Supermarket retailer Tesco has rolled out subsidised gym membership to 300,000 employees in the UK.
The new benefit, provided by Gympass, enables all Tesco staff, including those in head office and in-store, delivery drivers and home-based employees, based in the UK and Republic of Ireland, to access more than 1,400 nationwide fitness facilities at a subsidised rate.
Tesco implemented the initiative after feedback from its first annual employee health survey, conducted in September 2018, found that staff were struggling to find ways to improve their general health and wellbeing.
To address this, Tesco introduced the gym membership benefit for staff at selected locations in October 2018, before rolling it out more widely to all employees on 7 January 2019.
In conjunction with the subsidised gym memberships, Tesco is also planning to host live wellness events and breakfasts to help educate and engage employees on the benefits of physical activity.
The new benefit will form part of Tesco's holistic wellness strategy. This is based around three pillars: healthy body, healthy mind and nutrition. The organisation currently operates a range of initiatives that correspond with these key areas.
The initiative was communicated to staff via a launch video featuring Tesco's chief executive officer, email communications and content on its staff intranet.
James Goodman, people director at Tesco, said: "Our annual [employee] health survey showed that a huge number of our employees struggle to find ways to improve their general health and wellbeing. By partnering with Gympass, we are able to help combat this, delivering convenient and easily accessible solutions to engage our workforce in greater levels of physical activity.
"Gympass has a vast network of fitness operators, making this a fantastic benefit to offer our employees. The flexibility of the Gympass service means all our employees will be able to choose from leisure facilities up and down the country, across multiple price brackets, ensuring everyone can find the perfect fitness solution and activity for them."
