ACA Employee Assistance Program Member Offer
The benefits of Employee Assistance Programs are well-known and understood. However, many small to medium practices cannot afford to offer an EAP for their employees. It is an expense they simply can’t justify. The ACA is delighted to partner with TELUS Health to offer our members a high-quality EAP at a fraction of the cost.
TELUS Health is a trusted mental health and wellbeing partner to over 15,000 organisations around the world. The ACA/TELUS Health EAP is a more affordable option for ACA member practices.
TELUS Health EAP services are designed to provide:
- Local expert support and consultation
- Assistance in meeting challenges and resolving work/life issues
- Short-term, solution-focused counselling and consulting services
- Services offered away from the workplace
- A caring advisor who can help you choose a support option that best suits your needs
- Access to a counsellor right away – in case of a crisis situation
- Experienced Master’s level professionals (or equivalent) working as TELUS Health counsellors
TELUS Health One is an online platform designed to be with you 24/7. It makes care more accessible, bringing together mental, physical and financial wellbeing and allowing you to receive the support you need when, where and how you prefer.
So, if you’ve been thinking about an EAP for your staff, we’ve done the legwork for you. This is a great opportunity and a great time to sign up.
Want to know more?
See below for more information with our EAP Offer Q&A.
Also see our Five Question interview with Wellbeing Program Manager Sascha Byrne.
How can you get involved?
ACA members can register their interest here.
The ACA Wellbeing team will be in touch with a contract and next steps.
For more information about ACA membership, see the ACA Membership page.
Questions?
Contact Sascha Byrne at membership@aca.org.au.
What is an EAP?
Employee Assistance Programs are offered by many employers to support the psychological wellbeing of their employees. Services are provided by a specialist provider privately and confidentially, are anonymised, and are at arm’s length from the employer. An employee can access various curated online resources and can also speak to a qualified person for individually tailored attention. The subject might relate to work or not at all. The employer is not aware if or when an employee uses the service. Your employment offer is enhanced, and you may benefit from healthier and happier employees and a more stable work environment.
What are the benefits of an EAP?
Employee Assistance Programs provide much-needed mental health and wellbeing support to employees. These programs are extremely helpful in creating a positive work environment for employees, and more so now than ever. TELUS Health lists a number of benefits for having an EAP available in the workplace:
- Increased productivity (between 40% – 85% increase)
- Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism (between 7% – 45% decrease)
- Overall improvement in wellbeing of staff
- Reduction in staff turnover
- Better workplace relations and satisfaction
- Greater life balance (for employees and employers)
- Better workplace relations and satisfaction
- Better preparedness for both job-related and personal life situations
- Feeling more supported within the work environment
What about the privacy of my staff?
Any EAP benefits received by employees or family members remain confidential.
This means that while the employer pays for the service, they have no insight into an employee’s specific use of the service. Employers do not get to know who is utilising the service, for what reason, or how often employees call. This is an important detail, as it means that employees can trust that they are engaging with a private, confidential service.
Why is the ACA/TELUS Health EAP more affordable?
Rather than each business establishing a direct relationship with an EAP provider, the ACA shall act as an intermediary for the purpose of facilitating service provision. The ACA shall be the single point of contact for TELUS Health.
What services are offered by TELUS Health?
When you sign up to the ACA/TELUS Health offer, your team of staff will have access to
- Six counselling sessions per issue, per year. Counselling sessions can help to strengthen relationships and improve communication, deal with stress, anxiety and depression, find solutions for work related issues and work towards life goals.
- 24/7 access to TELUS Health One, an online platform designed to be with you 24/7. It makes care more accessible, bringing together mental, physical and financial wellbeing and allowing you to receive the support you need when, where, and how you prefer.
- Managers have access to a hotline with support from senior consultants. All have extensive counselling and management experience providing consultation on a range of staff management issues.
You can read more about TELUS Health, their history and the services they offer here.
How does the offer work?
The ACA/TELUS Health period begins on 1 March each year. Members can join at a pro-rata rate anytime during the year. ACA members must maintain their ACA membership for the financial year to participate.
How much does it cost?
The cost per employee per month is $5.00 (+ GST). Practices must commit to the 12 month period (or remaining period if joining after 1 March) and will be invoiced at the beginning of the period.
Where do I sign up?
Head to the Employee Assistance Program Application.