BHSF Rise
BHSF’s new Rise plan is an employee assistance programme (EAP) that offers personalised, on-demand and proactive advice and support from a range of expert mental health, financial and legal providers. The plan provides:
• A 24/7 counselling and advice line.
• 24/7 phone access to personal legal information and support, provided by Irwin Mitchell.
• Face to face counselling.
• 24/7 health and wellbeing advice and support.
• 24/7 phone access to personal financial and debt information and support, provided by Auriga.
• Your Care Support – support for carers, provided by Tutella.
• Brain and Spine Foundation advisory service.
• Case management – individual support.
• 24/7 GP consultation service, provided by Medical Solutions.
• Psychiatric assessment and complex cases access to online resources including cognitive behavioural therapy workbooks.
• A range of additional consulting services including workplace mediation, mental and physical health training and health and safety training.
For employees the services available include:
• Personal and highly confidential advice and support.
• GP access 24/7 online or by phone.
• A dedicated case manager to guide them through the process.
• A wide breadth of services and advice delivered by fully qualified experts.
• Unlimited call length, no time restraints.
• Full 24/7 access to specialists including face to face consultations.
• Quick access to support through fast-track referrals.
For employers the plan offers:
• A dedicated phone number and access code for BHSF’s portal. This can be circulated to employees, giving them access to the service whenever and wherever they need it.
• Access to quarterly and annual management information reports.
• To encourage employee engagement, there is a launch pack, explaining the key benefits and how employees can benefit from the service.
• Employees can self-refer themselves using the phone number provided. Or, line managers or occupational health teams can refer them.
• Employees can also confidentially log on to the portal to get access to a range of online services including self-help workbooks and cognitive behaviour therapy workbooks.
Comment: This plan is BHSF’s take on the EAP proposition, but modified so as to not just provide the right practical benefits but to help in uptake too. BHSF estimates only 4-6% of employees use an EAP, but that the need is actually much greater.
So, what’s different? BHSF uses external specialists rather than in-house staff to provide the services and this enables it to select the firms it believes best provide those services. Employees can self-refer too or may be referred e.g. by their line manager for example. Getting regular MI is important for the employer too.
Overall, it’s an attractive proposition for employer and employee alike that should, by being more proactive, see more employees benefit from their EAP.
Plus points: A sort of EAP+ service for firms; Developed over some time to refine the benefits; Proactive; Self-referral to a range of specifically chosen experts; Good connectivity.
Not so plus points: EAPs cab be quite complex and this is too; Some may prefer all services to be offered in-house, especially if this involves connectivity issues; Some employers may prefer to have different benefits .
Website: http://www.bhsf.co.uk/bhsf-rise.
Rating (max 10): Overall: 9. Platinum
Tags: Other; BHSF