This year, new EU legislation will be introduced making regular sight tests compulsory for any employee who drives while on company business. Jill Davies investigates who will fund the cost.
However, combined with the EU’s new legislation for drivers, businesses will have no choice but to find a cost-effective solution that ensures all staff can access optical care whenever they need it.
The changes present a huge opportunity for the already flourishing corporate health cash plan market, which has historically used the optical benefit as a key reason to buy.
Businesses and intermediaries alike are beginning to recognise corporate health cash plans as a more cost-effective way of managing the day-to-day health of employees and providing a high-value benefits package in return for a relatively small investment.
And with the proposed NHS reforms acting as a catalyst, a corporate cash plan can serve to both complement and consolidate a company’s existing healthcare provision.
Staff can manage their own sight tests, book appointments at a time and place convenient to them and claim back the cost of the test and eyewear (up to the limit provided) directly from the policy provider.
This system helps the company to ensure its drivers meet the necessary requirements and may reduce additional administration and paperwork incurred through in-house optical provision.
Some employers offer eye care vouchers, which may cover a sight test every two years and a standard pair of glasses, but cash plans usually provide a higher level of reimbursement which would enable employees to cover any shortfall and offer them a greater choice of eyewear.
Prevention better than cure
Investing in a cash plan with optical cover also provides employers with significant cost savings in the long run. Not only is the company fulfilling its legal obligations to staff, but quite simply – prevention is better than the cure.
A routine eye test can pick up a number of underlying health conditions such as cataracts, diabetes, high-blood pressure and even life-threatening tumours. All of which, if detected early enough, can potentially be treated before they deteriorate.
For example, glaucoma is the most common cause of preventable blindness in the UK. It has no symptoms in its early stages and many people lose up to 40% of their field of vision before they notice a problem.
Yet the condition can be detected by a regular eye test and, if spotted early enough, can be treated easily, preventing further complications and sickness absence in the future.
However, the responsibility of ensuring a driver has good eyesight does not lie solely with the employer. It is a criminal offence to fail to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any eyesight conditions likely to cause a driver to be a source of danger to other road users.
If a driver is involved in a road accident and is then found to have an undeclared ‘notifiable disability’ such as cataracts, diabetes or glaucoma, the driver’s insurance cover could be put at risk and they could lose their licence.
A less well-known fact is that the type of sunglasses you wear while driving can impact on your vision, with some tinted glasses even causing the driver’s eyesight to fall below the legal standards.
For an employee who is required to drive as part of their job, losing their licence would be devastating, so communicating the EU’s proposed changes throughout the workforce is essential.
Simply implementing a cost-management strategy that ticks the sight test box is only half of the solution. Employers need to make every effort to ensure that when their staff get behind the wheel of a car, they have roadworthy eyesight.
Staff should be able to get any potential sight problems checked out and treated quickly and efficiently. And that is where health cash plan providers can step in, providing both employers and employees alike with the peace of mind that they are taking every step to ensure the new legislation is being met.
Jill Davies, chief executive of Westfield Health
