Healthcare provider Bupa has opened a £4m health and wellness centre in Solihull, having invested more than £1m in technology.
The centre, at Station Road, Solihull, has 24 consulting and treatment rooms, its own laboratories and dental and radiology suites. It can treat more than 5,000 patients a year, and offers private GP services, health assessments and bespoke health and fitness programmes. Services are designed for both large and small businesses.
Companies can either send their staff to the centre or offer Bupa workplace health services on their own premises. Meanwhile, last month saw Bupa introduce a cycle leasing scheme for its 6,000 UK staff.
The scheme, called Bupa Bike4Work, operates on a salary sacrifice basis and so attracts tax and national insurance savings for employees. Staff who are interested apply online via a benefits website run by provider Grass Roots.
Permanent staff who earn £6,300 a year or more are eligible, said group reward manager Julia Clay, who is looking after the scheme. The bikes are provided by nationwide bike retailer Evans Cycles, and staff can choose to lease a bike ranging in price from £250 to £1,000.
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A bike costing £1,000 would, for example, see a participating employee making a salary sacrifice of £83.33 per month. For a basic rate taxpayer, the net cost – thanks to tax savings – would be £57.49 a month. To participate in the scheme, employees must agree that at least 50% of the bike’s use will be for “eligible work journeys”. But they are not expected to keep detailed records of their cycling.
The hire deals run for one year. When applications for the scheme closed on 14 April, 115 employees had signed up.
