Employee health insurance specialists Equipsme teamed up with workplace wellbeing and data experts Fruitful Insights to crunch the numbers for 2026-2027, using sickness absence as a key metric.
The research looks at the causes and frequency of sickness absence, job levels and functions, the impact on businesses, and compares NHS and private waiting times in different areas.
Equipsme’s, transparent prices - the same for new and renewing customers – have made the ROI modelling and maths possible.
The £2.87 figure is based on an employee with an average salary of £39,039 with Equipsme’s diagnosis plan, and the benefits of reduced sickness absence and swifter return to work after illness or injury.
Key findings
2x salary cost
The real cost of a day’s absence.
£446
The average cost of one day sick leave, for an average UK salary.
2x faster
On average, Equipsme plans get people back to work 2x faster than the NHS.
4 days vs 6 days
Improved rate of reported absence per employee with PMI, vs without PMI.
£2.87
Return on investment for every £1 spent on Equipsme Level 3 Diagnosis plan.
Matthew Reed, Managing Director of Equipsme, says: “For most HR, Reward and Benefits teams, we know that a hard and fast Return on Investment figure - in real pounds and pence - is still very much the Holy Grail.
Double the investment
“We know there’s a great wider case to be made for health benefits in terms of value - things like staff satisfaction, engagement, productivity and continuity, and even company culture. But we wanted to provide clear evidence that’s there’s also a clear and urgent monetary reason to invest - and invest more widely than just traditional PMI for leadership.
“We’ve created a robust and conservative model that costs out the estimated benefit of helping your general population get back to work faster. And we’ve proven that it pays off – that in fact you can get more than double your investment back.
“The fact is that skilled workers at every level of your organisation could be struggling to get the attention they need from the NHS, and that could be having an impact on your businesses. Here’s the evidence you need to show that impact, its cost, and the potential savings from supporting employee health. We hope it helps HR teams open new conversations with cost-sensitive budget-holders.”
New evidence for HR teams
Fruitful Insights co-founder Mike Tyler comments: “People are increasingly looking to employers to provide health back-up, and employers are increasingly looking for new ways to support them. Even Government is now on board, recognising the role employers do and can play in Sir Charlie Mayfield's ‘Keep Britian Working’ report. So with budgets stretched thinner than ever, it’s little wonder they’re looking to understand benefits in terms of actual numbers - and more specifically the return they can expect on any investment they make.
“This research attempts to provide new evidence and new thinking that can boost the case for health benefits. We want to move health benefits from a ‘nice to have if we can afford it’ to a ‘can’t afford NOT to have’. That’s when we see minds, strategies, and investment really change.”
Broker view
Mark Waters, Head of Professional Excellence, said: “Businesses are increasingly looking to do more for more people when it comes to health - but benefit budgets are tighter than ever. That means they are also looking to support any new investment decisions with hard evidence.
“Equipsme’s ROI research, based on robust data and reasonable assumptions, clearly makes the case that health support for larger populations can actually pay for itself. It’s a valuable tool for opening doors and conversations with businesses about wider workforce cover.”
Download the research
