Interview withAmii chairmanMike Izzard

07

Prevention andcure both key tohealth strategy

10

Calculate returnon investmentfor health perks

15

How employerscan rein backPMI premiums

21

OCTOBER 2009

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Editor’s commentContents

News round-up 5Catch up on key developments and trends in

healthcare benefits over the last quarter

Interview 7Amii chairman Mike Izzard sees a bright

future for private medical insurance

Cover story 10Employers must strike a balance between

preventative and reactive measures

Return on investment 15How to show finance directors that health

and wellbeing initiatives pay their way

Flexible working 18Adaptable practices can make it easier for

absent employees to return to work

Private medical insurance 21There are a number of steps employers can

take to rein back rising PMI premiums

Musculoskeletal health 24Musculoskeletal problems are a major cause

of employee absence, so action is needed

Despite the continuing pressure on employers to cut

costs, taking steps to maintain employees’ health and

wellbeing is more important than ever.

Not only are staff often under increased pressure following

redundancies, but employers would be wise to look after those

left behind to be sure of having an engaged and motivated

workforce when the upturn begins.

There are a number of steps employers can take to achieve this, and they do not

need to come at a high price. Rebroking benefits or reviewing the basis on which

they are offered to staff can bring significant savings for organisations, for example.

Being able to demonstrate the return on investment on providing health and

wellbeing benefits for staff remains a key issue for many employers. Although this

can be difficult to achieve, particularly around some of the softer wellbeing perks,

the long-term advantages in improving overall employee wellbeing should not be

overlooked. For instance, healthier staff may be less likely to need to use some of

the costlier benefits, such as private medical insurance, to treat conditions that may

have been preventable.

Even if employees do go off sick, having benefits in place to help them return to

the workplace as quickly as possible can also prove cost-efficient to the employer

in the long run.

Editor Debi O’Donovan, deputy editor Debbie Lovewell, reporters Tom Washington, Ben Jones, art director

Caitlin Smail, art editor Deborah George, sub editor Bob Wells, group production manager WendyGoodbun, commercial director Suzanne Saunders, business development director Hamish Scott, senior

sales executive Peter York, group publisher Phil Hayne, illustrations Clare Nicholas

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CONTENTS HEALTH & WELLBEING 03October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

updateNEWS UPDATE HEALTH & WELLBEING 05October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

CO-OPERATIVE Group andCo-operative FinancialServices have launchedoccupational healthcareservices for their 82,000-strong workforce.

Through the programme,employees are able toaccess pre-employmentreferrals and absencemanagement services,including physiotherapy and

workstation assessments tohelp improve overallworkforce wellbeing andreduce absence.

The employers haveteamed up with AtosHealthcare to provide the scheme.

Graham Greaves,occupational health, safetyand wellbeing manager atCo-operative Financial

Services, says:“Occupational health is abusiness-critical service in apeople-focusedorganisation like ours. Byimplementing newmanagement informationand trend analysis tools, wecan better monitor ourservice and ensure itcontinues to meet the needsof our staff in the future.”

Co-op launches occupational scheme

HEALTH and wellbeing providersare gearing up for a potentialsurge in demand caused by apossible second wave of swineflu this autumn, as schools re-open and cold weather arrives.Absence management firm First-Care says staff affected by thevirus are absent for an averageof 4.3 days, which it predictscould cost UK businesses a total of £8.6bn.

Under-strain employers and staff are likelyto make greater use of health and wellbeingbenefits. David Smith, secretary of theEmployee Assistance Professionals Association(EAPA), says employee assistance programme(EAP) providers can cope with the extrademand. “Calls could range from someonewith mild symptoms to an employee dealingwith the loss of someone from the virus,” hesays. “Others might need access to childcare.

“EAP providers all have robust contingencyplans to cover pandemics and disasters. Forexample, one leading supplier has its phoneslinked to the US, so if no one can pick up inthe UK, the call is still answered.”

Mandy Rutter, clinical manager at Axa Icas,

says swine flu will also havepsychological effects. “We haveproduced information sheets onhow to stay calm in managingthe situation. We are goingdirectly to employers and mustbe proactive. But it can only begeneric information, so we areencouraging them to come to uswith their specific needs.”

Healthcare providers are advising employersto prioritise which staff should receive swineflu medication. Charles Levinson, chiefexecutive of Doctorcall, says: “Look at high-riskgroups – people who are going on holiday tohigh-risk countries or those with families.”

Financial services group Bluefin has alsowarned employers to check the terms of theirdeath-in-service cover to see whether a limithas been imposed on their insurance cover.

Although there has been confusion overwhat claims are valid under private medicalinsurance, Rebecca Small, assistant medicaldirector at Bupa Heath Insurance, says:“Customers are covered for outpatient andinpatient treatment by a consultant if referredby their GP.”

Cardif Pinnacle’s health eventsCardif Pinnacle held two health and wellbeingevents for its Borehamwood-based staff. During thetwo day-long events in August, it invited providersto promote health and wellbeing perks. Staff couldalso have free head massages and discountedacupressure massages. Vicky Rose, rewardmanager at Cardif Pinnacle, said: “Events like thisboost morale and employee engagement.”Read full story: http://bit.ly/d4Vgo

Medicare covers expatsMedicare International has launched a privatehealth insurance policy for expatriates around theworld. The policy offers four levels of cover, as wellas extra benefits in areas such as maternity careand childhood vaccinations.Read full story: http://bit.ly/1OqMJW

NHS staff need health boostAn independent review commissioned by theDepartment of Health has called for the NHS toinvest in staff health and wellbeing to increase theireffectiveness and efficiency. On average, an NHSemployee is off sick 10.7 days a year, versus 6.4days in the private sector. Recommendationsinclude: campaigns to help reduce obesity andharmful drinking; and tackling causes of stress.Read full story: http://bit.ly/9MoWj

Employer priorities changePriorities related to health benefits have changedover the past 10 years, according to the EmployeeBenefits/Simplyhealth Healthcare Research 2009.Improving staff health and welfare, and reducingabsence have risen up the agenda, while beingseen as a caring employer and improving staffretention have lost importance.In 2000, getting staff back towork was seen as a priorityby 77%, while 76% wantedto be seen as caring, but in2009 just 35% and 34%,respectively, cited these as priorities.Read full research report:http://bit.ly/TxsrT

IN BRIEFProviders braced fordemands of swine flu

JUNE 2009

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INTERVIEW HEALTH & WELLBEING 07October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

Private medical insurance (PMI) seems tobe a perk employers are prepared totinker with. Last month, Employee

Benefits reported that Kellogg’s had switchedits PMI from a healthcare trust arrangementto a fully-insured scheme, while PunchTaverns did the exact opposite – both tomake savings.

