'Tax breaks' needed says health expert
Axa PPP Healthcare has called for the Government to provide financial incentives for employers taking steps to improve the health of staff.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Work Foundation and attended by Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, the insurer's head of corporate healthcare development, Dudley Lusted, said that tax breaks were key if more firms were to invest in employees' health.
"While some organisations have proved the link between good health and improved performance, the data is patchy and because budgets are always tight, it is hard to find new money. Wavering companies will find significant new money if the pump is primed through a reduction in tax," he said.
Lusted proposed that an approved healthcare programme should be created that when implemented, would attract a 1% reduction in National Insurance Contributions (NIC). He suggested that the programme should also include rehabilitation and should pay for private treatment for medical problems that prevent employees from working.
"In theory, a reduced level of NIC will lead to more healthcare investment. Greater investment will lead to more people at work, which, in turn, will lead to more NIC collected," he said.
Lusted also said it was unfair that employees endured tax liabilities when employers paid for private treatment.
"Employees should not pay tax where treatment is needed, an NHS waiting list exists and the employee is unable to work while waiting for treatment. This is a major barrier to the provision of workplace rehabilitation programmes," he added.
