Insurer Admiral provides enhanced optical benefits to its 6,521 UK staff to ensure employees maintain good overall health.
As part of its wider health and wellbeing strategy, Admiral introduced its eyecare benefit, provided by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, in April 2017. The benefit is designed to fulfil the organisation’s statutory requirements by providing staff with a free eye test as well as glasses if they are needed solely for display screen equipment (DSE) use, as well as offering e-vouchers that enable employees to receive discounts on vision correction. This includes an e-voucher that awards a £20 discount on glasses within Specsavers’ £99 range for employees with a general prescription, or an e-voucher for up to £65 off the cost of glasses needed solely for visual display unit (VDU) use.
The organisation enhanced its eyecare provision above statutory requirements to ensure employees could gain easy access to eyecare, whatever their requirements, and to help them stay on top of both their optical health and overall health. Heather John, benefits administrator at Admiral, explains: “Admiral always wants to pride [itself] on [having] a happy and productive workforce. We want everyone to be happy [and] healthy at work and make [eyecare benefits] as easy and accessible as possible for them. The eye test vouchers were [introduced] to cut out any out-of-pocket expense for employees, to make it as easy and accessible for them to get the eye test that they [need] to ensure they [are] always healthy in the workplace.”
The eyecare benefit was primarily launched to employees using on-site visits from Specsavers to Admiral’s four main operating sites, including two offices in Swansea, one in Newport and one in Cardiff. The on-site sessions, which now take place on a six-monthly basis, are set up in a staff area, such the canteen or reception, and enable employees to question the provider about how the eyecare scheme works, as well as find out basic eye health information. The on-site visits also allow employees to have eyesight and hearing tests, as a taster to booking a full eyesight examination.
John says: “The regular reminders ensure that they’re constantly on top of their eyecare and their health. It keeps them in the workplace, able to perform as best they can. There [are] no absences because of it, so no headaches and stuff that can arise because of [poor eyesight]; it’s keeping them in their job day-to-day.”
Since April 2017, approximately 300 eyecare e-vouchers have been redeemed by employees using the scheme and nearly 500 e-vouchers have been issued in total.
Admiral also provides an employee assistance programme (EAP), conducts employee healthcare polls and run awareness days as part of its health and wellbeing strategy. This is managed by a dedicated Ministry of Health team within the organisation. “It keeps [employees] healthy in the workplace,” adds John.