Health and safety
Health and safety in Experian International is the responsibility of the Board, which draws on the services of a health and safety advisor. He monitors developments in legislation, develops policy (for Experian management to consider and approve) and supports the business in setting up appropriate systems to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and manage health and safety risks. Regular site visits to primary UK and overseas offices are also performed.
The most commonly-used way to measure health and safety performance in the UK is to record the number of incidents under the UK Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) that have occurred over the year and the frequency of these incidents. In broad terms, these are accidents that occur at work or on our premises causing an individual to take more than three days off work. The recent performance of the UK businesses is as shown in the chart. Experian in the UK suffered no RIDDOR accidents last year.
Neither the US nor France have such a clear definition of reportable incidents. In the US, data is recorded relating to the number of incidents which give rise to potential or actual worker compensation claims. In France accidents at work are covered by a special set of regulations governing compensation, as contained in the Social Security Code, which mandates employers to record incidents under a number of defined categories.
Experian Americas had 36 incidents recorded against possible employee compensation claims. This is not a directly comparable figure to the recorded lost-time accidents in the UK, since the American figure records all incidents, no matter how minor.
In an office-based environment like Experian, employee safety – whilst vitally important – is relatively easy to maintain. Both Experian Americas and Experian International have gone further, taking initiatives to help employees maintain and improve their general health, and to deal with the stresses of professional life.
Experian Americas introduced the HealthMatters program in September 2004 to improve employee health and also to help lower overall health care costs, which are borne by the company in a US environment. Employees are incentivised to take part in HealthMatters through savings on their own monthly medical plan contributions and a reimbursement on fitness costs such as gym membership. Employees have the opportunity to participate in an annual health screen and take a health assessment. Based on the results, they are then offered a follow-up programme and become eligible for the HealthMatters incentives if they agree to participate.
The follow-up programmes include:
- Online, self-managed health programs: for employees with a healthy lifestyle or low health risks.
- Lifestyle Coaching: for employees who have health risks that could be improved through behaviour change such as smoking, weight-related risks or stress-related risks.
- Chronic Condition Management: for employees with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and back pain.
The programme is delivered by independent providers, with the result that Experian has no access to, or knowledge of employees’ confidential details. 78% of employees took the health assessment the first year with half recommended for Lifestyle Coaching or Chronic Condition Management and the other half recommended to take online, self-managed health programs. The programme is making a real difference to the health of employees, as can be seen from the results in the table (status at December 2005).
| Exercise | 326 employees increased their exercise to at least three times per week |
| High blood pressure | 85 employees have reduced their blood pressure to a healthy level |
| Tobacco use | 94 employees have stopped using tobacco |
| Weight | 208 have lost weight, 214 have reduced their weight to a healthy level |
In addition Experian Americas offers NurseLine; a free, confidential, telephone-based advice service available to employees and their family through HealthMatters. Employees can call the NurseLine 24 hours a day to speak with a registered nurse for help with health care decisions. Employees can also benefit from LifeEra, which provides free, confidential counselling for employees and their household family members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Employees may call for help with a wide range of issues such as: emotional distress, workplace concerns, financial worries, personal legal concerns, behavioural issues, relationship difficulties, parenting challenges, grief and loss and stress management. When employees call LifeEra, a counsellor will assess their situation, provide information and support, and if necessary refer them to a local professional for an in-person visit.
Experian UK also has Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) through BUPA to help, support and guide employees when faced with difficult situations. This is a confidential and impartial advice service to provide advice and support via a telephone service operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that gives the employee access to specialist information and advice, confidential telephone counselling and assistance with face-to-face counselling. BUPA has a network of over 1,600 counsellors across the UK, which means that sessions can be arranged at a convenient location of the employee's choice. HR will actively encourage employees to contact the EAP and the company also has an outsourced occupational health service in place.