UK companies ignoring HSE regulations

One in five companies do not have or do not know if they have an eyecare policy for their staff.

Research announced today by Specsavers Corporate Eyecare shows that over one fifth (21%) of companies either do not have, or do not know if they have, an eyecare policy for their staff.

The survey of over 100 HR professionals across the UK also shows that 9% admit they are not even familiar with the 1992 Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations.

These require employers to provide all employees who use visual display units with eye tests, when requested, and glasses, if required.

Reassuringly, nearly three quarters of companies, not only offer eyecare but state they do so for the reason of being a responsible employer and not purely to comply with the regulations.

Eyecare is now generally perceived to be a vital part of an overall benefits package, with the majority (65%) of HR professionals believing eyecare is more important or equally important to other benefits offered and over a quarter feeling they have to include eyecare to be able to offer a competitive benefits package.

An enlightened 41% of companies are now offering eyecare vouchers to their staff.

HR professionals see a variety of advantages to using eyecare vouchers:

·        One third (33%) of HR professionals chose eyecare vouchers because of their ease of use for employees

·        Over a quarter (28%) appreciate the consistency of service for all employees that eyecare vouchers offer

·        Nearly a quarter (24%) like the cost saving for employees

·        Nearly a quarter (22%) chose eyecare vouchers because of the saving on administration time for the employer

·        Nearly a fifth (18%) chose eyecare vouchers because of the cost saving for the employer

·        9% like the peripheral offers and discounts that come with the vouchers

 (Multiple answers were allowed for this question. Percentages will, therefore, equal more than 100.)

Although over one third of HR professionals believe eyecare vouchers are either very much valued or quite valued by staff, over half are not entering two-way communication about the worth of the benefits being offered as they do not know how their staff value their eyecare vouchers.

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Laura Butler, Corporate Account Manager for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says:

“It is great that so many companies have realised the huge value in eyecare vouchers and are now offering them to staff. It is still vital, however, for the worth of these vouchers to be properly communicated so that staff are aware of just how great a value these simple vouchers really carry. It is disappointing to see that over a third of HR professionals have missed out by never considering, or not even being aware of, eyecare vouchers. The old-fashioned way of approaching eyecare can cost businesses enormous amounts in wasted time and money.”