SimplyhealthnewsThe newsletter for Simplyhealth’s business clientsSpring issue 2013

Good health is good business. We team up with the Chartered

Management Institute to produce the latest white paper

Celebrating our communitities. An insight into Simplyhealth’s

Community Funds

We’re launching new products for the corporate market

WINan Xbox 360 with Kinect, plus Just

Dance 4

CIPD delighted with Government’s commitment to reduce long term sickness absence

Hello and welcomeI would like to start by wishing you all a warm welcome to the first Simplyhealth News of the year. 2012 was a good year for Simplyhealth, which has enabled us to start 2013 in the best possible position.

We’ll be launching new products this year and improving the business section of our website. We’re also expanding our relationships with healthcare providers such as BMI, which will all help to improve the way we can help you and your employees.

We’re also excited to be working with Robertson Cooper to release our latest campaign, ‘Resilience in the Workplace’. We know that workplaces are under pressure, and employees are feeling the strain. That’s why we’re developing a pack for you to help your employees cope with what their roles throw at them. You can find details of how to pre order your pack in this edition.

Of course pressure in the workplace can lead to long term absence. That’s why it’s great to see the Government’s commitment to reduce long term sickness absence, which is supported by the CIPD.

As a company that follows mutual values, we’ll be continuing to support our communities in 2013. You can find out more about how we do that in this edition.

Finally, don’t forget to enter the competition for you and your employees. We have a fun prize up for grabs.

Happy reading!

Howard HughesHead of Employer Marketing

Government commits to reducing long term sickness absenceThe Government has announced plans to provide state funded occupational health advice to employers.

A health and work assessment and advisory service will provide advice to employees, employers and GPs to help people back to work after a period of sickness absence and prevent them falling out of employment.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has welcomed the proposal. Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy comments: “Research shows that the longer people are off sick, the less likely they are to make a successful return to work; after six months’ absence from work, there is only a 50% chance of someone making a successful return. Evidence also suggests that occupational health services are the most effective means of helping people with health problems back to work, yet only a minority of small firms provide access to these. The new service will therefore fill a gap in the market by providing free, independent, objective assessment and advice to help people make quicker and lasting returns to work.”

Simplyhealth’s view

This is a positive move, as keeping people in work is good for them, employers and the country as a whole. Employee Assistance Programmes are one way that employees can get the support they need, while managing a return to work. The fact that the Government is to retain tax relief on these programmes shows it realises the positive impact they can have.

Don’t forget we also have a managing absence module that you can add on to your Simply Cash Plan. This gives you access to a team of professionals who are there to help get your employees back to work. Speak to your Account Manager to find out more.

Our new Simply Cash Plan We have listened to the needs of our market and launched a new cash plan that will enable businesses throughout the UK to offer their employees additional healthcare benefits.

Our revised Simply Cash Plan includes a new primary care module, free child cover1, discounted gym membership at major brands, online health risks assessments and a dental accident benefit.

Howard Hughes, Head of Employer Marketing comments; “Over the past few years the corporate paid health cash plan market has seen considerable year on year growth. In times of economic difficultly, organisations are choosing to invest further in the health of their employees over traditional remuneration benefits such as pay rises and bonuses.

We have listened to the needs of our market and the lifestyle benefits we will be introducing in 2013 will include

a GP helpline, help with prescription charges, GP fees and vaccinations, which all form part of our new primary care module.”

If you’re coming up for renewal, speak to your Account Manager to find out more.1up to four children under the age of 18, living at the same address as the policyholder

Good health is good businessWe are working with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) to produce the latest release in our white paper catalogue: Good health is good business.Here is an exclusive extract from the paper:

With organisational performance and individual wellbeing both under strain, it is high time that managers and employers take seriously the idea that good health is good business.

Of course, managers will be concerned at taking up an agenda which seems only to offer increased costs at a time when cost-cutting is the order of the day. But initiatives to promote better

health and wellbeing need not be seen as a cost. Rather, they can be an investment in the organisation’s people: an investment with the potential to generate substantial returns. Recognising the importance of employee health is not a luxury for the good times, to be jettisoned when the going gets tough - it can come into its own in tough times, helping employees when they need it most and supporting higher performance levels.

You can get your own copy of this paper by going to our white paper library which can be accessed through our website, under the free resources section of the businesses page.

