That’s according to Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, which polled 138 heads of companies across both the public and private sectors, ranging in size from SMEs to those employing 10,000 plus staff.

The research revealed that, in order to comply with the DSE regulations, many employers require greater support.

The research shows that 39% of employers believe that eyecare is highly valued by their staff, and 3% believe it is the most highly valued benefit, even above monetary benefits. Specsavers Corporate Eyecare believes, however, that more could be made of eyecare as a benefit if it was better communicated.

Suzanne Randall, corporate account manager for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, says: ‘Eyecare is extremely low-cost to high-value in relation to other employee benefits. This is often only recognised, however, when the employer is provided with adequate and appropriate tools to communicate the value of the benefit to employees.’

Some 43% of employers would find a booklet to explain the details of eyecare benefits the most useful communication tool. This is followed by details provided on an intranet, found most useful by over a third (36%) of employers, posters on the availability of eyecare (34%) and an employee’s FAQ section on the supplier website (29%).