Why BrightHR? / Wellbeing & Employee Support

An employee assistance programme (EAP) is a confidential advice service for employees.

Access to an EAP can be provided as part of a benefits package and is designed to help employees deal with personal problems whether they are work-related or not, including financial issues or debt, family-life concerns like bereavements, child and dependent care, and matrimonial issues; legal rights; health and lifestyle concerns, and general worries or anxiety. Telephone advice, face to face counselling and online programmes can be included too.

EAPs are a useful tool for businesses to adopt as more and more of the UK's workforce are looking to their employer to provide wellbeing support.

Having an Employee Assistance Programme, like Bright Wellbeing & Counselling, can lower staff absence levels by as much as 45%.

Last year alone, the number of people on the NHS community mental health waiting list was 1.2 million. Meaning members of your company could be unable to talk to an impartial advisor or be at risk of severely delayed mental health support.

Some EAPs extend to business owners and even their next of kin, so you can use them to improve your own wellbeing which will in turn help you cope with the everyday stresses of running your business.

Whether you’re trained in mental health or not, it’s a lot to take on by yourself. Which is why having access to free, unlimited, and expert support in the workplace is invaluable to both you and your staff.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health is “a basic human right” and “crucial to personal, community and socio-economic development.”

The annual cost of staff mental health to employers is as much as £42 billion a year. So, investing in mental health is vital not only to improve relationships with your staff but to reduce business costs and keep employees engaged. Having an EAP can also help you hire better and stand out in the hiring market as the employer of choice.

EAP programmes are not currently required by law. However, they do offer organisations multiple benefits including reducing employee absence and sickness and can improve employee happiness and satisfaction which leads to a lower risk of grievances and disciplinaries.