Expert View: Prevention is better than cure!
The Health and Safety Executive estimates that 35 million working days are lost to ill-health each year in the UK, costing around £12 billion to industry.
Good employers want to look after their staff, reward them, ensure they stay healthy, and remain loyal to the business. They also have a vested interest in that they want to minimize the potentially huge cost of lost working days due to sick leave.
Organisations invest in cash plans because it makes sound commercial sense; they are a great way to aid staff retention, boost morale and help your staff maintain a positive lifestyle, all of which contribute to a more productive workforce.
Most plans are designed to reflect both new legislation and the changing culture of the workforce, and the ways this impacts on health, lifestyle and wellbeing. They enable organisations to support employees in three core areas: prevention, early intervention and cure.
The approach “prevention is better than cure” makes a huge difference to employers, and this is why flexible plans focus heavily on wellbeing. Some benefits can include discounted gym membership, health screening, stress related advice and access to health helplines. Embracing positive policies for improving health and wellbeing in the workplace really can help tackle absenteeism before it happens.
Additionally, early intervention benefits ensure members gain rapid access to specialist health professionals and diagnostic testing. A good focus is on ensuring early diagnosis and treatment.
Tackling the root cause of problems such as back pain – the second largest reason for long term employee absence in the UK - is critical. By addressing the problem quickly, low morale associated with ill health and disruption in the workplace through planned absence, is minimized. This is why cash plans can include physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic care.
Employers selecting a cash plan provider with Duty of Care responsibilities in mind should also look carefully to see if any of the benefits tackle stress; for example, by providing counselling. Plans that offer stress counselling help meet HSE standards. If optical check ups are included, these help employers to meet their legal obligation to provide eye tests for staff working with computers or who drive as part of their job.
Employers should also consider how benefits are delivered; can counselling be provided face to face as well as over the telephone? Is health screening available both onsite and online?
The recent introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act effectively means that employers can now be prosecuted if someone is killed at (or by) work.
The imperative is therefore stronger than ever for employers to take the right steps to implement measures to protect themselves and get the best out of their workforce.
Choosing the right healthcare plan could very well be one of the best places to start.
To good health!
Sue Weir
Chief Executive
Medicash
If you would like further information about Medicash’s plans, please visit www.medicash.org or call 0800 011 2222.
