Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Latest NewsOccupational HealthWellbeing

Government may consider financial incentives for healthy living initiatives

by Nic Paton 20 Feb 2008
by Nic Paton 20 Feb 2008

The government has hinted for the first time that it may be prepared to consider offering financial incentives to employers to encourage them to invest in healthy living initiatives for their workers.

Up to now, the Treasury had dismissed the idea of tax breaks for firms that invest in workplace health, but in January the issue raised its head again within a £372m cross-governmental strategy to promote healthier lives.

The five-pronged strategy, led by the Department of Health, will see the government promoting a range of initiatives, from better health and food in schools, through to healthier workplaces and personal lives and encouraging more physical activities.

As part of this, ministers said the strategy  would look at creating “stronger incentives for individuals, employers and the NHS to prioritise the long-term work of improving health”.

The government would also be “working with employers and employer organisations to explore how companies can best promote good health among their staff and make healthy workplaces part of their core business model”.

Finally, there would be pilots to “evaluate a range of different approaches to using personal financial incentives to encourage healthy living”.

The strategy will also see the NHS Choices website extended to provide advice on diet and activity levels and how to maintain a healthy weight.

At the same time, there will be increased funding over the next three years for the commissioning of weight management services, ministers said.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said: “It is not the government’s role to hector or lecture people, but we do have aduty to support them in leading healthier lifestyles. This will only succeed if the problem is recognised, owned and addressed in every part of society.”

The announcement came as latest NHS statistics showed more than one million NHS prescription items were dispensed to treat obesity in England in 2006 – eight times the number dispensed in 1999, according to the NHS Information Centre for England.

Nic Paton
Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consulting editor of OHW+. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for OHW+ and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Managers failing to lead by example on workplace health
next post
Data protection prosecution?

You may also like

Davos 2022: ‘Invest in social jobs to save...

27 May 2022

Insight into severity of menopause symptoms

27 May 2022

P&O Ferries boss denies reputational damage after mass...

27 May 2022

Occupational health reforms ‘need momentum’, urges SOM

27 May 2022

Why Can’t Managers Manage? Chris Roebuck talks to...

27 May 2022

Parliament launches UK labour market inquiry

27 May 2022

Menopausal worker loses sex and disability discrimination claim

27 May 2022

Employers must help employees ‘flourish’ post-pandemic

27 May 2022

Age remains a barrier to upskilling finds research

27 May 2022

‘Inequality is embedded in our labour market’ says...

27 May 2022

  • The importance of being an ethical leader and how to become one PROMOTED | What is ethical leadership?...Read more
  • RPO Report: 2022, The Year to Outsource PROMOTED | Employers should be overwhelmed with choice...Read more
  • Report: Enabling organisational agility through talent & people success PROMOTED | Work has been challenged...Read more
  • Employee Trends 2022 report PROMOTED | Edenred research on employees analysed the key employees’ trends for 2022...Read more
  • How finance apprenticeships can boost business PROMOTED | As the world’s most forward-thinking professional accountancy body...Read more
  • Paul Devoy: Showing appreciation to the Investors in People community PROMOTED | Ask most people what comes to mind when you mention Investors in People...Read more
  • White paper: How digitalisation can support evolving occupational health PROMOTED | Download this free white paper to discover how digitalisation can help occupational health meet emerging challenges...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Join
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today