How a Health Cash Plan can help you look after the health and wellbeing of your employees
We’ve seen a big surge in demand for our Health Cash Plans as more organisations appreciate the value health-related rewards can add to their business. Many are going beyond their duty of care, because as Sir Richard Branson put it, “If you look after your staff, they'll look after your customers.” Caring for your employees makes good business sense and can help you keep hold of your best talent and position you as an employer of choice.
Why should you look after the health and wellbeing of your workforce?
According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 137.3 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury in the UK in 2016 while more than 3 in 4 employers tell us that their employees do a mentally demanding job in our own research.
By taking a proactive approach to workplace wellbeing and introducing health-related rewards and initiatives, employers can reduce sickness absence and improve employee morale, productivity and retention in the long term.
Benefits of a Health Cash Plan
Health Cash Plans encourage employees to look after their everyday health by providing cashback up to annual limits for everyday healthcare costs such as optical, dental and physiotherapy. They now also offer a wide range of health services, advice and preventative benefits.
Virtual GP surgeries provide 24/7 advice and support from qualified health professionals as well as online portals that offer a wealth of health information to help employees proactively improve their health and make lifestyle changes. Meanwhile Employee Assistance Programmes with face-to-face counselling and 24/7 counselling and support helplines enable employees to access professional advice about stress, finances and a variety of issues.
Health Cash Plans offer a diverse range of other benefits too. These include everything from private prescription services, cancer screening and discounts on gym membership to personal accident protection, physio triages and cashback for alternative therapies and hospital costs. Employers can even mix and match different benefits to create their own tailored health cash plans to meet their individual needs and budget.
Complementary health and wellbeing products
As there is a growing demand from employers for wider flexible benefits provision, providers have adapted their products to meet this need. Some Health Cash Plans are designed to slot into flexible employer benefits platforms. Others fit with Private Medical Insurance, covering the excess fees. In many cases, employers can now also choose to add optional upgrades and modular products too.
Providers are constantly innovating and looking at new ways they can help employers look after the long-term health of their employees. For example, we’ve recently launched a brand new Workplace Health Screening Service. This standalone product delivers affordable health screens in the workplace, so employees don’t have to travel to expensive clinics. These health checks provide employees with peace of mind and the capacity to identify health problems, enabling them to make lifestyle changes to improve their health or seek potentially life-saving treatment at an early stage. Depending on the level employers choose, these health checks can help to screen for elevated blood pressure, stress, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis and cancer.
With so much choice in the market, there is bound to be a Health Cash Plan to suit your needs and budget, especially as you can choose a company-paid plan or a voluntary-paid plan that is paid by employees through payroll deduction.
If you’re looking to improve health and wellbeing in your workplace, now is a good time to take a closer look at the new and improved benefits they can offer you and your employees.
This article was provided by Health Shield.
In partnership with Health Shield
At Health Shield we're passionate about improving people's everyday health.
