All Healthcare and wellbeing articles – Page 251
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AnalysisHealth cash plans are booming
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS…The number of company-funded health cash plans increased by 13.5% in 2011.Employers using cash plans to cover PMI excesses is a new trend.Dental and optical remain the most popular treatment areas for health cash plan claims.The number of employers funding health cash plans rocketed ...
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Article
Caerphilly Council launches eyecare scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Caerphilly County Borough Council has launched an eyecare scheme for its 4,500 employees using a series of roadshows to communicate with staff.During the roadshows, which were held at the end of October across various locations, employees were able to view a range of glasses and have their vision screened ...
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Article
RSA offers eye health screening to staff
RSA Group is offering an eye health screening clinic to employees at its Bristol office and local Quality Repair centre.The screening, which is provided by Specsavers, is part of the insurance group’s Fit to Drive campaign, which highlights the dangers of driving with poor eyesight and encourages drivers to look ...
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Article
Nationwide shelves plan for benefits cap
EXCLUSIVE: Nationwide Building Society has shelved plans to cap employee benefits for older workers after a review concluded that the cost of provision did not yet outweigh the value of the package to employees.The review, led by HR director Robert Aldrich and an external law firm, was triggered by a ...
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Article
Health cash plans among employees' preferred benefits
A third (35%) of respondents ranked health cash plans among their top-three preferred benefits, according to research by PMI Health Group.The research, conducted with global research consultancy TNS, found that, among this 35% of full-time employees, 11% ranked cash plans as their most valued benefit overall, behind contributory pensions (25%), ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to healthcare trusts 2012
Healthcare trusts offer an alternative to private medical insurance (PMI) for providing healthcare cover to staff and their families. Trusts, which first appeared in the 1980s, enable employers to create a bespoke medical insurance benefits package based on the needs of their employees.For example, a degree of flexibility around cover ...
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Article
Levels of presenteeism on the rise
The average level of employee absence has fallen from 7.7 days in 2011 to 6.8 days per employee per year in 2012, according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Simplyhealth.The CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence management survey found that, with the fall in absence, there has been ...
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Article
Health Shield launches cash plans for SMEs
Health Shield has launched two health cash plans specifically designed for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with three employees or more.The Elements plan, which will be available from January 2013, provides a range of benefits, including: dental, optical, chiropody, specialist consultations, health and wellbeing, health screening, online health risk assessments, ...
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Article
Alliance Surgical enters PMI market
Alliance Surgical has entered the private medical insurance (PMI) market with the launch of a plan designed for medium and large employers.The independent surgical services provider, which is part owned and run by about 1,200 specialist consultants of which 430 are shareholders in the company, will case manage each claim ...
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Case Studies
Serco saves on sickness absence
Global services company Serco Group has saved £1 million in the first year after implementing a new sickness absence strategy.It moved from a system where there was no central understanding of long-term sickness absence to one where absence is actively managed and controlled. The success of the initiative earned Serco ...
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Article
Devonshire NHS Trust runs wellbeing event
Devonshire Partnership NHS Trust is running an activity and wellbeing event today (27 September) to provide staff with more information about healthy living.This will include free taster sessions on yoga and massage, and stands and presentations on benefits such as childcare vouchers, pensions and automotive leasing. Staff from a local ...
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Article
Deloitte offers heart checks to staff
EXCLUSIVE: Deloitte has hosted a day of healthy heart checks for its employees to coincide with World Heart Day on 29 September.The event, which was run by Roodlane Medical, included cholesterol and glucose tests, blood pressure checks and nutrition advice.It was available to the firm’s 6,000 London-based employees.The event is ...
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Article
Yorkshire Building Society launches health cash plan for staff
Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has introduced a health cash plan for its 4,000 employees.The plan, which is provided by Simplyhealth, allows employees to claim money back on visits to an optician, dentist, physiotherapist, chiropodist, chiropractor and osteopath.Staff can also use the plan for up to four resident children under the ...
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Article
Sickness absence affecting UK businesses
Long-term sickness absence is a big issue for 45% of UK firms, according to research by Aviva Health.The insurance firm’s annual absence management report found that 40% of respondents say someone else at the workplace has to pick up the work of the person off sick and 27% say that ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to health cash plans 2012
Focus on factsWhat are health cash plans?For the payment of a premium, health cash plans reimburse members for the partial or full cost of a range of everyday health treatments. Typically, the benefits included in a cash plan are dental and optical care, on-site care, on-site health screening, physiotherapy and ...
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Article
Oscar Mayer Group rejigs health cash plan
Oscar Mayer Group has withdrawn hospitalisation benefits in its health cash plan and added new benefits such as funding for prescriptions, consultations and diagnostic tests, health screening, and an increase in optical benefits.The food producer has offered the cash plan, provided by Bupa, to its 2,000 staff via its flexible ...
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Article
William Grant and Sons adds health cash plan to flexible benefits
EXCLUSIVE: William Grant and Sons has added a health cash plan to its flexible benefits scheme to offer more flexible healthcare provision for its 1,600 employees.The Scottish distiller offers the plan, provided by Cigna Healthcare and introduced in July, in addition to its onsite occupational health programme and private medical ...
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Article
HSCIC report: NHS sickness absence rates continue to decrease
NHS employees in England had a sickness absence rate of 4.12% in 2011/12, slightly lower than the two previous years, according to a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).The report presents sickness absence information recorded by the English NHS for the last three financial years and ...
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Analysis
Group risk: Strategies for managing long-term absence
If you read nothing else, read this…Maintaining regular contact with an absent employee can improve their chances of returning to work.Employers should consider actions as for an employee on maternity leave, such as catch-up meetings and sending newsletters.Determining an appropriate level of contact with an absent employee should be a ...
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Opinion
Debbie Lovewell: Employers under pressure to reduce costs
Our 14th annual healthcare research reflects the pressures many employers are experiencing because of the current economic climate. As the UK has once again entered into recession, more than half of our respondents say they have come under increased pressure to reduce costs over the past 12 months.To tackle this ...