These are two clear examples of how,while they might be searching for ways tomanage the costs of this healthcare benefit,employers are determined not to remove italtogether. After all, PMI is seen as core to acompetitive reward package, particularly forsenior employees.

Mike Izzard, chairman of the Associationof Medical Insurance Intermediaries (Amii),says: “The small to medium-enterprise (SME)market, strangely enough, is quite buoyant atthe moment. We are being asked ‘can yousave us money?’, and some employers aretrading down or moving to managed care

Association of Medical

Insurance Intermediaries

chairman Mike Izzard

tells TTomm Washington

how private medical

insurance is maintaining

its status as a prized

asset of reward

Private thoughts on insurance

CAREER HISTORY

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options if necessary, but we are not seeingmany drop-offs or lapses.”

Izzard says although fully-insured schemesare right for some employers, a trust is abetter option for others. “My opinion is atrust is a good concept for an organisationthat has around 1,000 lives on a scheme andhas a very good third-party administrator torun it for them. It is basically a stripped-down,component-structure policy as you have theadministration fee and claims fund separate.Sometimes employers can save money and itmeans a better scheme for employees.”

With saving money being the order of theday, does Izzard see relatively low-costhealthcare cash plans as a threat to PMI?“No, not at all. I see cash plans as a softlanding for schemes that have to come out ofPMI altogether. If the employer cannot afforda PMI scheme, the best alternative is to havea good cash plan. It is perfectly adequate, butthe employee must be told by the employerthat this is not full-fat PMI any more, it is verymuch a skinny one.”

Too many brokersIzzard believes some of the cash-savingmethods currently being applied are notnecessarily the right ones. Some employersare deploying three, four or five brokers towork on the same piece of business, he says.

“Some SME employers are looking to savemoney in very odd ways, which intrigues andbaffles me in equal measure. If employershave got two good independent brokerslooking at the market, they should be able tocome up with all the options available,present their cases accordingly and possiblyfind different commission rates or fees.

“But some are over-egging the puddingwith too many brokers, and it is puttinginsurers under enormous pressure. They aregetting quote requests for the same bit ofbusiness that is going round exponentially.”

Izzard says that although service levels in

Mike Izzard, chairman of Amii,has been managing director ofhis own PMI providerbrokerage, Premier ChoiceGroup, since 1996.

Premier Choice consists ofsix companies, eachspecialising in an area ofemployee benefit protection.

After gaining experiencewithin some of the main PMIproviders early in his career,Izzard then worked for NorwichUnion and the MedicalInsurance Agency.

Looking to Amii’s future, thenext year will see a greater

focus on training andcompetence, he says.

Izzard is working with theChartered Insurance Institute(CII) on a new benchmarkaccreditation training courseand examination for the PMIindustry, with Amii at theforefront of developing the syllabus and the CIIinvigilating the coursework and examinations.

“In the long term, I’d like tosee PMI practitioners take theexamination and see allinsurers’ service and client-facing staff take it,” he says.

the PMI industry are good, the same cannotbe said for the group risk market. “It’s a bigissue at the moment,” he adds. “It’s gettingbetter, but couldn’t get any worse.”

Accuracy levelsResearch released by Mercer last monthshowed progress was being made. The GroupRisk Survey, based on data taken betweenNovember 2008 and May 2009, showedaccuracy levels of accounts averaged just74%, but in May 2009 the accuracy level was82%, up from 80% last year. There was alsoa 9% improvement in the time it took grouprisk insurers to request medical underwritinginformation after receiving an initialdeclaration-of-health form, with the processnow taking two-and-a-half weeks. In May2008, the average was just under four weeks.

08 HEALTH & WELLBEING INTERVIEW www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

“With the NHS under severe pressure andwith a growing, ageing population, I thinkPMI will be a sought-after benefit. We have to make it more accessible, more cost-effective and make advisers betterqualified to advise on it”

Mike Izzard, Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries

The Association of Medical InsuranceIntermediaries (Amii) is a trade associationfor specialist independent intermediariesbased in the UK whose business isindividual and group private medicalinsurance (PMI).

Established in December 1998 as a tradebody, the association promotes andmaintains high standards of professionaland ethical conduct among its members, andaims to increase awareness of the role ofPMI advisers. All Amii members areauthorised and regulated by the FinancialServices Authority (FSA) to sell generalinsurance products.

Members must adhere to the FSAPrinciples of Business, which set out thestandards that all members must meet when

they are dealing with employers.Amii also runs an annual conference and

exhibition for its members. This year, about200 intermediaries attended the PromotingProfessionalism-themed event, where 25providers and service suppliers werepresent, along with industry expertsspeaking on the latest developments andissues in the PMI sector.

Earlier this year, Amii’s work involvedapproaching private medical insurers andthe British Insurance Association to form adiscussion panel to focus on the issue oftransparency of claims information in PMIschemes. Izzard says: “The only way toimprove the flow of information is for all therelevant parties to get together. I sincerelyhope the industry responds well.”

Amii at a glance

One criticism of the group risk industry isthere is no real impetus for providers to getthings done and dusted by the renewal datein the same way other insurance marketsoperate. “The renewal dates are completelyalien to the Financial Services Authority’s(FSA) regulation process,” says Izzard. “Grouprisk is still an insurance policy at the end ofthe day and the employer should havecontract certainty. They have not got it at themoment. I have known group risk renewaldates be flexible by nine or 10 months, whichyou just would not get with PMI.

“[Industry body] Group Risk Developmentis grappling with this issue. Employers cannotget renewal information, data accuracy ispoor, and so on. It is very frustrating.”

The 1% increase in employer nationalinsurance to 13.8% in April 2010 will impact

on P11D taxable benefits, of which PMI isone. This increased cost, along with medicalinflation showing no sign of slowing, meansthe price of supplying healthcare benefits tostaff is rising. Izzard says the government issending out the wrong message by putting agreater cost burden on employers, dissuadingthem from providing health perks at a timewhen pressure needs to be removed from thestruggling National Health Service (NHS).

