What is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?
A Guide for Business Owners in New South Wales

What is an EAP and how does it work? 

An Employee Assistance Program (often shortened to “EAP”) is an employee benefit which you offer at no personal cost to your staff. It aims to support employee mental health and wellbeing… helping you to build a happier and more productive workforce!

An EAP consists of a range of resources that help employees manage their own mental health and wellbeing. This might include counselling, group training, visiting speakers and mediation. It can even include critical incident response and debriefing. 

Don’t know where to start? Not a problem! Because Anglicare’s Employee Assistance Program is a third-party service. This means the burden doesn’t have to sit with you as the employer. 

Anglicare is here to help you tailor your EAP to fit your organisation’s needs and budget. But first, it’s important to understand that all counselling sessions are confidential*. You will NOT receive information about who receives counselling or the nature of their mental health concern.

Anglicare's qualified counsellors, psychologists, and social workers provide these EAP services. Anglicare also offers supervision in clinical contexts for other mental health professionals.

Benefits of Employee Assistance Programs 

Having an Employee Assistance Program is an opportunity to provide your employees with extra support to help them manage the increasing challenges often experienced by many. Below are some other benefits:

Improved stress management and coping mechanisms… thanks to your EAP!

Often people go through high pressure situations in both professional and personal settings, but it’s not healthy to live with constant high levels of stress. An Employee Assistance Program is an easy way for you to support your employees to manage stress on an ongoing basis. 

To your employees, counselling is a safe environment to talk about whatever is impacting their mental health and wellbeing. This helps them deal with both personal and job-related stress, which might otherwise interfere with their ability to perform at work.

Their counsellor can also equip them with new coping mechanisms to manage their ongoing stress levels. And help them live a happier healthier life.

Improved employee productivity with your EAP

Research shows that when a business is supportive of employee wellbeing, it often results in increased work productivity and performance. And an Employee Assistance Program is a great way for you to do exactly that!

When an employee is living a happy and mentally healthy life (both at work and at home) it can improve focus, concentration and even teamwork. So it’s no surprise that Employee Assistance Programs can help increase productivity.

Improved employee satisfaction and your EAP

Do you want to attract quality employees? Then adding an Employee Assistance Program to your benefits package to make it more competitive should go without saying. 

For some employees, counselling is an extra expense that is hard to justify. Especially when they have families and so many other competing priorities. That’s why your EAP, which gives them free and confidential counselling, is such an attractive perk! 

On top of that, employees who use your EAP are more likely to feel more supported and encouraged. Combine that with their new and improved stress management skills… and you have the recipe for increasing employee satisfaction and decreasing employee turnover.

How can an employee access an EAP? 

While your Employee Assistance Program can include other services to support the mental health and wellbeing of your employees, one of the most common services offered is professional counselling. 

It’s easy for your employees to request counselling through your designated EAP. They only need to contact Anglicare via dedicated email or phone number! Your employee will then have the chance to discuss their needs so we can match them with a qualified counsellor whose expertise is a good fit. 

When you design your EAP with Anglicare, you can choose to offer phone, online or in person counselling. Or even a combination of all three. You’ll also decide on the number of counselling sessions entitled to each employee. The most common is three to six sessions per year.

How does a company set up an EAP? 

When you choose Anglicare as your EAP provider, the rest is simple. Just explain your organisation’s size and needs, and we can tailor our services to fit your budget. 

Apart from making sure that your employees know about your Employee Assistance Program, that’s really your job done! 

Employees will contact Anglicare directly to use our counselling services. Then we’ll invoice your accounts team (without disclosing the details of the employee who used the service).

Bottom line? We’re here to make the decision to set up an Employee Assistance Program as easy as possible!

How much does an EAP cost a business?

The cost of your Employee Assistance Program depends on how many employees you have, and your goals for an EAP service and its needs. But the good news is that Anglicare can tailor the services provided to fit your budget! Most services provided, including counselling sessions, are pay-as-you-go. That means you only pay for what your employees use. To help plan for this cost, you can set a limit on how many counselling sessions each employee is entitled to during a given period. You might also offer an option to apply for extra sessions for employees who have used up their allocation. The only other cost you'll have to plan for is an annual contract fee.

Tips for maximising EAP benefits

You'll find that your team gets the most of your Employee Assistance Program when they know that it exists! So make sure that you communicate regularly with your team to keep it top of mind.

Some organisations hold regular information sessions or send monthly emails about their EAP. Others run group training or invite external speakers to promote the importance of good mental health more generally.

Whatever you choose, don't forget to explain how employees can use your EAP to support their own wellbeing.

It's also a good idea to assure your employees that counselling sessions are completely confidential... and that whatever they discuss will NOT come back to you or anyone else in your workplace.

In fact, Anglicare does not even disclose the names those who use our counselling services with your business. Understanding this can help those who are hesitant to use your EAP feel more comfortable. Especially if they need to discuss personal mental health issues.

By negotiation, Anglicare can support you in providing this service through in-person or online EAP briefing sessions. Or with presentations at staff meetings and conferences.

Anglicare will also provide you with EAP information brochures for your team and posters to display around your office.

*Note, the limits of confidentiality would occur where there is a significant risk of harm, and we would work with all parties to provide the help and support needed.