Health benefits
'more important in 2009'
16 September 2009 Breaking News
One in four companies (26%) plans to increase the range of healthcare benefits offered in the next 12 months, but they will need to deliver "much more tangible results", according to a new report from health insurer Simplyhealth.
According to the company's Bothered Britain survey, a third of HR professionals plan to increase the amount they spend on healthcare benefits in the next year, up from 15% in 2008. Forty per cent said that a company's healthcare provision was "very important" in influencing recruitment and retention, while 60% believe that health benefits packages have become more important in the last 12 months
However, the results suggest that the extent to which people believe their employer has a paternalistic attitude towards them is greatly overestimated by employers. Just 14% of people surveyed said they believed their employer was "genuinely bothered" about them, yet 71% of employers said they believed that their staff felt this way.
James Glover of Simplyhealth said: "It is great to see that companies are still bothered about the health and wellbeing of their employees in these turbulent times. Increasing pressure on businesses and employees has seen a rise in stress levels and combined with global health scares, employees are now taking health benefits seriously. This is why it is important for companies to really look at their employer and employee needs and address these with a comprehensive health benefits package that is cost effective and adds tangible value for the company."
The research was conducted among 255 HR professionals and 1031 working adults between 28 July and 5 August 2009.
Health Insurance magazine 16 September 2009
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