Gone bustBut Izzard does not think this will have along-term impact on PMI. “Employers andemployees still value PMI in the marketplace,”he says. “UK plc has effectively gone bustover the next few years and the governmentwill not be able to fund the NHS to thedegree it needs to be. That means moreemphasis on workplace health provisions.

“Generally, I think we are working througha purple patch for PMI intermediaries. Withthe NHS under severe pressure and with agrowing, ageing population, I think PMI willbe a sought-after benefit. We have to make itmore accessible, more cost-effective andmake advisers better able to advise on it.” �

Group Risk Development interview: http://bit.ly/14ojNs

10 HEALTH & WELLBEING COVER STORY www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

How do you keep a workforce healthy – by offering fast,

efficient treatment or perks that might prevent illness?

Employers need both strategies, says JJennyy Keefe

Preventionor cure?

In 2005, state-fundeddevelopment body Highlandsand Islands Enterpriseembarked on a hugewellbeing project.

The company, which has a350-strong workforce,introduced gym membership,a cycle-to-work scheme,health screenings andcholesterol testing.

But curative perks arealso vital, says HelenMassie, organisationaldevelopment manager. “Eventhe fittest and healthiestamong us can fall ill orsuffer stress. That is whenthe reactive services comeinto their own, and aregreatly appreciated by staff.”

To help perk up sick staff,

the organisation has an on-site nurse and an employeeassistance programme.

CASE STUDYHighlands and Islands Enterprise

I ntellectuals solve problems, geniusesprevent them, according to AlbertEinstein. Yet no matter how much

employers try to help employees remainbuoyant and healthy, some will always be hitby illness. Savvier organisations shouldtherefore strive to achieve a balance betweensolving and preventing employees’ ailments.

Helen Massie, organisationaldevelopment manager at Highlands andIslands Enterprise, a state-fundeddevelopment body, says: “Both types ofbenefit are equally important. While itwould be wonderful to believe preventioncould address all wellbeing issues before thefirst symptoms arrive, we have to take areal-world view.”

Reactive perks, such as private medicalinsurance (PMI) and healthcare cash plans,help workers pick up the pieces after theybecome ill. The aim is to treat afflictionsquickly and effectively, getting staff back totheir desks as soon as possible.

By contrast, preventative benefits areabout boosting health and encouragingvirtuous behaviour among staff. Optionsinclude free fruit, health screenings andsubsidised gym membership.

It is hoped that such enlightenedinitiatives will have a beneficial effect onemployees’ wellbeing, and may stop healthproblems in their tracks.

When deciding which approach is mostappropriate for their organisation, employerswill need to consider a number of factors,including cost, the nature of the perk andtheir workforce demographic.

Reactive benefits

1. Privatee medicalinsurance

PMI is not cheap, but it is a must-have benefitfor many large employers. EmployeeBenefits/Simplyhealth Healthcare Research,published in June 2009, found 59% ofemployers with more than 10,000 staff offerPMI to selected workers. Rightly so, becauseif they can skip the queue for proceduressuch as heart surgery, for example, staff aregoing to feel more grateful than if they hadtaken up every voluntary benefit in the book.

PMI has some significant advantages, saysDudley Lusted, head of corporate business at

Axa PPP Healthcare. “Employees get fastaccess to private specialists at a timeconvenient to them, as well as hospitals witha private room. The insurance costs staff one-tenth of what it would if they paid for it outof their own income.”

All this is welcome news for staff, withtypical take-up rates of 95%, according toLusted. Those who opt out do so eitherbecause of the tax liability or because theyare covered by their partner’s insurance.

But PMI’s advantages come at a price. Itcan cost around £700 a year per employee,which is why most employers restrict it tocertain staff. Just 10% of the biggestemployers offer PMI to all staff, and 25% ofthose with fewer than 10,000 staff offer itacross the board, according to the

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aforementioned Employee Benefits survey.But there are ways to cut the cost of PMI,

says Michael Lewars, principal consultant atXafinity Consulting. For example, employerscould reduce the number of medicalconditions covered or stop coveringemployees’ partners.

22.. Healthcaree cashh planss Healthcare cash plans work in a different wayfrom the more expensive PMI. Under cashplans, employees pay out for a treatment,such as dental work or eye care, then claimback some, or all, of the cost. How muchthey are allowed to claim depends on theprovider and the policy.

Ten years ago, healthcare cash plans werelimited to optical and dental care, but inrecent years, providers have started to includecover for anything from massages toacupuncture. Matthew Judge, director of JelfEmployee Benefits, says: “In a difficulteconomic period, cash plans are a valuablebenefit for staff that do not receive PMI.”

Cash plans can cost as little as £1 a weekper worker, but most employers opt for levelsof £2 to £3 a week, says Judge.

But there are some downsides. “Staff needto understand cash plans are not PMI,” headds. “Also, although some policiesreimburse workers 100% up to a set level,many will refund only 75% or less, so peoplemust contribute to every claim.”

Employeess also need to be organised,remembering to keep receipts and to claim.

3. Employeee assistanceprogrammes

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) arecheap, easy to set up and, when times arehard, can be a godsend for stressed staff.Under an EAP, workers can call a freephonenumber 24 hours a day about medical, legal

or financial worries. Some also include face-to-face counselling sessions

EAPs not only help to sort out problemsbefore they become serious, but they costminimal amounts of money, typically £8 ayear per worker. They can also help protectemployers from litigation about stress andother work-related issues.

However, EAPs also have their downsides.For example, however impressive aprogramme is, employers should consider ifemployees will actually use it. Rob Woollen,corporate wellness manager at employeewellbeing consultancy Rightway, says:“Although all EAP providers maintain clientconfidentiality, many employees feel uneasyabout calling, assuming their boss will findout what they have said.”

Employers should expect take-up rates of3% to 10%, he says.

Jeremy Campbell, Ceridian’s director ofhuman resources outsourcing, sayscommunication is also vital. “A scheme’ssuccess depends on a good introduction andregular promotion. Employees need to becontinually reminded of the support that isavailable. For this reason, an EAP works wellwithin office-based environments withinternet access.”

4. Dentall insuranceWith National Health Service (NHS) dentists now scarcer than ever, dentalinsurance is high up on many employees’wish-list of perks.

James Kenrick, corporate healthcareadviser at Hewitt Associates, says: “It is nowquite difficult to find an NHS dentist. Dentalinsurance is a benefit that employees coulduse twice a year. Not only would it boost theiroral health, but they would value it highly.”

