Focus EAP was one of the first providers of Employee Assistance Programmes to establish a Welfare Service. This facility works on a referral basis, either as a complement to an EAP or as a standalone service.

Operated nationwide by an affiliate team of qualified Welfare Officers, all members of the Institute of Welfare, the service offers the option of individual visits, normally to the employee’s home. Arranged with the employee’s consent and frequently accessed by staff through their organisation’s human resources or occupational health divisions, welfare visits can be invaluable in cases of long-term absence for sickness. In addition, there are a variety of other areas where Welfare Service support may prove to be the right approach, including:

• Financial difficulties
• Compassionate transfer requests
• Early retirement because of ill health
• Bereavement

Reports to assist informed management decision-making about the individual’s work and/or personal situations are prepared by Welfare Officers following visits. Case conferences may also be set up as needed, managed in partnership between the Focus Welfare Service and the corporate client’s HR and occupational health teams. These would have the aim of developing and implementing a support plan of benefit to both the individual employee and the organisation as a whole. Welfare Officers may also encourage the employee to access an EAP service, thus providing a comprehensive support package including counselling and practical advice.