National Eye Health Week: Eye Health Care Benefits for Employees

Research by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare has found that 89% of employees value eye health care as an employee benefit and that 88% of employers believe eye care contributes to the overall health and wellbeing of their employees. It is therefore surprising that 26% employers state that they spend less time sourcing and communicating eye care than other available employee benefits.

The research, which was carried out among 500 senior decision makers from companies across the UK, concluded that eye care is being taken more seriously among UK companies than ever before. Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare states that eye care is now viewed as an employee benefit in itself and not just as an obligatory provision.

Employer obligations

Obligations established in the Health and Safety Regulations of 1992 state that if your employees work with Display Screen Equipment (DSE) for longer than an hour a day, you must pay for your employees' eye tests and any corrective lenses needed for them to do their job correctly. You must also check your employees' screens are well positions and properly adjusted, install high-quality lighting conditions and ensure your employees are taking regular breaks from screen work.

Display screen equipment includes any screens such as computers and tablets and thus, this obligation affects most office-based employees. It can also refer to retail staff who spend a large amount of time on tills and using hand-held electronic devices such as scanners.

Although DSE work does not cause any permanent damage to your employees' eyes, it can lead to long spells of tired eyes, discomfort, temporary short-sightedness and headaches.

Your business must therefore arrange for the cost of your employees' eye tests to be covered. It is up to you on how you provide the eye tests you can either let your employees arrange the tests and reimburse them for the cost later, or you may send all your workforce to the same optician whenever they request an eye test.

Employee benefit

Looking after your employee's sight can be one of the most cost-effective and beneficial ways an employer can support health and wellbeing in the workplace. Not only are eye tests imperative in reducing discomfort and providing the right prescription glasses, but they also check for conditions such as glaucoma and cataracts. These checks can also detect and monitor serious conditions which affect your employee's wider health like diabetes, increased blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

As part of a wider health benefit, health cash plans frequently cover eyecare alongside a host of other health benefits and treatments. They are also included in workplace health-screenings where employees can see where their health is at currently with the guidance and support of a doctor. These benefits provide a cost-effective employee method that fulfils obligations while engaging with employees and supporting them on a wider health level.

Eye health care benefits are best served as part of a larger employee wellbeing strategy. 

We all know that employee wellbeing is not simply the result of supporting their physical wellbeing. Our wellbeing depends on our mental, social, physical and financial wellbeing. We must feel secure, healthy, accepted and happy to live our best lives. 

Your organisation might already be equipped with a wellbeing strategy. Yet, it's essential to ask: is it truly comprehensive? Does it effectively cater for all aspects of wellbeing?

We're here to support you with our Workplace Wellness Guide.

This guide provides tools to:

• Assess and improve your existing wellbeing initiatives.
• Adopt a structured process to either establish a new wellbeing strategy or improve upon your current one.
• Recognise the pivotal importance of wellness in driving business success.

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