Announce a health scheme in stages: a headline announcement, a plain-English explainer covering what's covered and — crucially — the benefit-in-kind tax employees will pay, a clear enrolment window with a deadline, and ongoing nudges to use the cover. The single biggest comms failure is the payslip surprise: for a typical employee, BIK tax on cover is roughly £10–£20 a month, and they must hear it from you first.
- ✓Tell employees about benefit-in-kind tax before their first payslip — it's the trust killer if missed.
- ✓Run a defined enrolment window with a deadline; open-ended sign-up kills uptake.
- ✓Launch is not the end: usage nudges through the year are what make the spend worthwhile.
Why comms decide whether the scheme works
Health cover is consistently the most-valued voluntary benefit UK employees can be offered — but only when they know it exists, understand what it does, and remember it at the moment they need it. Schemes that are announced in one email and never mentioned again show predictably low registration and low use, which means the company pays full premium for a benefit that changes nothing about recruitment, retention or absence.
The plan below assumes a typical SME scheme — company-paid cover for employees, optional family add-ons, digital GP included. Adjust the details, keep the sequence.
The launch plan, step by step
- Brief managers first (a week ahead). Give team leads the one-page summary and the answers to the obvious questions — what's covered, what it costs employees, how to claim — so the corridor conversations after the announcement are accurate.
- Announce with the headline benefit, not the product name. "From 1 September, if you need to see a specialist, you'll typically be seen within days rather than months" lands; "we have partnered with an insurer" doesn't. State clearly that the company pays the premium.
- Follow within days with the plain-English explainer. One page or a short FAQ: what's covered, what isn't (pre-existing conditions under moratorium terms, chronic condition management), the excess, the digital GP, the mental health pathway — and the tax, covered honestly (next section).
- Open a defined enrolment window. Two to three weeks with a hard deadline for confirming details and adding family members. Deadlines drive action; open-ended sign-up drifts.
- Hold a live session with the insurer or broker. Twenty minutes plus questions, recorded for absentees. Most insurers provide this free — use it, because employees ask brokers things they won't ask their employer.
- Close the window with a last-call reminder, then confirm to everyone what happens next: membership documents, app registration, claim line numbers.
If your scheme is new rather than a switch, expect questions about whether it's permanent. Be straight: it's reviewed annually like any benefit, and the honest framing costs you nothing now and protects you at every renewal.
Explaining benefit-in-kind tax honestly
Company-paid medical cover is a taxable benefit in kind. Employees pay income tax on the premium the company pays for them — currently collected via P11D or payrolling (with payrolling becoming the standard route from April 2027). For a basic-rate taxpayer on cover costing the company £57 a month, that's very roughly £10–£15 a month in extra tax; a higher-rate taxpayer pays about double. Small money next to the benefit — but only if nobody is ambushed by it.
The honest framing writes itself: "The company pays the full premium — around £X a month for your cover. Because HMRC treats this as a benefit, you'll pay tax on that amount: roughly £Y a month for a basic-rate taxpayer, via your tax code or payslip. You can opt out if you'd rather not have the cover." Include a worked example, name the month the tax starts, and point to our guides on working out BIK tax and opting out for the detail. Mention the opt-out even though almost nobody takes it — offering the exit is precisely what makes people comfortable staying in.
Launching a scheme? Start with the right one
Family add-ons: comms that respect the pay packet
Most schemes let employees add partners and children at group rates — typically £40–£90 per family per month, usually employee-funded via payroll deduction. This is a genuinely good deal (group pricing runs 10–30% below individual cover), but it's the employee's own money, so the comms bar is higher: exact prices per added adult and child, what the added family members are covered for, the underwriting position for them, and precisely what the payroll deduction will look like and when it starts.
Tie family add-ons to the enrolment window and to life events — new joiners, new babies, partners losing cover elsewhere — since most insurers only allow additions at those points. A short annual re-invitation at renewal catches everyone whose circumstances changed mid-year.
After launch: keeping the scheme used
Utilisation is the difference between a scheme that pays for itself and an expensive line in the accounts. Registration on the insurer's app is the leading indicator — chase it to near-100% in the first month, because an employee who has never logged in won't think of the scheme when symptoms start. After that, little and often:
| When | Nudge | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | App registration push, claim-line card for wallets/screens | Removes friction at the future moment of need |
| Quarterly | One benefit spotlighted (digital GP, physio line, mental health pathway) | Single-message comms beat brochure dumps |
| Seasonally | Timely prompts — flu season GP access, January mental health, summer MSK | Relevance drives first use; first use drives habit |
| Return-to-work chats | Manager mentions the relevant benefit | Reaches people at exactly the moment of need |
| Renewal | "Year in numbers" recap + family add-on re-invitation | Reminds everyone the benefit exists and is paid for |
Ask your insurer for anonymised usage data quarterly — registration rates, digital GP usage, claims mix. It tells you what to nudge next, and it's the evidence you'll want at renewal negotiation time. For what to avoid across the whole first year, see 10 first-scheme mistakes.
Frequently asked questions
How should I announce a new health insurance scheme to employees?
In stages: brief managers first, announce the headline benefit ("seen in days, not months"), follow with a plain-English explainer including the benefit-in-kind tax, run a two-to-three-week enrolment window with a deadline, and hold a live Q&A with the insurer or broker. One email is not a launch.
Do I have to tell employees about benefit-in-kind tax on health cover?
You should, before their first affected payslip — it's the single most important message in the launch. Employees pay income tax on premiums the company funds (via P11D or payrolling), and discovering an unexplained deduction later destroys trust in the whole benefit. Put a worked figure on it: roughly £10–£15 a month for a basic-rate taxpayer on typical cover.
What should a health scheme launch announcement actually say?
Lead with what changes for the employee: fast access to specialists, digital GP, mental health support, physio. Then the essentials — company pays the premium, tax treatment in one honest sentence with a number, what's not covered, how to add family, the enrolment deadline, and where questions go.
How long should the enrolment window for a company health scheme be?
Two to three weeks works well — long enough for people to discuss family add-ons at home, short enough that a deadline drives action. Close it with a last-call reminder. Most insurers then only allow additions at renewal or life events, so say that clearly to avoid resentment later.
How do I explain family add-ons to a company health scheme?
With exact numbers, because it's the employee's own money: price per added adult and child (typically £40–£90 per family per month at group rates), what dependants are covered for, the underwriting terms, and exactly what the payroll deduction looks like and when it starts. Re-invite at renewal and life events.
What if employees don't want the health cover because of the tax?
Offer the opt-out route clearly — employees can decline cover and avoid the benefit-in-kind charge. In practice very few do once the maths is laid out (£10–£20 a month in tax for cover costing the company £600–£700 a year), and visibly offering the exit is what makes the rest comfortable staying in.
How do I get employees to actually use the health scheme?
Chase app registration to near-100% in month one, then nudge little and often: one benefit spotlighted per quarter, seasonal prompts, and managers mentioning relevant benefits in return-to-work chats. Ask the insurer for quarterly usage data so you can see what's landing and what needs another push.
Should managers be briefed before a health scheme is announced?
Yes, about a week ahead. Managers are who employees actually ask, so arm them with the one-pager: what's covered, the tax position, how to claim, how family add-ons work. Ill-informed managers improvising answers is how wrong information about exclusions and tax spreads.
When should employees hear about the health scheme's tax — before or after launch?
Before the enrolment window closes, and always before the first affected payslip. Build it into the main explainer rather than a footnote: the company pays the premium, HMRC taxes it as a benefit, here's the monthly figure for a basic-rate taxpayer, here's when it starts, and here's how to opt out.