HEALTH INSURANCE

Our partnership with BMI HealthcareWe build strong partnerships with the major hospital groups in the UK to ensure our customers get the most choice and best possible care. Here’s a quick overview of one of our partners, BMI Healthcare.

As the UK’s largest1 independent hospital group, BMI Healthcare has a track record of achievement and success. It’s committed to offering tailored products and services, easy patient access and management, and the highest quality of care.

BMI Healthcare has a national network of hospitals which means that over 90% of adults with private medical insurance live within a 60 minute drive of a BMI hospital2.

It has 69 hospitals and healthcare facilities around the UK (including more than any other group in the London area) and employs over 6,000 consultants.

These facilities, together with its reputation for patient centred excellence, result in trust, confidence and reassurance for patients.

BMI Healthcare tailors its health solutions to suit the needs of our customers. Its focus is very much on ‘keeping our customers well’.

For any enquiries please call BMI Healthcare on 0808 101 0366 or visit their website www.bmihealthcare4business.co.uk for further information.

1 - Laing’s Healthcare Market Review 2011-20122 - Data modelled using TGI data 2008-2011 and BMI Research Data Target Group Index ©

Kantar Media UK 2012

We’ll also be launching a new best of breed private medical insurance offering for SMEs called Simply Employee Health on 1 July 2013. Watch this space to find out more!

We’re bothered about our communitiesWe’ve always followed mutual values, so supporting our communities is at the heart of what we do. With no shareholders, our profits are either reinvested into the business or given away to local and national charities. To us it’s simply about showing that we can be bothered.

Each year we donate at least £1 million to UK charities and community projects. Our Charitable Committee is responsible for deciding where to donate the money, from the many applications we get every year. Their job is to ensure the money goes where it will make the most impact.

We also have Community Funds based at each of our office locations, in Andover, Bristol, Leeds, Letchworth, Manchester and Winchester. Our employees make up these dedicated Community Funds and are given a sum of money from the Charitable Committee to donate to charities and good causes that will make a difference to people’s lives in their local area.

Read our article below to see how our national donations make a difference.

Take a look at some of the charities and projects our Community Funds have supported already:

The Bristol Community Fund donated £3,000 to Envision’s Pitch 4 Change project. They spent time mentoring a group of students from Bristol Metropolitan Academy to prepare them for a pitch to receive £500 to make a difference to their environment.

Manchester’s Community Fund donated £10,000 to BASIC, a charity dedicated to helping brain injury survivors. The donation will help them fund a virtual reality unit, which will be the first of its kind in the UK.

Andover’s Community Fund donated £15,500 to the Lions in the Community to enable them to continue their excellent work providing sporting events for children.

We are always looking for new charities and projects to support nationwide. If you have any charities or community projects that mean a great deal to you, send as much detail as you can through to clientnews@simplyhealth.co.uk and we will pass them on to our Charity Committee to review.

Fundraising to Feel GoodOn Friday 1 February 2013, we sponsored Samaritans’ fundraising day, Feel Good Friday, for the second consecutive year. The aim of the day was to encourage employees up and down the country to take part in ‘feel good’ themed activities, in return for a donation to Samaritans, the helpline for people struggling to cope.

Rachel Kirby-Rider, Samaritans’ Executive Director of Fundraising and Communications said, “In the workplace, there is more demand on people to

maintain high standards of performance, businesses are under increasing pressure to make difficult decisions… In this time, we have seen a shift in the type of calls we get, in the last three years calls about financial problems have doubled from one in ten, to one in five calls to the service.”

At Simplyhealth, we had a great day taking part in a variety of activities across all our offices, raising £2122.50 for this fantastic cause.

The Leeds Community Fund donated £4,210 to fund an awareness day for children who have been diagnosed with diabetes and to help with care management.

Simplyhealth’s view

With economic recovery looking slow, and the demands and pressures of working life increasing, stress in the workplace cannot be ignored.

Feel Good Friday was a great excuse to have some fun at work, and raise money for a worthy cause at the same time.

