There are many benefits in ensuring your staff are active whilst at work, and some relatively simple ways to achieve them.
The health and wellbeing cost of being inactive
Being inactive is taking a significant toll on our health and wellbeing – it’s as dangerous to our health as smoking. Your staff could spend as much as three-quarters of their day sat down, which contributes to a range of preventable health conditions, including the two leading causes of workplace absence: back injuries and stress, depression or anxiety.
Government figures show in 2016/17, 1.3 million workers suffered from work-related ill-health, which equated to 25.7 million working days lost, of which a third are attributed to fatigue and musculoskeletal issues, such as lower back pain. This is estimated to cost your firm £522 per employee.
What can I do as an Employer
Helping your staff to be physically active at work can bring a number of benefits to you as an employer and doesn’t have to be difficult.
Cycle to work scheme
Cycle to Work started in 1999 – and allows you to loan bicycles and cycle safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit.
Gym or leisure facilities
You may be able to offer gym/leisure facilities in-house, from something as simple as a table tennis table through to a fully-kitted out gym depending on the size of your organisation.
You could also negotiate a staff reduction for your employees to use the local gym or leisure facility. If however your firm pays a direct contribution to the gym or leisure facility for your employees there are tax implications on your employees salary.
Standing Desks
A height-adjustable desk or sit-stand desk can be adjusted to both sitting and standing positions which may be effective at reducing sitting time during the work day between 30 minutes and two hours per working day. A recent study proves reducing sitting time boosts office staff’s work engagement and wellbeing.
Medical cover for your staff
You can also engage with insurance (like Aviva) or health mutuals (like Westfield Health) to provide your staff with various levels of cover. These are benefits in kind and therefore have tax implications on your employee.
The benefits for your staff is peace of mind in relation to spiralling medical bills, quick access to medical care which in turn may reduce the time your employee is absent from work. See the case study here.
Tax Exempt Medical Benefits
As an employer there are certain medical expenses you can pay for your staff that are exempt from taxation (and HMRC reporting).
They are:
- If your employee requires treatment related to injuries that has result from your employee’s work.
- Medical treatment to help an employee return to work
The latter is exempt if you pay up to £500 for costs for an employee to return to work, and your staff member must have either:
- been assessed by a health care professional as unfit for work (or will be unfit for work) because of injury or ill health for at least 28 consecutive days
- been absent from work because of injury or ill health for at least 28 consecutive days
More information is available here.
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