Generali Employee Benefits UK and Bupa have announced a commercial partnership initiative to drive forward well-being programs designed for UK employers who are part of a multinational group
The initiative aims to give employers access to the back-to-work support they need with a specific focus on risk assessment, testing and support mechanisms to improve an individual’s COVID-19 risk factors. Beyond the pandemic, the intention is to provide a sustainable framework for an ongoing focus on supporting employee physical and psychological well-being long-term.
This announcement comes at a time when although nearly two thirds (61%) of people trust their employer to look after their health and well-being, less than one third (29%) of HR leadership have a health and well-being strategy in place.*
The commercial partnership will see a range of Bupa’s employer-funded well-being services made accessible to Generali Employee Benefit UK’s Group Income Protection (GIP) clients where a specific need is identified, via part-funding from Generali. This is made possible thanks to Generali’s innovative Well-being Investment Matching (WIM) initiative, which sees the provider partnering with a range of nationwide and accredited well-being partners to help support clients with anything from facilitated mental health awareness training to financial education.
The range of Bupa services, which has been selected to complement the early intervention and rehabilitation services already included as standard as part of Generali GIP, includes:
- COVID-19 Support Services – from return to work online risk assessments to antigen testing and a range of temperature checking solutions.
- SmartDNA – one swab provides employees with a personalized health and well-being plan including a diet plan with recipes and lifestyle coaching calls using behavioral change techniques, to support their physical and mental health.
- Health assessments.
- Onsite health checks.
- Occupational Health services.
- Remote physiotherapy service.
- Virtual GP.
For Generali Employee Benefits’ Multinational Pooling, Global Underwriting Program (GUP) and Captive clients, the partnership also affords the potential for joined-up thinking – on a local UK level – with regards to health, well-being and risk data collection and analysis. This, in turn, gives the parent company increased central visibility of local actions allowing for best practice sharing, global engagement reporting and more targeted budget allocation.
Simon Thomas, Director, Generali Employee Benefits UK, said: “This is a proud day for Generali Employee Benefits UK. We’re absolutely delighted to be a commercial partner with Bupa. Everything Generali Employee Benefits UK does is underpinned by principles of commercial partnership working and sustainability. And today’s announcement helps demonstrate loud and clear that we are walking the talk.
“The need for strong employee health and well-being support has arguably never been greater. While remote working due to the pandemic was considered a temporary arrangement, for many it could become permanent and, with it, comes the potential for increased long-term risks including anxiety and depression, fatigue, burnout and chronic musculoskeletal issues. For those returning to workplaces, there’s also a multitude of health and safety risks to consider. In this new normal – and beyond – employers need the industry to take a more integrated health, wealth and risk approach.”
Alaana Woods, Commercial Director, Bupa Health Clinics, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Generali to offer a range of services to support employers to safely return their staff to the workplace. We know that a lot of people are feeling anxious or overwhelmed about returning to work and we want to do all we can to help businesses create an environment where their employees feel safe, now and into the future.”
*Mercer Global Talent Trends 2020
