A majority of businesses feel that employers should offer staff dental healthcare plans, according to a new study.
British consumers should be able to receive dental insurance from their place of work, new research has suggested.
The Annual Dental Survey from health insurer Simplyhealth found that 64 percent of HR managers believe that providing dental cover at work would increase staff morale, up from 51 percent last year. Additionally, 56 percent suggested that sickness absence would fall as a result, while 54 percent said that recruitment and retention would be improved.
A large majority - 84 percent - expressed concern that their staff may be unable to meet the cost of looking after their oral health, a large increase from the 73 percent who felt this way last year. But James Glover, corporate director at Simplyhealth, warned that only 56 percent of the companies surveyed said that they offer dental benefits.
"When looking at the barriers to implementing dental benefits, it may be unsurprising to learn that the main one is cost, with complexity coming a close second," he added. "However, with the perception that access to good dental care has become difficult, employers who are serious about the wellbeing of their staff should be looking seriously at making provision for dental treatment."
