Dual approach energises employee benefits package

A major gas and electricity supplier has discovered a dual approach to employee healthcare after combining two health cash plans from Westfield Health.

Gaz de France ESS has operated in the UK since 1999 and is now the second largest supplier of gas to business customers, while also supplying many of the largest electricity consumers in the UK.

Gaz de France turned to Intermediary Personal Healthcare Management for advice in broadening its staff healthcare package and making it more inclusive.

The company chose the Westfield Mosaic Plan to tailor its own healthcare plan for management-level employees, while Westfield’s Foresight Plan was introduced for non-management staff.

HR Manager Anita Mara said: “We wanted a plan that all employees could use and were keen to review the benefits package we offer our new starters, too.

“Westfield Mosaic allowed us to maximise the benefits managers had via their Private Medical Insurance (PMI) without duplication, while the Foresight Plan ensured all staff at non-management level also had access to a healthcare plan, too.

“We chose Mosaic because its flexibility really appealed, allowing us to choose from a wide range of benefits.

“We required a plan that employees could really see was genuinely beneficial to them and that offered them additional support with everyday healthcare needs like optical and dental.

“The feedback we have received from staff shows that they are happy with the benefits and are also pleased with Westfield’s response times in terms of claiming money back.”

Intermediary Alan Mulligan of Personal Healthcare Management said: “This is an example of how two cash plans have complemented PMI.

“With Westfield Mosaic we could make the cash plan fit the client and its needs, instead of the other way around.

“All too often you can end up with a plan where its benefits are ‘near enough’ what the client would have wished to include – in my view, Westfield Mosaic gave Gaz de France exactly what they wanted and made the product fit them.”