UK EAPA welcomes news that Bupa is providing 9,000 former Thomas Cook employees access to an EAP

UK EAPA welcomes news that Bupa is providing 9,000 former Thomas Cook employees access to an EAP

Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are becoming increasingly recognised for the wide scope of confidential help they give, from practical to emotional.

Less common is for one business to offer its EAP services to another … which is why Bupa’s recent announcement that they would be offering former employees of collapsed travel firm Thomas Cook an EAP was great to see.

In September, Thomas Cook ceased trading leading to large job losses and the biggest UK peacetime repatriation ever seen when around 150,000 passengers had to be brought back to Britain. In October, Bupa Health Services announced it was providing 9,000 Thomas Cook employees affected by the company’s collapse with an EAP. This free service includes confidential counselling on physical or mental health issues plus professional legal and financial advice.

This gesture by Bupa to so many staff impacted by the collapse of another firm is extremely encouraging to see, says UK EAPA chair Eugene Farrell.

“Here at UK EAPA, we are always looking for ways to promote the benefits of EAPs,” he says. “But it’s highly unusual to see a company offering these services to those for whom the benefits will bring them no financial reward as a business.

“We applaud the move by Bupa to support the thousands of staff affected by Thomas Cook’s collapse in this way. I am sure the gesture is very much appreciated by those who are able to benefit from it.”

Eugene added: “It’s clear from research that EAPs are still the preferred option for many businesses when it comes to looking after the health of their staff. EAPs provide wellbeing support which can help to keep staff happy and healthy both in their professional and personal lives. We encourage businesses to   promote a culture of encouraging staff to access their EAP rather than just alerting them to it in times of crisis.”