仍然完整，意義未發(fā)生變化，該句即為強調(diào)句型。例如將上句去掉“it's…that…”變成“Costs like this drive many employers， particularly small companies…”。

5. up for

“be up for…”在文中意為“值得被給予”。

例句：I am up for a few days break as a reward for working hard.

我在為即將到來的春假做準(zhǔn)備。

6. paternity leave

指“陪產(chǎn)假”，與此相對的是“maternity leave產(chǎn)假”以及相關(guān)的短語“Statutory Paternity Pay法定陪產(chǎn)工資”。在我國關(guān)于陪產(chǎn)假的規(guī)定，因地域和公司福利待遇規(guī)定的不同而有所差異，在法律上還沒有強制的硬性規(guī)定。

7. opt to

“opt to do something 選擇做某事”，相關(guān)短語還有“opt for…(從多種方案中)作出選擇”和“opt out (of…) 決定退出”

例句：I opted for more holidays instead of more pay.

我選擇了多些假期而不是加薪。

The candidate opted out of the election because of the scandal.

那個候選人因為丑聞而退出了選舉。