In response to the Government's plans to encourage employers to become champions of public health, James Glover, sales and marketing director for Simplyhealth said: "The Government has laid out its ambitious vision for public health in the white paper; healthy lives, healthy people. We at Simplyhealth believe its plan to make employers ‘champions' of public health is to be commended. By promoting good health in the workplace employers can influence their employees' wider health and wellbeing.
"Encouragingly, our recent Bothered Britain Report found that 44% of employers plan to increase the range of health benefits they offer because they are genuinely concerned about the health and wellbeing of their staff. 65% said that they have a shared responsibility, alongside individuals and the Government for the health of the nation.
"However, benefits must remain affordable so employers can implement a successful health and wellbeing strategy, and we believe that in order to really make an impact, businesses will need to be incentivised financially. The 1% increase in Insurance Premium Tax that takes effect in January does the opposite; the Government needs to ensure that its well intended words are matched by its actions."
