What is an Employee Assistance Programme? 

An Employee Assistance Programme is designed for staff to strengthen emotional resilience to manage day-to-day issues both in the workplace and their personal lives. It provides employees access to a wide range of health and wellbeing tools and services to help with issues big and small. 

EAPs can offer everything from counselling sessions to simple self-help tools to financial guidance. 

Employee Assistance Programmes can help alleviate the stress often associated with: 

• Work-related issues
• Financial worries 
• Legal problems
• Substance / alcohol abuse 
• Mental health 
• Domestic / family issues
• Gambling addiction 
• Feelings of isolation / loneliness
• Bullying and harassment (workplace and personal)
• Anxiety and depression 
• Domestic violence 
• Health and lifestyle struggles

Staff don’t need to be in difficult or traumatic situations to benefit from EAPs. The services included are also for anyone needing that extra bit of support. Because we can all benefit from a boost in our emotional resilience and sense of control in life!

What’s included in an Employee Assistance Programme?

The level of support included in Employee Assistance Programmes vary depending on the provider. Below, you’ll find the essential services that often crop up when researching the different EAP providers in the market: 

• Confidential support services (24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year)
• Counselling sessions 
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 
• Legal assistance and guidance 
• Health checks and assessments
• Financial management help, advice and debt support
• Medical / general health advice
• Critical incident management 
• Discount schemes e.g., retail, groceries, gym memberships
• Managerial support
• Self-help tools, activities and programmes
• Support for substance abuse, domestic abuse, bereavement
• Family support services
• Work-life management tools
• Childcare support 

Need help finding the right EAP for your business? Hooray Health & Protection compare and contrast the different providers out there on your behalf – all free of charge. Call 01272 222805 or drop us an email at [email protected].

How much do EAPs cost?

Like any healthcare product or insurance scheme, landing on a specific price point isn’t a straightforward task. But we can give you a general idea: average costs tend to be between £5 and £15 per person a year, according to the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association. International EAPs (for businesses with a global workforce) are likely to be a bit more.  

The price of EAPs are influenced mainly by a range of factors:

• The level of services and features included: The more features, the higher the cost will be. 
• Whether it’s purchased as a standalone product or as an insurance add-on: EAPs can be included in a Group Health Insurance plan or other group insurance policy,  where the cost is baked into the premium. But a standalone EAP will usually have more features. 

How do you set up an employee assistance programme?

Employee Assistance Programmes can be set up in two ways: 

• A standalone product from specialist EAP providers 
• Included as an add-on in an insurance scheme

EAPs can be included as an add-on to Group Health Insurance, Group Income Protection, Group Critical Illness, or, occasionally, a Group Life plan. 

Often when included within these schemes, an EAP’s services can slip under the radar due to a lack of promotion and communication to staff about what they offer and how they can be accessed. It’s vital that employees are fully informed on what benefits they have access to – something our Hooray brokers can help with!

If opting for a standalone product, the provider of your choice will get everything set up and ready to go as quickly as possible. They will also provide all the necessary documentation and information for your employees and offer more opportunity to tailor services to your needs. 

Why buy an EAP?

We’ve seen the popularity of EAPs rise in recent years, with an estimated 640,250 employees contacting their EAP services between January 2022 and January 2023. So, it’s clear just how much of a difference incorporating Employee Assistance Programmes into your health and wellbeing strategy can make.

Employee Assistance Programmes are a relatively low-cost way to provide staff with the means to protect their health and wellbeing as well. By monitoring usage stats (not traceable to an individual of course!) employers and HR teams can get an idea of what challenges staff are facing. From here, businesses can further perfect their employee benefits strategy by offering support services addressing exactly what staff need. 

Investing in an EAP helps: 

• Boost workplace productivity 
• Reduce employee stress
• Improve staff retention 
• Lower absenteeism
• Enhance business reputation – making you a company that cares for its staff
• Boost the health, wellbeing and happiness of employees
• Relieve pressure on HR

Furthermore, EAPs are cost-effective and easy to implement for businesses big and small.

How can Hooray Health & Protection help?

The expert brokers at Hooray Health & Protection help businesses find the right solutions when it comes to all things employee health and wellbeing. And Employee Assistance Programmes just a small part of what we do.

We can also assess your wider benefits package, exploring what is working well already and how it interacts with your EAP. For example, if you have an existing Business Health Insurance plan in place, we’d assess whether it’d be best to just review your plan to include an EAP as an add-on or to pursue a standalone product. 

Hooray Health & Protection have many working relationships with EAP providers and insurers. But our primary goal is to find the perfect match for your business within the market! 

Contact our friendly and award-winning team on 01272 222805 or drop us an email at [email protected]. All advice and guidance is given completely FREE of charge and contractual obligations.