Dental insurance costs approximately £100to £200 a year per employee, depending onthe quality of cover.

COVER STORY HEALTH & WELLBEING 11October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

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AecomEnergy-efficiency consultancy Aecom believesthat achieving a balance between preventativeand reactive benefits is the secret to obtaininga healthy workforce.

Lorraine Kaloczi, payroll and benefitsmanager, says: “Traditionally, the emphasishas been on reactive wellbeing benefits,mainly private medical insurance.

“However, we are now more preventativefocused and are constantly looking for waysto encourage our employees to adopt ahealthier lifestyle.”

On the reactive side, all Aecom’s 2,860employees receive private medical insuranceand access to an employee assistanceprogramme. They can also opt for dentalinsurance through a flexible benefits scheme.

Preventative perks include free fruit, healthscreenings and corporate gym discounts.Workers also have access to a Bupa healthsite, which offers tips on everything from dietto how to quit smoking.

“It is important to take a holistic approachto wellbeing,” says Kaloczi. “We identified thebenefits needed to keep people well, and thenconsidered what to have in place to ensurethat should someone fall ill, the appropriatepolicies are in place to support their recovery.”

CASE STUDY

Preventative benefits

11. Free fruitProviding fresh fruit for staff costs only about50p a piece, but it can instantly make aworkplace feel more healthy. The aim is tohelp workers ditch sugary snacks by dottingfruit around the workplace. For an employerwith 100 staff, it would cost £2,600 a year tohave 50 pieces of fruit delivered twice a week.

Jessica Colling, product director at healthand wellbeing provider Vielife, says: “If thereis free fruit onsite, people are more likely toreach for a healthy snack.” Take-up is oftenhigh. “An easy way to introduce it is to swapbiscuits for fruit at meetings. I have yet tohear someone complain about tucking into astrawberry rather than a cookie.”

Employers should not expect dramaticchanges, says Rightway’s Woollen. “Thedrawback is, this sort of perk tends to attractthose who are already likely to use it.”

2. Gym membershipEmployers that want to improve staff healthcould consider offering free or subsidised gym

membership. Martyn Swann, a healthcareadviser at consultancy Enrich, says: “This isseen as a valuable perk, especially after theChristmas period.”

Employers have three main options here.They can pay the whole gym membershipfee, subsidise membership, or offer an on-sitefitness centre. The cost of offering gymmembership depends entirely on the extentof a scheme. Corporate discounts at a localgym could be free to negotiate, butmembership of a swish London gym couldcost £100 a month per employee.

However, getting staff to join gyms canbackfire, warns Swann. “As a benefit, gymmemberships are not proven to reduceabsence or enhance workers’ health. Gymsmight also contribute to conditions such asmusculoskeletal strains and sprains.”

3. Health screeningThis is a way to give staff a wake-up callbefore it is too late by identifying health risks.After scrutinising factors such as lifestyle, dietand family history, employees are given adviceon how to maximise their health. Enrich’sSwann says: “In some cases, staff have beendiagnosed with a condition such as a

12 HEALTH & WELLBEING COVER STORY www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

Read more at: www.employeebenefits.co.uk/benefits/healthcare-wellbeing.html

cancerous lump, and have benefited fromearly intervention to prevent it spreading.”

Basic screenings can be offered in theworkplace, while more comprehensive bodyMOTs take place at local clinics. Cost variesfrom £25 for a quick cholesterol check to£500 for a full screening.

“Screenings encourage workers to takeresponsibility for their health,” says Hewitt’sKenrick. “This benefits the employee andleads to a more productive workforce.”

4. Wellbeing eventsAnother option is to hold wellness days orwellbeing events to educate staff, forexample on simple diet and fitness tips.Events can include health checks on allergiesand cholesterol, for instance, and experts canrun workshops on issues like alcohol, sleepand coping with stress. A typical health dayfor 100 employees costs about £30 a head.“These fairs give access to employees whomay ignore free fruit and gym memberships,”says Rightway’s Woollen �

RETURN ON INVESTMENT HEALTH & WELLBEING 15October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

With costs coming under increasingscrutiny from finance directors, itis more important than ever for

employers to be able to justify their benefitsspend. But when it comes to health andwellbeing perks, this exercise can be tricky.

Jamie Barnes, client services director atbenefits consultancy Enrich, says: “It is anage-old problem. Although common sensesuggests health and wellbeing initiatives candeliver significant benefits, these are noteasily identified on a balance sheet. From thefinance director’s point of view, such benefitshave a negative impact on the bottom line.”

But although the business benefits mightnot show up on the balance sheet, it is stillpossible to identify them and give them afinancial value. Charlotte Bray, specialist

consultant at Aon Consulting, says: “Healthand wellbeing strategies can bring lots ofbenefits, such as increased productivity,improved staff retention, greater employeeand customer satisfaction, and lower sicknessabsence. It is difficult to translate these intofigures, but not impossible.”

The place to start is probably with sicknessabsence levels. Mike Blake, group salesmanager at PMI Health Group, says:“Improvements to absence are the easiestthing to prove. Unfortunately, although manyorganisations know they need to improve,they do not have the data to show the extentof the problem. I would recommend gettingthis before they implement any health andwellbeing initiatives because it establishes abaseline from which to make improvements.”

The benefits of staff health and wellbeing programmes may seem obvious, but

finance directors will want bottom-line proof of their effectiveness, says SSamm Barrett

How to developattractive figures

Kwik Fit Insurance has just under1,000 employees at its offices inLanarkshire, most of whom work inthe company’s call centre.

Elizabeth McVeigh, senior HRco-ordinator at the firm, says: “Thiscan be a very targeted andcompetitive environment, so it isessential we look after employees’health and wellbeing.”

To do this, Kwik Fit Insuranceemploys its own occupationalhealth nurse, who is responsible foroverseeing a number of health

initiatives, including an on-site gymand fitness instructor, lifestylescreening, massages, healthy-eating programmes andcounselling. She also runs a drop-in service for staff suffering fromminor ailments, dealing witheverything from contraceptiveinjections to taking out stitches.

“We know the drop-in servicesaves employees a lot of time,”says McVeigh. “They can pop in tosee the nurse rather than having totake a morning off to see their GP.”

