No Result
View All Result
Benefits Expert
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Alerts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • PROFILE
  • PENSIONS
  • GLOBAL REWARDS
  • FINANCIAL BENEFITS
  • HEALTH & WELLBEING
  • DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
  • PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Benefits Expert
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • PROFILE
  • PENSIONS
  • GLOBAL REWARDS
  • FINANCIAL BENEFITS
  • HEALTH & WELLBEING
  • DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
  • PODCAST

Employers say preventative mental health support has biggest impact

by Benefits Expert
07/10/2025
Mental health
Share on LinkedInShare on Twitter

Almost nine in ten employers (88 percent) offer preventative health and wellbeing support to staff, with mental health initiatives emerging as the most beneficial.

This was the main finding of a survey of 500 HR decision-makers and 1,250 UK employees conducted on behalf of Grid, the industry body for the group risk sector.

Researchers found that 43 percent of employers offering preventative measures said mental health support, such as counselling or employee assistance programmes (EAPs), delivered the greatest benefit to staff. This compares with 39 percent which cited physical health support, and 27 percent which pointed to financial and social wellbeing initiatives as offering the most staff benefit.

Almost all (97 percent) large employers (over 250 staff) provide preventative support. This falls to 76 percent of micro-employers (with fewer than 10 staff). The gap widens further for mental health provision, with 71 percent of large firms offering dedicated mental health support versus just 38 percent of micro-employers.

The research also showed that employees are frustrated by the limited health support from the government. Nearly half (48 percent) said a lack of preventative health and wellbeing support from the government affects them and their colleagues.

Grid said prevention is increasingly becoming the “direction of travel” for employers, government and the NHS alike, driven by the need to address the UK’s long-term sickness absence challenge. This shift is clear in the government’s plan to move towards a greater emphasis on sickness prevention, as set out in its 10 year Health Plan. It’s a theme that was also emphasised in a recent speech by Sir Charlie Mayfield, who is leading the government-backed Keep Britain Working review.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Grid, said: “There’s so much preventative support available for employers and employees via employee benefits and this is increasingly included within group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness).

“Employers who help build mental resilience, champion a healthy lifestyle, and support their staff in health screening and medical assessments will see their absence levels reduced, and minimise presenteeism. Furthermore, they will see reduced costs due to fewer claims.

“When prevention is embedded into the company culture it can have quite astounding results.”

RELATED POSTS

Menopause, womens health, health and wellbeing

Most employers still unprepared as menopause policies set to become law

Pension, Money, financial, cash, pay, savings, education, wellbeing, budgets

Pay gains, flexibility loss: study links NLW to long-term hiring challenges

Next Post
Menopause, womens health, health and wellbeing

Most employers still unprepared as menopause policies set to become law

SUMMIT

BENEFITS UNBOXED PODCAST

Benefits Unboxed
Benefits Unboxed

The podcast from Benefits Expert, the title for HR, reward and benefits professionals.

Seasoned professionals examine the challenges and innovations in today’s employee benefits, reward and HR sector. Every episode, they will unbox a key issue and unpack what it really means for employers and how they can tackle it.

The regulars are Claire Churchard, editor of Benefits Expert; Carole Goldsmith, HR director at the Royal Horticultural Society, and Steve Herbert, consultant and rewards & benefits veteran.

Benefits Unboxed – Hybrid work: reality versus rhetoric
byBenefits Expert from Definite Article Media

Return-to-office mandates are a topic that’s generating plenty of heat in the media, but how closely do the headlines match workplace reality? 

In this episode, one of a three-part series of 10-minute podcasts, hosts Claire Churchard and Steve Herbert discuss data that shows remote or home working is on the rise.

We look at what this means for HR, from balancing employee flexibility with business needs, to ensuring benefits packages remain fair and accessible. We discuss the pinch points, and the opportunities, in building the new normal of work.

Benefits Unboxed – Hybrid work: reality versus rhetoric
Benefits Unboxed – Hybrid work: reality versus rhetoric
31/08/2025
Benefits Expert from Definite Article Media
Search Results placeholder

GUIDE TO CASH PLANS



REQUEST A FREE COPY

OPINION

Luke McClaran, chief people officer, Vitality

Luke McClaran: prevention pays, why employer health checks matter

Duncan Brown, principal associate, Institute for Employment Studies, pay. reward, work

From ‘boat people’ to boardrooms: HR can help reshape migration mindsets

Neil Mullarkey, communications, expert, author, improv

Why marketing will define tomorrow’s reward leaders

Steve Herbert, consultant, ambassador, reward, benefits, HR strategy

Steve Herbert: The art of the deal?

SUBSCRIBE

Benefits Expert

© 2024 Definite Article Limited. Design by 71 Media Limited.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact

Follow Benefits Expert

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • In depth
  • Profile
  • Pensions
  • Global rewards
  • Financial benefits
  • Health & wellbeing
  • Diversity & Inclusion