All Healthcare and wellbeing articles – Page 248
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Article
Most employers proactively record staff absence
The majority (82%) of respondents proactively record, monitor and manage employee absence, according to research by industry body Group Risk Development (Grid).Its Group risk employer research study, which surveyed 500 organisations, found that 27% of respondents already publish their absence statistics in their annual report and accounts, while 48% are ...
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Article
Informa runs global fitness challenge
EXCLUSIVE: Informa has held a fitness challenge for its 8,000 employees globally to encourage staff health and wellbeing.February Fitness saw 100 teams from Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, the UK and the US cycle, swim, run or walk to support their favourite charity.Employees covered 50,000 miles, with three winning teams each receiving ...
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Article
Alice Sinclair: Should employers encourage staff to take up fitness activities?
Participation in fitness activities can also relieve stress and lead to reduced absenteeism, better employee engagement and an improved employer profile.At the Institute for Employment Studies, we have reviewed a variety of success stories where employers have set up fitness classes, organised regular walks, subsidised gym membership and encouraged staff ...
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Article
Lisa Purcell: Should employers encourage staff to take up fitness activities?
However, we are likely to be exhausted by stress and mental strain rather than by physical activity.The British Heart Foundation (BHF) research, carried out in December 2012 with YouGov, found that nearly one in five workers (18%) do absolutely no physical activity during working hours and only 27% manage 20 ...
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Article
Sally Gunnell: Should employers encourage staff to take up fitness activities?
The only question is: which are the best schemes for improving engagement and making a positive impact on absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity?Fitness is coming to the fore in the prevention and treatment of many health and wellbeing problems, just as public and medical opinion is converging on more holistic approaches.The ...
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Article
Pam Whelan: How to create a dental plan
Dental is one of the fastest-growing employee benefits, so it is important for employers to keep up to date with the latest dental news. This will help them provide the best market knowledge and understanding to their staff.According to a Denplan/YouGov online survey of 4,116 UK adults, conducted in January ...
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Analysis
How to integrate health screening into a business
Looking after employees’ health and wellbeing is fundamental to being a responsible employer. But it should not be seen as just doing the right thing by employees; it is also about improving business performance. Health and wellbeing affect staff productivity and safety, and the working environment, in turn, affects staff ...
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Analysis
Age considerations to factor into a dental strategy
There have been exciting developments in dental technology in recent years, which should inform all employers’ dental healthcare policies. For example, dental implants now integrate into jaws to provide a firm base to replace missing teeth, tooth-coloured materials now replace old amalgam fillings, and veneers enhance the appearance of stained ...
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Opinion
Jane Fenwick: Opinion divided on open-referral PMI
Others are cynical, but accepting.Much of the challenge for us has been in communicating the reasons for its introduction. We invested a lot of time and energy in member communications, even offering personal meetings with a senior clinical director from our insurer for those who felt particularly aggrieved. Member perceptions ...
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Article
Mark Sharpe: How to manage musculoskeletal disorders
A reduction in healthcare spend, coupled with an improvement in employee health, is always beneficial to a business. But what is the best approach, particularly for musculoskeletal disorders, which are one of the largest contributors to those costs?Employers should first identify the cause of the disorders and the cost of ...
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Analysis
Creating a musculoskeletal disorder strategy
A staggering 131 million working days were lost through employee sickness or injury in 2011, with musculoskeletal disorders the biggest cause of days lost (35 million), according to the Office for National Statistics’ Sickness absence in the labour market report, published in April 2012.That is why a proactive, integrated approach ...
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Analysis
Evacuation and repatriation cover for expatriates
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE READ THIS…Most international PMI schemes include standard evacuation and repatriation cover, but this can be extended.When determining the level of cover, employers should consider location and the availability of medical facilities.Employers would be wise to consult their insurance provider and keep detailed information on the ...
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Analysis
How to manage healthcare costs
The recent National Health Service (NHS) turmoil and serious lapses in quality of care have prompted a call by a number of employers to address these deficiencies and the potential impact on their workforces.But how should employers do this? Should they revisit strategic risks? Should they add private medical insurance ...
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Article
Joy Reymond: How to deal with cancer
Four in 10 people will develop cancer at some point in their life, but it remains a difficult subject to talk about, especially in the workplace.On the upside, more people are living with cancer than ever before, thanks to better awareness of diet and fitness and advances in treatments. Those ...
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Article
Paul Shires: Business benefits of an effective health strategy
With the National Health Service (NHS) under pressure to save £20 billion by 2015 and sickness absence costing UK employers about £9 billion a year, employers are under great pressure to ensure the right strategy is in place to manage employee health and wellbeing. But what are the benefits for ...
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Article
Vanessa Sallows: Group risk benefits help sick staff return to work
Group risk benefits must be used in conjunction with a comprehensive and tailored strategy to help employees return to work.Returning to work can be daunting for an employee who has been absent for a long time. Individuals often have concerns about the information they share with colleagues about the cause ...
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Analysis
How to legally rehabilitate employees back to work
The staggering cost of employee absence to UK plc is £9 billion per year, according to The Sickness absence review, presented to government by Dame Carol Black, national director for Health at Work, and David Frost, former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, in November 2011. So it ...
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Article
Alison Green: How to manage PMI costs
The wide range of private medical insurance (PMI) products available means there has never been more, or better, ways of managing their cost.There are also myriad ways employers can manage these costs, from introducing an excess, so staff pay, say, the first £200 towards their treatment, to setting an annual ...
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Article
David Castling: Managing sickness absence effectively
Employers seeking to limit and manage employee absence require a clearly defined absence policy, which strikes a balance between supporting the majority of staff whose absence is genuine and preventing those who might seek to exploit the business. This policy needs to align with an organisation’s business objectives and define ...
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Analysis
How to reduce sickness absence
Health and work are intrinsically linked. Worklessness due to ill health has huge, adverse effects on individuals, businesses and the public sector, and consequently the economy as a whole. It is an area of policy where England is falling behind other countries, so much so that the annual cost of ...