Our Simply Cash Plan is there to support your employees by providing counselling and health and wellbeing advice via a freephone helpline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Online newsWe asked our clients for feedback on our website and were told that while the feel of the site is modern, bright and friendly, there is often too much information on the pages. So, we listened and have launched a new, improved, succinct business section of our site – check it out at www.simplyhealth.co.uk/business

Fancy starring on our site?We are delighted to offer you the opportunity to star in a video testimonial to be published on our website. Raise your company profile as a forward thinking organisation that takes the wellbeing of your employees seriously. Just email us at clientnews@simplyhealth.co.uk and we will start the film rolling!

Check out our blogAccording to Professor Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, it’s the first time there are more people actively participating on social networks than those who are not. We are embracing the online world and have launched a brand new blog aimed at our corporate audience to share our specialist knowledge on healthcare and offer our views on the latest industry developments and workplace matters. You can find it under the businesses section at www.simplyhealth.co.uk/blog

Award winningWe were delighted that the end of 2012 saw two prestigious awards heading our way. We were named Best Cash Plan Provider at the COVER Excellence Awards 2012 and Best Health Care Insurance Provider at the 2012/13 Personal Finance Awards for the third year running.

We’re hopeful the winning streak will continue this year, as we are in the running to win two awards in the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) UK Customer Satisfaction Awards at the end of February.

Welcome new clientsWe’re proud to welcome all of our new clients including:

VodafoneLlangollen RailwayStones Solicitors LLPThe Challenge Network

Resilience in the WorkplaceStress is one of the most common causes of absence in the workplace (CIPD Absence Management Survey 2012, in partnership with Simplyhealth), so we have teamed up with Robertson Cooper to develop information packs to help you address this issue. To request your ‘Resilience in the Workplace’ pack in advance, please email clientnews@simplyhealth.co.uk

Have a Good Day at WorkWe are sponsoring Robertson Cooper’s Good Day at Work Annual Report 2013, which includes articles from leading industry experts on wellbeing, engagement and resilience.

You can get a copy of the report for only £15, instead of £35, by going to www.robertsoncooper.com/good-day-at-work-annual-report-2013 and entering discount code ‘Simplyhealth15’ at the checkout.

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Healthy Workplace Awards Our Healthy Workplace Awards continue to recognise UK organisations, in both the private and public sector, that show they care about the health and wellbeing of their employees.

Recent winners include: GISDA GreaterSport NG Homes

GISDA

If you would like to enter, or to find out more, please visit: www.simplyhealth.co.uk/healthyworkplaceawards

www.simplyhealth.co.uk/socialmedia

Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, registered and incorporated in England and Wales, No.183035. Registered office: Hambleden House, Waterloo Court, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 1LQ. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Your calls may be recorded and monitored for training and quality assurance purposes.

The closing date is 28 March 2013. Entries received after this time will not be considered. The prize draw will be independently supervised, the winners will be chosen at random and will be notified by telephone by 5 April 2013. Only existing corporate clients can apply and only one entry per company.

The prize consists of one Xbox 360 with Kinect, plus Just Dance 4 game for one winner, which will be delivered to the office of the winning workplace. Simplyhealth’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. We reserve the right to replace the prize with an alternative prize of equal or higher value. This promotion is only open to UK residents aged 18 or over and only open to mainland UK addresses. The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternatives are available. No purchase is necessary. Should you win, you are agreeing to us promoting your name and company name via all Simplyhealth communications channels.

The Promoter is Simplyhealth, Simplyhealth House, Derwent Avenue, Manchester M21 7QP. People connected with Simplyhealth, their families or anyone else involved in the administration of this offer are not eligible to enter. For details of the winner, please write to Employer Marketing, Simplyhealth, Simplyhealth House, Derwent Avenue, Manchester M21 7QP.

CompetitionIn the spirit of feeling good in the workplace, having a giggle and getting active at the same time, we have an amazing prize that will bring your whole office together. You could get your hands on an Xbox 360 with Kinect, plus Just Dance 4, for you and your employees to have a blast during break times!

Using your body as the controller, your office can bop away to their heart’s content, and it doesn’t stop there, when everyone has danced their socks off, they can watch TV, movies and sport or listen to music – all selected with the sound of their voice!

All you have to do to win this groovy prize is answer the following question:

Simply email your answer, along with your contact details to clientnews@simplyhealth.co.uk

Good luck!

What award did we win at the 2012/13 Personal Finance Awards?

Oliver Lord, Practice Manager at

Cleveland Surgery, was the lucky winner of the last competition and is now the proud owner

of an iPad.

GreaterSport

NG Homes