Top candidates expect private healthcare. NHS waiting times are costing your business more than a group scheme would. Here's how to make the business case — and how to structure it properly.
When a skilled candidate weighs up two job offers, salary gets most of the attention. But increasingly, the package around it — and company healthcare in particular — is the deciding factor.
According to the Robert Half 2024 Salary Guide (November 2023, surveying 1,000 UK employees), 51% of employees want access to private healthcare via their employer. For senior hires and experienced directors, it's often expected as standard. If you're not offering it, you're competing with one hand tied behind your back.
And the issue isn't just recruitment. It's what happens when your people get ill.
The NHS vs productivity problem: According to NHS England RTT data (January 2025), the median wait for consultant-led treatment is around 14 weeks, with orthopaedic waits averaging 27–29 weeks. Every week a key member of your team spends waiting for a diagnosis or procedure is a week of reduced productivity — or absence entirely.
Sources: CIPD/Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work report, September 2025 (9.4 days, absence cost). Robert Half 2024 Salary Guide, November 2023 (51% PMI demand). Individual business circumstances will vary.
Group private medical insurance (PMI) is the core product — but it's rarely the whole picture. A well-structured employee benefits package typically layers several elements together, depending on the size of your business and what you want to achieve.
The business case for company healthcare often becomes very clear when you put NHS and private waiting times side by side. NHS figures are based on NHS England RTT and diagnostic waiting times data (January–February 2025) and Parliamentary Written Questions HL4888/HL4889 (February 2025). Private figures reflect typical insurer experience. Your team's specific experience will vary by region and condition.
Sources: NHS England Referral to Treatment waiting times, January 2025. Hip/knee averages from Parliamentary Written Questions HL4888 and HL4889, February 2025. Cardiology: British Heart Foundation waiting list analysis, March 2025 (39% waiting 18+ weeks). MRI: NHS England Diagnostic Waiting Times, January 2025. Mental health: Rethink Mental Illness analysis, February 2025. Private waiting times reflect typical insurer experience. Individual experience will vary by region and condition.
The most common objection to company healthcare is cost. The calculation that changes minds is comparing what absence is already costing you against what a group scheme would cost. Use the calculator below to see your indicative numbers.
Adjust the numbers to reflect your business. All figures are illustrative estimates only.
Absence cost estimated at 9.4 average sick days/year (CIPD/Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work, September 2025) × daily salary cost × 1.3 (productivity multiplier for indirect costs). Group PMI premium estimated at £450–£600 per employee per year (Core cover, mixed age group). These are illustrative figures only — actual costs depend on your workforce profile, claims history, and chosen cover level. This calculator does not constitute financial or insurance advice.
Company healthcare is a taxable benefit in kind for employees — it goes on their P11D and they pay income tax on the premium value. This is often presented as a reason not to offer it. In practice, it rarely is.
Illustrative example: A group PMI premium of £600 per employee per year means a basic rate (20%) taxpayer pays an additional £120 in income tax — around £10 per month. For that £10/month, they gain immediate access to private consultants, faster diagnosis, and no NHS waiting lists. Most employees, when they understand the actual net cost, consider it excellent value.
Company healthcare works at almost every headcount, but the economics are particularly compelling in a few scenarios:
Even for very small teams — four or five people — a group scheme typically achieves better rates and broader cover than the equivalent number of individual policies purchased separately.
Worth knowing: Many group schemes have no medical underwriting for new members below a certain age, and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions when joining at inception. This can make group cover accessible in ways that individual policies are not.
Not all group health schemes are structured the same way. The areas that most often catch businesses out:
These are the conversations worth having before the policy is arranged — not after the first renewal letter arrives.
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