This is one of many questions I have had to ask while going through the Home Depot Career opportunities, and Home Depot Employee Discount, and my curiosity has led me to search for answers in the right places.
For many wondering, if Home Depot Employees receive discounts, well, the answer is NO. Home Depot employees may have other benefits, but shopping discount is not one of them. However, just before we dismiss this company, it might interest you to know that there are other benefits available to employees. Working with Home Depot, just like anywhere else comes with its perks and benefits.
Home Depot Employee Benefits
Associates of Home Depot are given the power to offer discounts to customers in the range of 5%-50%, depending on the products. However, for Associates, the company grants access to a website called OrangeLife, where discounts for “non- Home Depot” products s such as cell phones; travel, restaurants, food and groceries, laptops, shoes, and a community online academy for children and adults are provided. These discounts are provided through different companies or affiliates, but not by Home Depot. It is assumed that providing these discounts will amount to a conflict of interest for employees of Home Depot.
Other Home Depot Employee Benefits
While the position of Home Depot stands, In addition to the discount on Non-Home Depot products exist, there are additional benefits availed to staff. They are;
- Health Care: As a staff, the company provides health insurance for both you and your family, in addition to life insurance benefits, short-term disability care, and dental and vision healthcare.
- Paid Parental Leave: In 2018, Home Depot began to grant parents six weeks of fully paid parental leave, plus an additional six weeks for all birth mothers for maternity leave. This means that Men get six weeks of paid paternity leave while women get 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
- 24/7 “Teladoc” Physician Support: This enables staff to stay home during sick days and call a physician through video calls. However, it is advised to go to the hospital for more severe cases.
- Discounted Pet Care and Insurance: The company provides pet owners with discounted insurance and care for pets.
- Company Match on 401(k) Savings Plan: Home Depot encourages employee savings by matching what an employee saves at a proportion of $1:$1.50. This means that when an employee saves $1.50, the company contributes an extra $1 to the savings purse.
- Performance Bonuses: Home Depot recognizes hard work and commitment, and when an employee exceeds the set target, the company gives financial recognition in terms of outstanding customer service.
- Stock Discount: The company provides an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), where staff can purchase Home Depot Stock at a 15% discount.
- Tuition Reimbursement: Home Depot also offers to help pay part of the Employee’s tuition fees. This is a form of encouragement for staff who wants to return to school. The financial support from Home Depot ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 for PT and FT respectively.
- First-Dibs on Open Box Deals: By simply being an employee, you will know and have the privilege of being the first to participate in “scratch and dents” or “open box deals” before other customers.
How Employees can access these benefits
As impressive as these discounts are, the benefits are accessible to staff depending on their type of employment (full-time or part-time associates).
Full-time Associates work in Home Depot for a minimum of 40 hours a week, while part-time Associates work less than 40 hours. However, both types of Associates have access to these entitlements, but at different levels, and different durations. Full-time Associates have a longer duration of health and medical coverage (family, vision, dental), and health and life insurance, as compared to part-time Associates. To access these benefits, Associates are invited to visit the Orangelife websites where they can log in and identify what benefits accrue to them, and apply accordingly.
The full-time Associates’ benefits include; Medical, Spending Accounts, Dental, Vision, Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance. The part-time Associates are; Dental, Vision, Short-Term Disability Insurance, and Life Insurance.
Other than these differences, all employees of Home Depot are entitled to financial benefits, time-off benefits, group benefits, and work/life benefits.
Conclusion:
When I asked the question “Does Home Depot Employee receive product discount?”, I had hoped for a positive answer, however, they do not, and the reason is to avoid conflict of interest Nonetheless, it was interesting to find that employees were given a chance to invest in the company, amidst other benefits received in affiliation with other companies and retail outlets. It was also interesting to see that the company has initiatives that promote education financing, savings, and investment for employees.
So I would conclude by saying that despite the fact there are no product discounts, there are other benefits open to Home Depot Employees.
