The medically proven health benefits of regular physical activity include:up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes / up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer/ up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer / a 30% lower risk of early death / up to an 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis / up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture / a 30% lower risk of falls among older adults / up to a 30% lower risk of depression / up to a 30% lower risk of dementia / up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. “If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” says Dr Nick Cavill, a health promotion consultant. (NHS your health, your choices, 2017)
Benefit Overview
Employees can access 100’s of leisure and gym providers nationwide. This could be local standalone providers, council run gyms or a national chain, such as Bannatynes, David Lloyd, DW, Nuffield, Pure Gym or Virgin. Employees simply provide details of the gym or leisure provider of their choice and we will confirm the discount available to them. Even if your employee is an existing member of a gym they can usually seamless switch from their current membership on to a corporate rate.
On top of any discounted rates the employees will save an additional 12% if they are a basic rate taxpayer and 2% if they are a higher rate taxpayer through National Insurance savings.
How is it paid for ?
Two options. To obtain the maximum discount levels, the company pays for an annual gym membership upfront and the employee repays your business over a period of 12 equal monthly payments. At points of application the employee is agreeing that if they leave the business prior to repaying the company in full, any outstanding amount will be deducted from their final salary payment. There is no set-up charge for this option.
The other option is with no upfront cost to the employer and employees simply have access to discounted gym membership and pay the gym directly by Direct Debit. Employees can still usually switch to the discounted rate mid-contract. There is a fee for the employer to offer this option but no additional cash outlay.
why offer this benefit ?
One of the most visible and therefore most valued employee benefits you can offer. Reduced absenteeism and associated costs from supporting employee’s physical and mental wellbeing. The UK is battling the bulge with one in four British adults now classed as obese. Obesity causes not only visual changes to the body but it can also lead to a number of serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and strokes (NHS, 2016). Regular exercise can reduce stress and help instances of depression.
We sometimes find employees attend the same gym close to their place of work. This can be beneficial in building peer to peer relationships with employees who work in different parts of the business and/or at different levels of seniority. Gym membership can reduce the premiums on some corporate PMI schemes (will depend on scheme provider).