Bupa is calling on the Government to remove tax penalties on private healthcare and health insurance benefits received through employers. "Nine out of ten employers tell us they want more support from the Government to invest in health at work and over half would invest more if there were incentives to do so,” comments Fergus Kee, Managing Director of Bupa UK Health Insurance.

"In her recent ‘Review of the Health of the Working Population’, Dame Carol Black, the UK's national director for health and work, highlighted the need for companies to do more to support the health and well-being of their staff.  However, when an employer provides treatment for a member of staff to return to work early following a non-work injury, there is a double tax hit. 

The employee incurs income tax on the benefit and the employer has to pay National Insurance contributions. If that treatment is funded through health insurance, there is a further Insurance Premium Tax charge. So both the company and the receiver of healthcare are penalised," he explains. “The current tax treatment of workplace health provision is an obstacle and a strong disincentive. If removed, it would allow more companies to play their part in keeping Britain healthy.  Investing in workplace health offers a triple win: better health for the individual, better productivity for the employer and increased profitability for UK plc."