Although McVeigh has notmeasured the time and costsavings of this service, she hasmeasured the benefits delivered byother parts of the company’s healthand wellbeing strategy. “Since weintroduced the strategy in 2005, wehave been tracking differentmeasurements to see how effectiveit is,” she says. “These include theresults of our employee survey,employee retention levels andsickness absence figures.”

Between 2005 and 2008, Kwik

Fit Insurance has seen gains inemployee satisfaction andretention, while absence has fallenby almost 50%, from 6.7% to3.7%. On top of this, earlier thisyear, the company won a GoldAward from the Scottish Centre forHealthy Working Lives.

CASE STUDYKwik Fit Insurance

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16 SUPPLEMENT RETURN ON INVESTMENT www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

Sickness absencemanagement systems canrecord this data, but ensuringthere is consistency aroundsickness reporting can go along way to improving the

quality of data. Employers must also be awarethat absence can fluctuate, because of swineflu for example, so this needs to be taken intoaccount when analysing trends.

Other areas that generate businessbenefits are less easy to measure thancounting sick days. Measuring staffproductivity depends largely on the nature ofthe organisation. For instance, it is relativelystraightforward for a manufacturing firm, butmuch less so for professional organisations.

Employee engagement may be a betterindicator of productivity. “Employers can runsurveys to keep tabs on employeesatisfaction, although the cost of reducedsatisfaction tends to come through in areassuch as increased staff turnover and sicknessabsence,” says PMI’s Blake.

Calculate costsAs well as understanding what they arerecording, employers need to know its value.Jessica Colling, product director at Vielife,says: “If [employers] are looking to reducesickness absence, work out what a day’sabsence costs. If employee retention isimportant, understand how much it costs toreplace an employee. This makes it mucheasier to demonstrate value.”

Measuring the business benefits of healthand wellbeing perks is problematic, but it canbe more difficult to do this around some thanothers. For example, screening will identifyissues such as high blood pressure or raisedcholesterol levels, but these may not manifestthemselves as health problems for years.Similarly, because the serious health problemsassociated with smoking do not usually occuruntil people are at least in their 50s, asmoking cessation programme can show littleimmediate advantage. Jill Pollock, health andwellbeing consultant at Bupa, says: “A lot ofemployers question why they are makingimprovements to staff health that will have along-term effect, potentially felt only longafter the employee has left the organisation.”

But she argues that even though majorhealth benefits might not come through formany years, there can still be financialincentives for employers to take such steps.

“If organisations introducethese types of programme, theywill often see improvements inemployee engagement, withknock-on effects in productivity,recruitment and retention”

Jill Pollock, Bupa

These types of benefit might be difficult tomeasure, but there are some that delivermore immediate results. For example, whereemployers need to demonstrate businessbenefits quickly, a stress management plan isworth considering, says Colling. “A highly-stressed workforce will not be as productiveas it could be. Teaching employees how todeal with stress and helping them to buildresilience will deliver fast results.”

Cost-effective extrasEmployers can also introduce health andwellbeing initiatives at little or no cost. Someinsurers have added such extras to theirplans. For example, Bupa and Aviva offer freeonline health risk assessments and PruHealth’splan includes its Vitality programme, whichgives staff access to a range of healthinformation and incentives. Dave Priestley,director of sales at PruHealth, says: “It isdifficult to justify additional spend, but whenit is wrapped into private medical insurance,[employers] are getting a wellnessprogramme within the existing spend.”

The PruHealth plan offers cash incentivesfor engaging with health and wellbeing. Staffreceive up to £150 back, depending onclaims and how actively they engage with thehealth plan, while employers receive a profitshare of 25% of the difference between thepremium and the claims paid.

“We are looking at introducing anemployer incentive that reflects the level ofhealth and wellbeing engagement,” saysPriestley. “It can be difficult to measure, butour model is built on the principle thathealthier people require less medicaltreatment. Given the implications of this, ithas to be a business benefit.” �

Being able to demonstrate the value of anorganisation’s health and wellbeing strategywill help to convince even the most cynical offinance directors, but it is also worth ensuringemployers choose the initiatives that willdeliver the biggest benefits.

Charlotte Bray, specialist consultant at AonConsulting, says: “A health risk assessment,such as the online tools offered by medicalinsurers, will give a good indication of whathealth problems are the most common amongemployees. This will help employers targettheir health initiatives.”

Jessica Colling, product director at Vielife,also recommends asking employees what theywould like. “A health risk assessment mightindicate there are a lot of smokers in anorganisation, but if none of them wants to stop,the employer is unlikely to run a successfulsmoking cessation programme,” she says.“Giving staff some say over the healthinitiatives they want will increase participationand improve results.”

To maximise effectiveness, it is alsoimportant to review the strategy regularly. Asemployees engage with health and wellbeingprogrammes, their needs will change and anannual repeat of the health risk assessmentwill highlight this.

Finally, employers should not forget tocommunicate the initiatives to employees. JillPollock, health and wellbeing consultant atBupa, explains: “Employees are often unawareof what is available, so make sure you have agood communications and marketing plan tosupport any health and wellbeing plan.”

Maximising the benefits

“If organisations introduce these types ofprogrammes, they will often seeimprovements in employee engagement, withknock-on effects in productivity, recruitmentand retention,” she explains.

Vielife’s Colling believes employers shouldbe more creative when considering longer-term initiatives such as smoking cessationprogrammes. “Smokers work about a monthless a year than non-smokers,” she says. “Ifthey take five cigarette breaks a day, that isabout an hour a day they are not working.Multiply this for the year and employers havelost more than a month’s work.”

Read more cutting health costs at: http://bit.ly/dVm2A

Almost four in 10 employers say therecession has increased their focus onreducing absence levels and the costs

that go with them.This was one of the findings of the

Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment’s 2009 Absence managementsurvey, published in July, which also found56% of organisations use flexible working tomanage long-term absence, and 44% use itto manage short-term absence.

But is flexible working an effective absencemanagement tool? According to theEmployee Benefits/Simplyhealth HealthcareResearch 2009, published in June this year,59% of organisations believe it is.

And although only 16% of the CIPD’srespondents put flexible working in their top

three most-effective approaches for managinglong-term absence and just 6% for short-termabsence, Ben Willmott, senior public policyadviser at the Institute, says this does notmean it is not seen as an effective absencemanagement tool. “Flexible working andleave for family emergencies are still in the top10 [most effective methods],” he says. “Theothers are the real nuts and bolts of managingsickness absence, such as making sure linemanagers take responsibility. In that context,flexible working is actually rated very highly.”

