News – Page 135
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Friends Provident launches absence tracking system
Friends Provident has launched a new absence tracking system that aims to help employers monitor absence trends and calculate the cost of employee absence.The system evaluates absence by department, reason and days of the week, and includes a cost of absence calculator.It can work alongside an employer’s existing absence management ...
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Buyer's guide to private medical insurance
Focus on factsWhat is private medical insurance (PMI)?PMI provides cover for individuals if they become unwell or suffer an injury. The patient will be referred by their doctor to a private consultant, who will arrange treatment or surgery. PMI is usually offered to staff as a benefit to ensure they ...
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Lees Solicitors rolls out employer-paid health cash plan
Lees Solicitors has introduced an employer-paid health cash plan for its 110 staff.The plan offers employees and their families a range of healthcare benefits such as optical and dental treatments, and discounted gym membership. Staff can also gain a second medical opinion through the Best Doctors service, through plan which ...
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Employee Benefits Health and Wellbeing Conference 2010: Cost of private medical insurance (PMI) under scrutiny
The increasing cost of offering private medical insurance (PMI) came under scrutiny during a panel debate at Employee Benefits' Health and Wellbeing Conference 2010 last month.Mike Izzard, former chairman of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries (Amii), blamed rising premiums on the high costs charged by private hospital chains, and ...
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Research: Health cash plan market grows
The health cash plan market generated £570 million in 2009, according to new research from Datamonitor.The UK Healthcare Cash Plans 2010 report showed the market demonstrated strong resilience in the recession with the sector witnessing a 1.2% increase.Mahreen Hussein, analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report, credited the rise ...
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InterGlobal to provide private medical insurance in Pakistan
Interglobal has partnered with Pakistan insurance company Alfalah Insurance Company to provide private medical insurance (PMI) to companies throughout Pakistan.Under the new arrangement, InterGlobal’s UltraCare range of international PMI plans will be reinsured and administered by the company, but underwritten and distributed by Alfalah Insurance Company in Pakistan.The UltraCare range ...
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Cigna launches a new private medical insurance plan
Cigna Healthcare has launched a new private medical insurance (PMI) plan for employers with 150 to 400 employees.The Smarter Health plan includes a managed care service that provides access to a nurse throughout the course of an employee's treatment.In addition, the plan provides the employer with the ability to restrict ...
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First Great Western introduces employer-funded cash plans
First Great Western has launched employer-funded healthcare cash plans for its 4,800 staff members across the UK.The scheme, provided by Health Shield, went live at the beginning of the month. Prior to the scheme being introduced cash plans were only offered as a voluntary benefit and were taken up by ...
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Staff absence due to travel disruptions costs UK businesses £3m a day
Staff absence due to ongoing travel disruptions caused by the volcanic ash cloud is costing British businesses an estimated £3 million a day.According to absence management firm FirstCare, absence caused by transport problems jumped to 20,300 cases yesterday (Monday), compared to just short of 3,000 on a normal day.Aaron Ross, ...
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Fit notes come into law
Employees who are off sick for more than seven days will be issued with new fit notes rather than the traditional sick note under legislation introduced today.The new Statement of Fitness For Work note, which is relevant to all businesses in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will contain two ...
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Majority of employers say fit notes will not reduce absence
Only 22% of employers believe that fit notes will help to reduce absence levels while 38% believe the fit note will create more problems than it solves.According to a survey conducted by Kronos, the workplace management company, which polled 1,400 private and public sector employers:35% are still unaware that the ...
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Buyer's guide to private medical insurance (PMI) for expatriates
Private medical insurance for employees working abroad is likely to cost more and should be tailored to the requirements of each particular country, says Sally HamiltonPrivate medical insurance (PMI) for expatriate employees typically provides cover for repatriation, evacuation and pregnancy care, as well as chronic and pre-existing health conditions and ...
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Health Assured launches new health cash plan
Its Work Assured plan offers a back-to-work module that provides staff with treatment to speed up their return to work. This is designed to cut costs by stripping out all peripheral treatments that have no impact on employees’ ability to do their jon.Employers that offer the plan, which costs £197 ...
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Snap-On switches private medical insurance provider
Automotive tool manufacturer Snap-On has switched private medical insurance (PMI) providers to improve efficiency, and has used the savings to launch an employee assistance programme (EAP) for its 600 staff.Snap-On’s PMI benefit was previously provided by Bupa, but after a market review by consultancy Jelf Employee Benefits, it found its ...
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Work-related stress leaves employers vulnerable
This article has been supplied by our channel sponsor, Health Shield.Work-related stress remains a significant concern for employers and employees across the UK.†According to 2008/09 figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), an estimated 415,000 workers in Britain believe that theyve experienced work-related stress to such a degree that it’s ...
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Dealing effectively with absenteeism
This article has been supplied by our channel sponsor, Health Shield.Absenteeism can have a suffocating effect on UK businesses, amounting to millions lost in working days and plummeting productivity in both the private and public sectors.Absence management is a crucial part of creating a happy and healthy workforce and ultimately ...
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Integrated Project Systems launches online absence management system
Integrated Project Systems (IPS) has launched an online absence management tool designed to increase business efficiency by helping organisations to track absence records more effectively. The launch of MyWebWorkplace.net gives managing directors, HR departments, line managers, and individual staff members 24/7 access to holiday and sickness entitlement, allowing strategic planning ...
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West Lothian Council appoints FirstCare for absence management
West Lothian Council has appointed FirstCare to provide a nurse-led call centre absence management facility for 500 of its 8,500 permanent employees.The council had previously piloted a nurse-led call centre approach to absence management and following the success of the pilot, which has shown a downward trend in sickness absence, ...
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Caffè Nero launches health cash plan for staff
Caffé Nero Group has launched a healthcare cash plan for nearly 400 employees to offer them an affordable means of healthcare.The cafe chain has signed up to Westfield Health’s Foresight Plan.Caffé Nero HR adviser Jon Poett, said: “With the way the economy is at the moment and access to the ...
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Health & Wellbeing: Flexible working can reduce staff absence
Flexible working arrangements can help to reduce staff absence levels, but must be deployed in the right way to win employees’ confidence, says Peta HodgeThis was one of the findings of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s 2009 Absence management survey, published in July, which also found 56% of ...