Just a little help

The increased pace of today's working environment has affected the daily workloads of the majority of UK employees forcing them to cope with longer working hours, increased demands and greater pressure to achieve.

In addition, tighter budgets and decreased resources have combined to put further strain on employees that is resulting in a growing number of cases of work-related emotional and physical illness and time off work.

Work-related stress is just one of a growing number of healthcare issues that are impacting upon companies of all sizes and from all industries.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) employee absence survey 2002, an issue ducked by many employers ' stress ' is seen as the main cause of long-term absence among non-manual staff, with 13.4 million days lost to stress, depression or anxiety disorders. Also, among the main areas cited by employers as causes of health-related absence from work are back pain and time taken for dental treatments.

The same survey reveals that these absences constitute a 'significant' or 'very significant' burden to businesses.

So, what can an employer do to help address some of these issues in a cost effective way? One of the fastest growing employee benefits, healthcare cash plans, can offer such a solution and are increasingly being sought after by a variety of businesses from all industry types ranging from progressive blue-chip organisations to smaller family concerns.

Cash plans can help managing directors and HR managers juggle the ongoing healthcare requirements of the workforce with the ongoing productivity of the business. They can also provide a lucrative opportunity for intermediaries looking for a relevant, topical and profitable new product to introduce to existing and potential new clients.

Growing concerns

From back pain to stress and routine dental and optical check-ups, there will be very few industries that have not been affected by the negative effects of employee absence.

Back pain is the number one cause of sickness absence in the UK. In 2003 alone, it has been estimated British industry will lose £5bn from employees taking time off with back pain complaints, with the worst cases found in manual professions.

Absenteeism due to workplace stress is not far behind. A survey by The Samaritans has shown this to be a rising problem, especially in today's fast moving high technology culture.

Alarmingly, more than 40% of people consider themselves more stressed that they were five years ago ' with work quoted as the biggest cause.

The same survey also reported that one in five people feels stressed on a daily basis and nearly half are so badly affected by stress that it leaves them feeling depressed or very down.

Worrying figures, especially when you consider that emotional burn out is accompanied by a plethora of physical symptoms including mood swings, anxiety, skin problems, tiredness, muscle tension, poor concentration, poor memory, low self esteem and acute insomnia ' all of which can seriously impair an individual's performance at work.

More time in the office is also taking its toll. Late night working and long hours at the VDU is affecting the nation's eyes. With more than 65% of the nation wearing glasses or contact lenses and the law dictating that employers are now accountable for the cost of regular eye checks and providing regular breaks, this is also an area in which employers would benefit from a healthcare strategy.

Dental-related absence is also nothing to smile about. According to the British Dental Association, a massive 15 million days are lost every year as employees attend appointments and recover from treatments.

To compound the problem, two out of five dentists are now refusing new NHS patients meaning more people are being forced to attend private clinics and bear the brunt of high treatment costs. Pressures on time, combined with a fear of treatment costs ' or even the treatment itself ' leads to many individuals postponing treatment until problems become acute and require significant time off work.

Cash plans can help address these problems while bringing added business benefits such as improving overall staff motivation and recruitment and retention of staff.

By offering cover, employers can remove the traditional cost barriers to immediate treatment and help employees resolve problems quickly and easily with the minimum of time away from work.

This, in turn, helps the long-term overall health of their organisation. A happy, healthy workforce is one that feels the employer cares about its health and wellbeing and is ultimately more productive and stable.

An easy door opener or cross-sell with new and existing corporate customers, intermediaries may find cash plans a useful addition to their existing healthcare portfolio as they provide cash payments towards the increasing cost of essential regular healthcare treatments.

Specialist treatment

An extensive range of everyday, essential healthcare costs is usually covered ' from contact lenses, new glasses and fillings to more specialised treatments including physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture.

Complementary therapies such as reflexology, aromatherapy and homeopathy are often covered by cash plans, along with 24-hour confidential helplines providing individuals with advice on areas such as legal problems, debt, medical queries and stress counselling. This can help employers to provide care for employees away from the workplace and protect the business from the impact of home life stress.

Different cash plans offer different selling points and there should be one to suit every client, from the standard policy to more innovative and tailored health screening plans.

Offering different levels of cover to cater for various levels of the organisation, cash plans can cover employees for health screens and offer cash back for the cost of associated treatments such as GP or specialist consultation fees, X-rays, scans and eyesight testing.

Interest in such products could also be set to rise, as healthcare continues to be a subject of national debate receiving extensive media coverage in the national press. The reduction in availability of free, immediate treatment on the NHS is well documented and waiting times for consultations, referrals and non-life threatening treatments continues to increase.

Cash plans offer payments towards a wide range of healthcare costs and can help to alleviate pressures on the NHS by encouraging employees to investigate any issues straight away without worrying about cost or waiting for a GP referral. Dental, optical and complementary therapies continue to be the main claim areas.

Reflecting a change in the nation's psyche, HealthSure's claims analysis indicates that more individuals are taking better care of their health by taking time out to de-stress, relax and focus through complementary therapies and other less invasive treatments.

Along with dental and optical claims, which have risen by 12% and 9% respectively, complementary treatments such as reflexology, homeopathy and chiropody have increased significantly by more than 50% over the last two years.

Physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and osteopathy treatments have also seen a dramatic rise in claims by 87% over the past two years.

Underlining the trend for preventative measures and regular health checks as well as beating the queues, policyholders are also making better use of the more specific areas such as specialist consultations, which has risen by 14% along with X-rays, which have increased by 39%.

Providing for both expected and unexpected illnesses, cash plans can also be used when employees are well. Benefits can be used over again ' not just by the employee but also their partners and children.

Premiums for cash plans can start at as little as £2 a week, so are a viable benefit for roll out to the entire workforce ' meaning higher commission potential for intermediaries.

Non-divisive, the benefits are relevant to all from shop floor operatives to company directors, helping to enhance motivation and creating a stable working culture based on health and wellbeing.

Cash plans can also help to reduce the costs associated with staff recruitment. The cost of covering employees on sickness leave can have a detrimental effect on business along with the time and expense of training new starters.

CIPD labour turnover surveys hold some interesting facts and figures. Unsurprisingly, 66% of personnel respondents reported that labour turnover had a negative effect on the performance of their organisation that year.

The average costs of staff changes are high. In 2001, the average cost of an employee moving on was £3,462 with even higher costs incurred if this person was in a management position.

Recruiting the right person for the job can also be difficult and, rather than being the main focus of an employee contract, cash plans can help differentiate one package from another.

Most cash plan providers have developed marketing packages to help intermediaries sell more effectively and communicate the benefits of the plans to their customers. Packages include literature, technical support, on-site presentations, intranet and internet material.

A fast-growing, topical and emotive issue, workplace health is forcing all employers to sit up and take notice of staff health requirements.

Through cash plans intermediaries can help clients address these issues, while improving recruitment, retention and morale.

Raman Sankaran is head of marketing at HealthSure