ACA Employee Assistance Program Member Offer
Would you like to offer your employees access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) but can’t justify the cost? The ACA is delighted to announce the launch of our EAP, offering a high-quality EAP to our members at a fraction of the cost. The EAP service will be available from TELUS Health, a trusted mental health and wellbeing partner to over 15,000 organisations around the world.
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. While they see the benefit for their staff’s mental wellbeing, it is an expense they simply can’t justify. The ACA/TELUS Health EAP is a more affordable option for ACA member practices.
TELUS HEalth offers practices professional counselling services plus access to ongoing proactive health advice, via a range of interactive digital tools such as a mobile app and website resources. Importantly, TELUS Health offers solutions with a level of support that individuals are comfortable with, when and how they choose it.
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.
How can you get involved?
ACA members can register their interest here.
The EAP 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.
ACA EAP Q&A
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/work 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.
What is the ACA/TELUS Health EAP, and why is it 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, and reporting shall be more aggregated than a direct relationship. This allows TELUS Health to price lower.
What is the extent of the services in the ACA/TELUS Health offer to ACA members?
When you sign up to the ACA/TELUS Health offer, your team of staff will have:
- 24/7 access to up to six phone counselling sessions.
- 24/7 access by the mobile app (iOS and Android) and online to wellbeing content.
- Manager hotline support.
- Best-in-class clinical programs that offer help and support for work, health and life challenges.
You can read more about LifeWorks, 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 will it cost?
The cost per employee per month will be $4.80 (+ GST). Practices must commit to the 12 month period (or remaining period if joining after 1 March 2023) and will be invoiced at the beginning of the period.
Where do I sign up?
Head to the Employee Assistance Program Application.