York based Benenden Healthcare, a mutual healthcare provider, has secured a deal with Melton Mowbray Building Society offering an employer paid healthcare scheme for its staff.

For over 100 years, Benenden Healthcare has offered its services exclusively to public sector workers. Benenden Healthcare is now looking to widen its membership base and offer its corporate health plans to like minded organisations.

Melton Mowbray Building Society is the first non-public sector organisation to join Benenden Healthcare though they do share the same mutual ethos as the Society. Both societies are run for members, in the interest of members and are based upon shared values, with mutuality at the heart of how they operate.

Signing up to Benenden Healthcare’s corporate health and wellbeing plan means The Melton’s employees have access to a wide range of discretionary healthcare services and will benefit from expert medical advice, prompt diagnosis and treatment, as well as 24-hour, UK based GP and stress counselling helplines.

Rather than competing with the NHS, Benenden Healthcare’s services act as a back-up to the health service by providing Society members with access to treatment if there are lengthy waiting times. Benenden Healthcare can also help towards the cost of physiotherapy, podiatry and chiropody and financial help for those living with cancer or TB. Benenden Healthcare provides its services on a case by case discretionary rather than contractual basis, there are no extra charges due to pre-existing conditions.

“As an established organisation, with a large employee base, we are often approached by service providers who want to supply employee benefit packages to our staff,” says Martin Reason, CEO Melton Mowbray. “Benenden Healthcare stood out for us – not only does the Society provide a cost-effective, tailored healthcare plan for our employees, as it’s a fellow mutual organisation, it shares our ethos and values, and understands how we work too.”

Ken Hesketh, chief executive at Benenden Healthcare Society said: “I’m very pleased to announce our partnership with Melton Mowbray Building Society, and it’s great to have on board a like minded organisation, where mutual principles lie at the core of the business.”

“It is the first time we have teamed up with a building society, since we extended our membership beyond the public sector and opened it up to those organisations we feel have the same genetic make-up as us. This is a very exciting and encouraging partnership for mutual organisations.”

Benenden Healthcare Society is a champion of health and wellbeing in the workplace and understands how this can have a direct impact on productivity. Healthcare plans such as Benenden Healthcare’s can help organisations to keep their workforce happy healthy and in work.