Benefits for small manufacturers with a shop floor and a small office

Ares Benefit Group works with manufacturers and machine or fabrication shops of about 2 to 50 employees. We compare a group plan, an ICHRA, and a QSEHRA against shifts, locations, and the split between floor and office.

BLS data for March 2026 show 403,603 private manufacturing establishments; 355,516 of them, about 88%, had fewer than 50 employees. Most manufacturing locations are still small establishments, even though this industry also includes large plants we are not writing for here.

How small manufacturers actually staff

• Shop floor and office. One group plan can work well when everyone is at the same plant and lives nearby. Salaried versus hourly is a permitted ICHRA class if those groups should not share one structure.
• Shifts and overtime. Second shifts and busy quarters change hours that go into full-time-equivalent counts. Bring a typical schedule, not just a headcount.
• Skilled trades on the floor. Retention is often the reason a shop adds disability, life, and a clearer medical offer. We will help you describe it. We will not invent wage or vacancy figures.
• A second building or a warehouse in another state. Work location is a permitted ICHRA class. See multi-state teams when people or sites cross a state line.
• Temporary help. If a staffing firm employs the temporary people, those people are generally not on your plan. If you employ them directly, they are. See also staffing agencies.

Structures we compare for a team this size

For a single-site shop this size, we usually compare a local group plan with an ICHRA or QSEHRA, then add disability and life. For a two-site operation, location and related-entity counting come in earlier.

• SHOP and other group coverage, when you want one employer-sponsored medical plan and you can meet eligibility and participation rules.
• A level-funded arrangement, when a carrier offers one for your census. We compare it with fully insured group coverage and do not treat either as automatically better.
• An ICHRA, when you want a set contribution and employees choose individual coverage. Permitted classes include full-time, part-time, hourly or salaried, work location, and a waiting period. It is for employees, not for a self-employed owner.
• A QSEHRA, when you are not an applicable large employer and you are not offering a group health plan. See ICHRA vs QSEHRA if both are on the table.
• Section 125 for pre-tax employee premium contributions on a group plan. A QSEHRA cannot be funded by salary reduction.
• Group life and disability and voluntary benefits.

A company under 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, is generally not required by federal law to offer health coverage. If you have fewer than 25 full-time equivalents and you meet the wage, contribution, and SHOP rules, look at the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.

What to send us

A roster with roles, shifts, hours, sites, and any temporary or contract labor and who employs those people.

Tell us about your shop

Our agents are licensed in all 50 states.