The NHS are looking to employers to take responsibility for their employees health. Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive, has suggested the possibility of offering incentives to businesses who offer health and wellbeing programmes for their staff.

At yesterday’s Institute of Directors Annual Conference NHS England Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, spoke about some of the challenges facing the NHS and set out a five year plan of solutions.

We’re so fortunate to have a tax-funded National Health Service, rather than employer based health insurance, as in the USA for example. On the role of employers in workplace health Simon said: “we don’t saddle business with the costs of health care. But one by-product (of this) is that we tend to neglect workplace health.”

“The NHS will therefore now work with the Institute of Directors, and other employers and staff organisations to explore whether there is a case for suggesting to Government consideration of fiscal incentives – perhaps an employers’ national insurance rebate – for those small employers who provide their employees with credentialed health and wellbeing programmes proven to cut long term costs to the NHS.”

We at Exercise in the City are passionate about getting workplaces active and have seen first hand how offering fitness classes for staff in the office can improve staff’s health. Pilates classes are proven to help with back pain and muscle tightness – the results from sitting at a desk all day.  And offering more active classes, like Circuits and Boot Camp, help to improve staff’s general fitness levels.  So we’re delighted to see that the NHS are looking to work with employers on more workplace health initiatives.

Offering fitness classes for your staff can be just a small investment – with the proven benefits far outweighing the costs. Classes can be held before/after-work or in a lunch-break. You just need a free meeting room or space in your office.
Find out more about organising classes in your workplace. 

If you would like to book a taster fitness class for your staff contact us at info@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more.

Did you know? The NHS spends over £40 billion a year on treating working age adults, much of which could be prevented. That’s on top of the estimated £32 billion cost of sickness absence caused by 130 million days off work.

References:
– NHS England Press Release  Simon Stevens speech at the Institute of Directors Annual Convention
– ‘How exercising at work really could pay off‘ Daily Mail Article
– Institute of Directors Annual Conference 2015