Employers are willing to look after the oral health of their employees, according to the majority of...
Employers are willing to look after the oral health of their employees, according to the majority of respondents to Simplyhealth's fourth Annual Dental Survey.
The survey, which interviewed 1706 of the public and 255 HR managers and directors, found 71% of employers felt this way. It was also discovered that those companies which did offer dental benefits believed they were helping with employee engagement.
James Glover, corporate director at SimplyHealth, said: "Despite companies seeing their value, only 56% of respondents actually offer dental benefits. However, of these employers offering dental benefits, nearly half believe they help to reduce absence for dental health problems, and 48% believe it makes it easier to monitor time off for dental appointments."
He added: "When looking at the barriers to implementing dental benefits, it may be unsurprising to learn that the main one is cost, with complexity coming a close second."
The survey also discovered that over 80% of HR managers were concerned that employees could not afford to look after their health, Simplyhealth's survey found 43% of those surveyed had not visited a dentist due to cost, up from 19% in 2003. This rises to 60% in London.
More than six out of ten HR managers thought introducing dental benefits would improve staff morale; over half thought that dental benefits would reduce sickness absence; and 54% thought dental benefits could enhance recruitment and retention. Only 8.2% of the population has a health cash plan.
