Throughout the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, John Lewis has recommunicated its group risk insurance benefits to its 83,000 employees.
The employer recommunicated its private medical insurance, life assurance, and financial assistance options to employees by utilising its in-house support phone helpline in March 2020 to support employees who were looking for more information on the health and life insurance options that John Lewis offers. During the pandemic, more operators were recruited onto this helpline, increasing from 53 in-house experts to 70, while the hours extended to 24/7.
In January 2018, the business offered its employees private healthcare insurance, giving staff the option to access private medical insurance whenever they need it. John Lewis pays for the cost of this healthcare, with employees only having to pay the tax of the usage.
John Lewis also offers all of its employees a life assurance scheme. This covers four times an employees' annual salary paid in a lump sum to a chosen individuals' accounts in the unfortunate event of an employees' death.
Through working with healthcare provider Bupa in 2018, John Lewis has been able to offer employees health insurance, health assessments, private GP services, dental insurance.
These health benefits have been paramount to employees that have needed urgent aid of health during the Coronavirus pandemic. John Lewis also offers financial assistance to employees through long-term loans and grants that employees can access if they encounter financial hardship.
Nick Davison, head of health and leisure services at John Lewis, says: "We invested in the financial, physical, mental and social health of our employees to deal with the changes in society. The new workplace has put pressure on our employees, we are prioritising the health and are constantly findings ways to help employees feel safe and healthy."
During the Coronvirus pandemic, the chances of someone seeking health benefits has increased drastically to aid its employees through this difficult time.
Davison continues: "We have enhanced our health services to ensure that all employees are getting the help that they need. In March 2020 during the pandemic, we recruited extra health specialists to work with our support teams to provide as much information regarding group risk insurance for all employees during this time."
Alongside the 24/7 helpline helping employees to access group risk benefits, John Lewis also recommunicated its life assurance and private medical insurance options through internal email reminders, reminding employees that these services were available. Line managers were also tasked with mentioning this in regular catch-ups.
Looking forward to a constantly changing future, John Lewis continues to find the best ways to aid its employees' health and wellbeing. The organisation additionally offers a wellbeing app called Unmind to support employee mental health.
