Two in 10 businesses are planning to offer private medical insurance (PMI) for their employees in 2024, according to polling conducted on behalf of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN).
The survey by Savanta, found a quarter (25%) of all businesses now offer PMI for their employees, with a further 20% planning to introduce it in the next year.
It also found nearly a fifth (18%) of employers are planning on introducing occupational health services over the next 12 months.
More than half of organisations (51%) raised concerns that the current NHS waiting times may result in employees taking long absences or permanently leaving work due to sickness.
Almost two thirds (64%) of medium and large businesses reported concerns about the risk of long waits, and here, nearly a third (32%) were considering PMI in the next year, with 35% intending to bring in occupational health.
Over a quarter (27%) of all businesses – increasing to over a third (35%) of those employing in excess of 1,000 people – said that sickness absence rates have increased in their organisation over the last 12 months.
Most businesses (52%) also said they were concerned that current NHS waiting times may increase sickness absence rates at their organisation – a figure that rises to six in 10 businesses with more than 1,000 employees.
David Hare, CEO of IHPN (pictured), said: “These findings show that businesses are being proactive in ensuring the wellbeing of their workforce.
“A quarter of surveyed companies already have PMI in place for their employees, and a further 20% are planning to introduce it in the next year. One in five companies are also looking to introduce occupational health services.
“We know from our research that pressures on the health service are a real concern for businesses – they are having an impact on staff absence rates and productivity.
“So it’s no surprise to see that a growing number of businesses are looking at putting in place additional support to improve the health and wellbeing of their staff.”
Hare added that providing PMI and occupational health services was becoming an important factor for job candidates making decisions about where they work.
“Our recent study, Going Private found that half of all people would be more likely to apply for a job if PMI was part of the overall package,” he continued.
“It’s particularly attractive to younger people – over two thirds of 18-24 year olds said they’d be more likely to apply for a job if PMI was included as a benefit.”