How does the Eye Voucher scheme work?
The Eye Voucher scheme is an employee benefit that is becoming more and more popular and is fast becoming a staple of any employee health and wellbeing proposition.
The World Health Organisation estimate that around 2.2 billion people have vision impairment or blindness across the world, while 1 billion cases could have been prevented.
The Eye Voucher scheme is a key part of any health and wellbeing employee benefits package. The scheme supports employee health while helping employees save on eyecare too.
Here’s how the Eye Voucher scheme works.
3 min
Written by The Access Group
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What is the Eye Voucher scheme?
The Eye Voucher scheme helps you make important eyecare options and treatment available to your employees in a cost-effective way for everyone.
Employees apply for an eyecare voucher through the scheme that can be redeemed at their opticians. This can be used for a range of eyecare treatment.
Different Eye Voucher schemes can vary in the benefits they offer employers and employees.
With the Eye Voucher scheme on Salary Extras run in conjunction with Smart Employee Eyecare (SEE), there are a range of benefits.
Employees can redeem their eye vouchers at over 3,000 opticians across the UK. Employees can also take advantage of discounts on glasses and could even qualify for a free pair of glasses for Visual Display Unit (VDU) use.
There’s loads more benefits to the scheme too which you can see on our Eyecare Voucher scheme page.
So, how does the scheme benefit employers?
Why the Eye Voucher scheme is so important for employers
Based on the research by the World Health Organisation, almost 1 in 3 of your workforce potentially has eyecare needs and around 1 in 7 could prevent future vision impairment.
Different employee benefit schemes appeal to different employees with different needs. However, with the Eye Voucher scheme it is almost guaranteed to support a large section of your workforce either now or in the future.
Research commissioned by charity Fight for Sight found that 50% used screens more since the pandemic hit and 38% reported they believed their eyesight had worsened as a result.
We all rely on technology at least a little more now since the pandemic began, whether it’s to work or to stay connected with friends and family. This makes providing eyecare employee benefits even more important.
Providing eyecare options for employees is important for the safety of the entire workforce in whichever industry you operate.
One really key benefit to consider too is the cost saving for employees, which, given the economic situation the world finds itself in, is as important as ever.
Providing an Eye Voucher scheme also demonstrates a commitment to the health and wellbeing of employees which is naturally becoming an increasingly important need for staff.
While this might sound like it could come at a considerable cost to the employer, the Eye Voucher scheme is incredibly cost-effective.
The Eyecare Voucher scheme on Salary Extras comes with a range of options for employers which allows the scheme to be tailored to your budget and your employees’ needs.
For example, employers have the option to contribute to savings employees make when upgrading their glasses through the scheme. The saving can be increased by allowing the employer to contribute.
Read more about our Eyecare Voucher scheme on Salary Extras, or for further information, get in touch today.
How COVID-19 has changed the importance of health and wellbeing employee benefits
We’re all aware of the strain the pandemic has put on the NHS and how COVID-19 has threatened to overwhelm our healthcare system in the UK.
Surgeries and treatment have been put back or cancelled and people have felt discouraged from arranging check-ups due to restrictions.
This is all despite the spotlight that has been shined on our health and wellbeing since the pandemic began.
People have become more aware of the importance of maintaining their physical and mental health and yet healthcare resources have become scarcer.
This is one major reason why Health wellbeinghealth and wellbeing employee benefits have become a key priority for employers and employees.
Whether it’s the Eye Voucher scheme, the Health Cash Plan or an Employee Assistance Programme for example, employee health and wellbeing benefits provide employees affordable and easily accessible healthcare, helping them stay on top of their physical and mental health while reducing the strain on the NHS too.
Providing the best health benefits to your employees can be made easy and incredibly cost-effective for your business.
At Access, we have the widest range of employee benefits you’ll find anywhere and can quickly and easily incorporate the employee benefits best suited to your business into an online employee benefits platform that’s easy to use for both you and your employees.
For more information, get in touch today. In the meantime, feel free to browse through our wide range of employee benefits.
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