But hard data on the effectiveness offlexible working is thin on the ground. DavidProsser, strategic development manager atAxa Icas, says: “It is difficult to strip out thecause and effect, because when employers tryto do something on absence, they often do a

18 HEALTH & WELLBEING FLEXIBLE WORKING www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

Flexible working arrangements can help to reduce staff absence levels, but must be

deployed in the right way to win employees’ confidence, says PPetaa Hodge

Bending the rulesto keep staff happy

Between May and September, the660 staff at Kellogg’s head office inManchester have the option oftaking Friday afternoons off, aslong as they have completed a36.6-hour week.

This flexible working arrangementwas brought in partly to deal with aspecific absence issue – the Fridayafternoon ‘sickie’ brought on by anexcess of sunshine.

The summer hours arrangementis well established at Kellogg’s,having been running for six years.

Although the company has notformally measured its impact, HRdirector for European reward, KirstyLeyland, says anecdotal evidencesuggests it has brought Fridaysickness absence levels down by atleast 10-20%.

But she is clear the arrangementworks only because it is part of awell-established flexible workingpolicy, which also includes flexitime,home-working, part-time working,jobshare and a flexible benefitsscheme that allows staff to buy and

sell holiday. These policies areembedded in the company’s culture,written down and formally adopted.

“I have worked for organisationsbefore that say they have fantasticflexible working practices, butactually work-life balance has beenquite difficult to achieve,” she says.

There is often a mis-matchbetween what an organisation saysit offers in flexible working and whatstaff feel it is acceptable to take.However, this is not the case atKellogg’s because the benefit is

taken up by employees at all levelsof the organisation.

“My line manager, who is vice-president for HR for Europe,occasionally works summer hours,”says Leyland. “So I see, in practice,at every level of the organisation itfeels quite acceptable to do it.”

CASE STUDYKellogg’s

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number of things at once. How do they knowwhich bit is responsible for which change?”

In fact, ‘flexible working’ is a pretty flexibleterm, covering everything from flexi-time andhomeworking to part-time working and jobshare. Not all forms of flexible working arebest suited to improving staff engagement orreducing absenteeism.

James Baker, a consultant in The WorkFoundation’s health and wellbeingprogramme, says: “There are lots ofapproaches to flexible working that may suitorganisations, but not necessarily individualemployees. We are seeing some of that in thecurrent recession, where organisations aregoing to a four-day week, for example.”

The term sickness absence also covers amultitude of issues, from unauthorised daystaken by staff who are insufficiently engagedin the workplace, to the genuinely long-termsick who require occupational healthinterventions and rehabilitation.

There can be a danger of employersfocusing too much on getting absence figuresdown and failing to investigate what iscausing staff to be off work in the first place.Baker says: “Flexible working is going toaddress absences only if they are caused bydifficulties in coming to work, such as traveltime, an uncomfortable physical officeenvironment, or if people have caringresponsibilities that mean they do not want tocome into the workplace.”

Avoid presenteeismEven where flexible working could be used toreduce absence, employers should notbecome too obsessed with maximising thenumber of bums on seats. “There is a dangerwith flexible working that people are workingwhen they are ill,” adds Baker.

For example, someone suffering from fluwould not think of coming into the office, butmight be prepared to work from home. “Thiscan impact on the quality of their work andmay mean they take longer to get back to fullcapacity,” he says. “People still need to beallowed to be sick.”

One-fifth of respondents to theaforementioned CIPD survey reported seeingan increase in the number of people cominginto work ill over the past year, which couldbe attributed to employees’ concerns aboutlosing their job during the recession.

It is therefore crucial to ensure flexibleworking policies are designed to tackle any

specific issues. For example, Kellogg’s dealtwith an absence issue by tailoring flexibleworking practices to meet its needs (see casestudy). Fundamental to its scheme’s success isthe fact that it is a natural addition to a rangeof flexible working arrangements that arewidely used and valued by staff.

It can also be useful for employers to lookat how they want to judge the impact offlexible working arrangements on absencelevels. A study of more than 1,500 managersconducted by Les Worrall, professor ofstrategic analysis at Coventry University, andCary Cooper, professor of organisationalpsychology and health at Lancaster University,found there was no significant differencebetween the absence levels of managers inorganisations where flexible workingarrangements were offered and in thosewhere they were not.

Valued benefitTheir report, The quality of working life: asurvey of managers’ experiences oforganisation, published by the CharteredManagement Institute in October 2007, foundwhat made the difference was the extent towhich flexible working was valued.

In organisations where flexible workingwas not offered but valued by employees asan option they would like to have, an averageof seven days were lost per worker per year.Where flexible working was offered andvalued by workers, average absence declinedto 3.2 days per worker per year. “There is nopoint just offering flexible working. It has tobe seen to be working,” says Worrall.

Line managers are key to ensuring thesuccess of flexible working policies. It is nogood employers offering flexible working ifstaff fear it would be frowned on by their linemanager if they actually took it up. SueHayday, senior research fellow at the Institutefor Employment Studies, says: “The key thingin virtually all organisations is the linemanager. It is down to them to have theconfidence to use their initiative and creativityto manage the individual.”

Line managers must be trained tounderstand why staff need to work flexibly,whether because of caring responsibilities orbecause ill health prevents them working longhours. “Ideally, they should be trained in usingthe whole absence policy,” says Hayday.

Unfortunately for organisations that wantto reduce sickness absence, there is no neat

FLEXIBLE WORKING HEALTH & WELLBEING 19October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

Strategies for reducingsickness absence

Organisations’ top three most effective approaches for managing short-term absence

Return-to-work interviews 64%Trigger mechanisms to review attendance 29%Disciplinary procedures for unacceptable absence 23%Restricting sick pay 16%Occupational health involvement 9%Managers are trained in absence handling 9%Line managers take primary responsibility for managing absence 9%

Sickness absence information given to line managers 8%

FLEXIBLE WORKING 6%Leave for family circumstances 5%

Organisations’ top three most effective approaches for managing long-term absence

Occupational health involvement 44%Return-to-work interviews 17%FLEXIBLE WORKING 16%Rehabilitation programme 15%Changes to working pattern or environment 12%Capability procedure restricting sick pay 10%Employee assistance programme 6%Risk assessment to aid return to workafter long-term absence 6%Tailored support for line managers 5%Managers are trained in absence handling 5%Line managers take primaryresponsibility for managing absence 5%

Source: CIPD’s 2009 Absence management surveyreport, published in July 2009

formula that says if they introduce flexibleworking practice X, they will reduce sicknessabsence by Y amount. But there is a generalfeeling that where flexible working practicesare embraced by an organisation and helpmake it a better place to work, then sicknessabsence levels are likely to fall �

More on the impact of flex working: http://bit.ly/d3YN1

PMI HEALTH & WELLBEING 21October 2009 www.employeebenefits.co.uk

Even without the current economicconstraints, employers are accustomedto wrestling with inflation-busting rises

in private medical insurance (PMI) premiumseach year. But the squeeze on employers’budgets is now putting this much-prizedbenefit under increasing threat of surgery.

