Important Health-Related Benefits to Offer Employees

Though in the UK everybody receives access to nationalised healthcare via the National Health Service (NHS), many people still choose to pay for private care because, in their opinion, it allows them to receive the care they need when they need it, plus they get the ability to choose the hospital (and in some cases, the doctor) who ultimately treats them.

If you run your own business with a fair number of employees it could be of benefit to you, and indeed to your employees, to offer them health-related benefits above and beyond that offered by the NHS. Many employers up and down the country have been doing that in recent years, with their reasons for doing so often including the facts that:

a)   It boosts moral among staff when they know their employers value them enough to provide them with health-related benefits above and beyond what they're legally entitled to.

b)   It allows employees who feel there may be something amiss within their body to get it checked out as soon as possible, rather than leaving it too late.

Within the health benefits you offer them you're going to want to ensure that, at the very minimum, the following is offered to you, your partners, and your employees:

UK Diagnosis and Scans

The health-related benefits you offer up to your employees should allow them to receive diagnosis on a potential condition, as well as medical scans, within the UK.

This is a crucial point, as at this early stage you want to get things seen to as quickly as possible so to decide what the plan of action is going forward if there is something wrong. The health benefits you provide them with should allow them to attend a private facility at the front of the line, booking an appointment one day and arriving at the appointment the next (potentially even doing both on the same day).

Hospital Choices

If after your scans and diagnosis it does seem that you're going to have to be booked in at a hospital for either further tests, or surgery itself, the benefits you provide to your employees should allow them to choose what hospital they go to (out of a certain number of hospitals), in a country of their choice.

This last point is very important, as often a certain individual with have thoughts on one location or another which they just can't shake, therefore it's better when they have the option of where they get treated, as putting this decision to them will help to aid their recovery. In this regard, the small business medical insurance you provide must be able to be personalised to the needs of individual employees. Your own health, after all, is a very personal thing.

Travel and Accommodation

There's no use giving your employees all these extra health-related benefits if they're then going to have to pay significant amounts of money every time they have to go abroad to take advantage of them.

For this reason, these benefits must include travel and accommodation costs for both the employee in question, as well as their partner or anybody else who chooses to accompany them on their trip. All in, the employee should have to pay as little as possible towards their care.

In conclusion, though in the UK everybody receives access to nationalised healthcare via the NHS, many people still choose to pay for private care because, in their opinion, it allows them to receive the care they need when they need it, plus they get the ability to choose the hospital (and in some cases, the doctor) who ultimately treats them.

About the Aauthor:

Passport2Health is a company in the UK specialising in small business medical insurance. Their policies feature private diagnosis in the country and hospital treatment in Paris, Barcelona and other major cities.