The majority of businesses now feel more responsible for staff health due to the ongoing NHS funding crisis and lengthening waiting lists, according to a Simplyhealth survey.
Overall 70% of businesses said the NHS waiting list crisis had caused them to feel a greater responsibility to look after their employees’ health while 81% said poor employee health could decrease their company’s productivity.
And 40% of organisations noticed their employees were struggling to access NHS care (40%), with the majority (57%) who did not offer health cover now considering it but worried about the expense.
The Opinium survey of 500 HR decision makers across UK businesses for Simplyhealth also showed the healthcare (45%) and education sectors (43%) were the most likely to see rising sick days, with the majority taken for mental health and musculoskeletal issues.
Third on the list for sick days was the manufacturing sector (35%), however these businesses were far more likely to offer health plans (45%) and medical insurance (64%) to their staff.
Employers in education and healthcare were more likely to only provide basic occupational health services such as an assessment of desk set up to reduce back pain and eye strain.
The survey follows figures from the ONS showing the number of people out of work on long-term sick had hit a record high of 2.83 million people.
Employees want support
Opinium also quizzed 2,000 employees across a range of sectors with half (52%) saying if their employer offered a form of health cover, such as GP appointments and physiotherapy, they would not need to take as much time off sick.
Staff from across all industries took the most time off work for mental health and musculoskeletal issues with 5.8 and 5.7 days respectively in the past year – and think their employer should take greater responsibility for their health at work (72%).
The majority (52%) of employees say that if they had a form of health care provided through work, they wouldn’t need to take so much leave because they could see a doctor sooner.
Of employees who did have access to health cover, three in five (60%) said it was the most valuable benefit on offer to them and around half (52%) said this benefit is what attracted them to join their company.
Nearly three-quarters (72%) said it incentivised them to stay with their current employer and 67% would be worried about changing jobs in case their new employer did not offer health cover. A total of 82% would value health cover for quicker GP access.
Reduce recruitment burden
Paul Schreier, CEO of Simplyhealth, said: “With sick days on the rise, and significant NHS waiting times, businesses are turning to private health cover so their staff can be seen quickly and stay healthy at work.
“It also helps them to attract and retain employees, reducing the financial burden of recruitment.
“With the costs of PMI going up, businesses are attracted to more affordable solutions that offer options to select the exact health services needed, whether it’s those in education needing more mental health support, or manufacturers needing more physio for back and neck problems.
“We welcome the recent government focus on increasing the provision of workplace health support, and it’s crucial that this continues so we can reverse the workplace sickness epidemic, along with protecting and sustaining the NHS so it can focus on more complex treatments.”