With the cost of a company-paid PMIpolicy averaging £768 per employee in 2008– 7.7% higher than a year earlier, accordingto Laing & Buisson’s Health and Care cover –UK market report 2009 – advisers, brokersand providers report increased employernervousness about PMI bills. Martyn Swann,senior healthcare adviser at consultancyEnrich Reward, says: “Every conversation witha client about PMI at the moment centres onhow they can reduce their costs. It can be acase of either they cut £100,000 from thebudget or lose two heads.”

Although a number of employers aretalking about removing the perk and somesmaller organisations are closing schemes,most are striving to maintain cover in someform because of its value as a recruitment,retention and absence management tool.“They do not want to sacrifice the benefitaltogether,” says Swann.

Chris Rofe, head of client relationships atAxa PPP Healthcare, adds: “Blunt tools suchas increasing excesses, capping benefits andremoving cancer from the cover have alwaysbeen available, but employers that wouldnever have contemplated these before areusing them now.”

Reducing benefits is one way to trim costs,but more subtle tactics can also bring savings

while keeping the benefit intact, such astougher negotiation on premiums or fees atrenewal, or by switching insurer. AdrianNorris, managing director of health andproductivity at Buck Consultants, says: “It isthe softest rebroking market I have seen inmy 20 years in the business. There is room tomove on premiums as insurers tend to take apessimistic view of likely claims.”

Some insurers are taking the initiative byintroducing lower-cost plans. Axa PPPHealthcare, for example, reports more interestin a policy that covers only medical conditionsthat prevent employees carrying out theirnormal duties. This plan also costs lessbecause it excludes dependants’ cover.

Family coverAs a rule of thumb, excluding dependantsfrom plans reduces premiums significantly,although many employers allow schememembers to purchase family cover at theadvantageous corporate rate.

A common quick fix for premiums is toapply an excess, which shifts the cost fromthe employer to the employee. “A £100excess per person per year typically reducesthe premium by 7%,” says Norris.

This approach is also relatively easy forstaff to accept. Steve Desborough, seniorconsultant at Watson Wyatt, says: “They arealready used to paying excesses for othertypes of individual insurance, such as motoror travel.”

Similar in its effect is co-insurance, wherethe employee pays a proportion, such as 10%of each claim, up to a ceiling, beyond which

Private medical insurance is a highly-valued perk,

but escalating costs are forcing employers to find ways

to pare down their premiums, says SSallyy Hamilton

Under coveroperations

�

� Negotiate harder at renewal, includingbroker fees.

� Apply an excess(£100 per person can save 7%).

� Exclude expensive hospitals (save up to 15%).

� Exclude pre-existing medical conditions(save up to 40%).

� Smaller employers could switch from claimsto an age-related scheme toavoid the impact of large individual claimson premiums.

� Remove benefit for family(save up to 40%).

� Exclude cancer (significant savings).

� Cap annual benefit by member or condition(save 20%).

� Cover essential treatments only(save up to 50%).

� Share claim costs with employee(save up to 15%).

� Switch from a PMI scheme to a corporatehealthcare trust(save up to 20% plus).

Tips to reducePMI premiums at a glance

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22 HEALTH & WELLBEING PMI www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

the insurer foots the bill.Providers say this cansave up to 15%. Claimscosts are also controlledbecause staff act moreresponsibly when theyhave to dip into theirown pocket.

Another way to push down premiums is toask the insurer to underwrite schememembers, thereby excluding pre-existingmedical conditions. “It is difficult toimplement underwriting for existing memberswho are used to being covered foreverything, so employers tend to do this fornew members only,” says Desborough.

In some cases, insurers used to shy awayfrom underwriting partly because of thepaperwork involved. But Rachel Riley,managing director at WPA Protocol, says: “Itis now possible to do it electronically, whichmakes it more appealing.”

Removing cover for cancer beyond initial

diagnosis, although potentially unpopularwith staff, is being used increasingly to cutPMI premiums. As a compromise, someemployers cover treatment for a set period,for example, a year. Whatever the situation,insurers encourage employers to sweeten thepill with the message that the NHS is the bestplace for cancer treatment. Some insurers,such as WPA, provide alternative top-upplans, which can be used for cancer drugs.

“Cancer claims are the most expensive, sotaking it out [of the plan] saves money, butorganisations can then put in top-ups fordrugs not covered by the NHS,” says Riley.

Asking employees to use cheaper hospitalscan also reduce premiums, and pre-arrangedrates for treatments can be agreed betweeninsurers and hospitals.

Self-insurance also offers cost-cuttingpotential, but this can be risky and is notnecessarily cheaper than buying a PMI policy,especially if claims end up exceedingpredictions. Employers that self-insure canlimit their risk by buying a stop-loss premiumto cover themselves against sky-high claims.This is also used by larger organisations thatset up corporate healthcare trusts. These inthemselves can save money because they donot attract 5% insurance premium tax, andeach can apply its own rules to containclaims, whether it be excesses, cost-sharing orexcluding certain treatments.

Hybrid schemeA type of hybrid scheme is also emerging,where the employer puts money into a fund,part of which is used to pay for treatments upto a certain limit and another part is used tobuy a policy to cover more expensive claims.HealthFund, for example, offers a schemewith employer excesses starting at £1,500.

Employers should check what fees andcommission are charged. There is no legalobligation on advisers to reveal commissions,but they must tell customers who ask.

One fees-only broker says: “Customers cansee what they are getting for their fee andnegotiate from there. We hear of otherbrokers that take commission which mightnot be justified for the work they do.”

