Are Your Staff Actually Using the Health Benefits You Pay For?
Most employers who offer a health cash plan or wellbeing benefit have a simple question they never ask: how much of it actually gets used? Often the answer is very little. Allowances reset each year, and the money spent on them buys nothing.
This guide explains why benefits go unused, what they usually cover, and how to turn them into something your staff value.
What these benefits usually include
The most common workplace health benefit is a health cash plan. Staff pay for everyday healthcare, then claim the money back up to a yearly limit. Well-known providers include Westfield Health, Simplyhealth, Medicash, BHSF and Health Shield.
Depending on the plan, benefits can include:
Health screening or health assessments
Diagnostic tests
Private GP appointments
Dental, optical and physiotherapy costs
Some employers also fund a separate wellbeing budget, or include health checks in a wider benefits package. Private medical insurance is different: it covers treatment for new conditions and usually excludes routine screening.
Why benefits go unused
Nobody reads the policy. Staff don’t know a blood test or health check might be covered.
Arranging it is a hassle. Finding a clinic, booking, taking time off and travelling all put people off.
It’s easy to put off. Health checks feel optional until something goes wrong.
Allowances expire. Whatever isn’t claimed by the end of the year is lost.
The result: you pay for a benefit, your staff get little from it, and nobody’s health improves.
How to get value back
The simplest fix is to bring the health check to your staff. On a workplace health day:
staff book a 15-minute slot, so they lose almost no working time;
early starts (from 6:30am) mean site and shift teams are seen before work;
each person gets their own results, privately;
anyone who wants to talk through their results can book a follow-up GP appointment.
The company can pay for everyone, or pay for a core test and let staff add extras. Staff with a cash plan can claim back anything they pay for themselves.
What a health day could look like at different budgets
Entry level: a cholesterol and lipid profile, from £69 per person. Good for heart health campaigns and large teams.
Mid range: an essential health screen covering general health markers. Good for an annual staff health check.
Comprehensive: a wider panel such as Tired All The Time, with optional PSA for men. Good for senior teams or rewarding staff.
Blood pressure, BMI and other measurements can be added to any package. Every health day is quoted to fit your numbers, and the price per person drops as group size goes up.
Why it’s worth doing
Staff feel looked after. A visible, practical benefit means more than a policy document.
Problems are found earlier. Raised cholesterol or other markers can be picked up before they cause trouble.
You get value from money already spent. A benefit that gets used is worth far more than one that doesn’t.
Get a tailored quote
Tell us:
How many staff you’d like to include
Where they’re based (one site or several)
Your rough budget per person
Any tests you have in mind, or what you want to achieve
Preferred dates
We’ll design a package and send you a written quote. See our employee health checks page, email info@ypchealth.co.uk or call 0113 531 4947.
YPC Health is a CQC-registered clinic, rated Good, based in Ilkley and working with employers across Yorkshire.
Using your own cash plan as an individual
If you’re an employee with a health cash plan, you may be able to claim back a blood test, Health MOT or GP appointment at our Ilkley clinic.
Check your policy for health screening, diagnostics or GP benefits, and your remaining allowance.
Book online at our clinic.
Keep the itemised receipt we give you.
Submit it through your provider’s app or website.
Claims usually have a deadline, often a few months after your appointment. See our blood tests.
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