The typical PMI commission rate is 5% andbrokers suggest fees should work out aboutthe same. Most fees also include two or threemeetings with the employer, as well as severalreports on relevant industry issues. Byreducing the number of meetings and reportsthey require, employers can trim the fee.

So employers that are battling with risingPMI costs do not need to suffer in silence. Anumber of cost-cutting options are availablethat can make it much less painful tocontinue offering the benefit to staff �

Sunderland-based Unipres, asupplier to the automotiveindustry, has provided privatemedical cover to all itsemployees since the firm wasset up in the early 1990s.Over the years it has takensteps to control the escalatingcost of offering the benefit toits 500 staff.

Graham Baines, director offinance and administration,says the first significant stepwas taken 10 years agofollowing big increases in PMIpremiums, which prompted itto move to a corporatehealthcare trust, administeredby insurer WPA. “This gave usimmediate savings, includingnot having to pay insurancepremium tax, and also gaveus more control over thescheme,” he says.

Unipres found that costsinevitably started to increase

again, so four years ago itintroduced a ‘sharedresponsibility’ element, withemployees paying 10% of thecost of a claim up to amaximum of £100 a year andfamily members contributing25%, up to a maximum of£250. Although excludingdependants altogether wouldhave saved more money,Unipres is against doing so.“We are family-oriented and itis a valued part of theemployee package,” says Baines

At the same time, thecompany removed cancercover after the point ofdiagnosis. “The generallyaccepted view is that the bestplace for cancer care is theNHS,” Baines adds.

However, the scheme hasthe discretion to cover the costof cancer drugs such as

Herceptin if an employeecannot receive it on the NHS.More savings have beenmade by capping certaintreatments, such as a£10,000 limit forpsychological conditions.

Unipres says its bills havefallen as a result of all theseinitiatives. But the continuingpressure on corporate budgets has again focusedattention on the scheme, andthe company is nowconsidering excluding pre-existing conditions fornew members.

Unipres

“Cancer claims are the mostexpensive, so taking it out [ofthe scheme] saves money, butorganisations can then put intop-ups for drugs not coveredby the NHS”

Rachel Riley, WPA Protocol

CASE STUDY

Read a buyer’s guide to PMI at: http://bit.ly/3fZbkr

The first ever review into the health of Britain’sworking age population by Dame Carol Black,national director for health and work, identifiedmusculoskeletal disorders as the biggest causeof sickness absence. In response to herrecommendations, the government haslaunched a £13m pilot of Fit for Work Servicesaimed at getting people back to work morequickly. The idea is that after four weeks’certified absence, employees would be referredto the Fit for Work Services and offered a rangeof support. The pilot is due to begin later thisyear and will run until at least 2011.

Fit for Work Services

24 HEALTH & WELLBEING MUSCULOSKELETAL www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 2009

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)account for more than half of alllong-term workplace absenteeism in

the UK. According to Labour Force research,8.8 million working days were lost in 2007-08through work-related MSDs, at an estimatedcost of £5.7bn to the economy. So employerscannot underestimate the importance ofhaving preventative and rehabilitativestrategies in place to tackle the problem.

It is all the more surprising, then, that theNational Health Service (NHS) is ill-equippedto cope with MSDs, both in terms of earlyintervention and in its capacity to meettreatment demands, says Dudley Lusted, headof corporate healthcare development at AxaPPP Healthcare. “If you take it that themusculoskeletal problem is some kind ofinjury, generally speaking, the first port of callis to get an assessment,” he says. “That mostlikely will be done by a physiotherapist, andphysiotherapy waiting time can be anythingup to three months. It can be very difficult to

Musculoskeletal disorders are a major cause of long-

term absence and must be tackled, says SScottt Beagrie

Exercisingcaution

assessment to identify potentialmusculoskeletal risk factors. These can rangefrom physical causes, such as repetitive tasks,to a poorly-arranged workstation area.

Improvements may involve redesigning jobroles, training staff in how to bend and liftproperly, and introducing lifting equipment.But Horan says some employers prefer tooffload responsibility for wellbeing at work toan occupational health (OH) provider.

Whatever their approach, good linemanagement is central to tackling theproblem because they are ideally placed toobserve the way people work. “If someonedevelops an issue and they need a riskassessment, it is not good enough to waittwo weeks for the OH provider to come in,”says Horan. “It needs to be carried out thenand action taken.”

Flexible working arrangements can alsoplay a major part in an employee’s phasedreturn to work. Other initiatives includelunchtime walking clubs and exercise classes,and on-site massages.

Employee benefits such as cycle-to-workschemes and subsidised or free gymmembership also have a part to play and canbe key components of preventative packages.

Overall, when tackling musculoskeletalissues, employers should ensure they areproactive and take steps such as settingdeadlines to help staff return to work, ratherthan letting an absence drift on. “Peopleshould be told how best to help and lookafter themselves,” says Horan. “Being off sickis not the best for the individual.” �

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More on cutting sickness absence: http://bit.ly/Wf1Cc

get to see somebody in any sort ofreasonable time without paying for it.”

If employers are prepared to pay for earlyassessment, this can be done relatively cost-effectively, with a typical physiotherapysession costing about £40. Once a prognosishas been made, appropriate treatment can beidentified, which may involve regularphysiotherapy sessions or referral to anotherspecialist, such as an osteopath, if required.Further treatments could be funded throughprivate medical insurance or healthcare cashplans, where employers offer these.

Paying for the initial assessment may stillbe more cost-effective for employers thanfacing the costs associated with theemployee’s absence. “When they considerthat cost against how much a person mightlose by way of time off work, it is a no-brainer why employers would pay forsomeone to go off and be assessed by aphysiotherapist,” adds Lusted.

The longer an employee is off work, theless likely they also are to return, says SharonHoran, an occupational health consultantwho sits on the Health, Work and WellbeingNational Stakeholder Council. Although theinitial cause of absence may be amusculoskeletal condition, staff may go on todevelop a psychological-related illness, suchas depression, during their time away fromwork. “The quicker employers get in withthese people and get them on to somephased return-to-work plan or other kind oftreatment, the better,” says Horan.

But prevention is better than cure, andprogressive people-management and work-organisation methods can help to reduce theincidence of work-related MSDs. A startingpoint is for employers to carry out a risk

26 I ADVERTISEMENT COMPANY PROFILES www.employeebenefits.co.uk October 09/supplement

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