Employee Assistance Program - Example

Employee Assistance Program

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a counselling services package offered by an employer as an additional benefit to staff members and their kin to assist them in addressing an extensive range of personal issues and challenges that can affect their output (Richard 2014). The counselling services are intended to improve workplace wellness through the improvement of the employee's emotional health. The Employee Assistance Programs can be modified to cater for the employees' individual needs. The EAP forms part of an integrated support system for employees providing ambulatory services. These services, which comprise grievance contact officers, chaplaincy services and peer support officers are formulated to give support to volunteers and ambulance staff to assist with work-related issues, as well as with personal work.

Background and Overview

The organisation, as part of its vision and mission, puts great emphasis on the general quality of the employees’ working life, with a specific focus on the availability of life and work balance arrangements meant for assisting staff members to operate in a manner that best suits both the organisation's needs as well as personal needs. The organisation is thus committed to assisting employees through an EAP that will avail access to the ambulatory staff operators to a confidential counselling service. The employees who will need long-term assistance will be required to make private plans that can be made through the company's EAP provider or with an external service provider.

Policy Purpose

This policy is purposed to provide a guideline for the effective setup and operation of an Employee Assistance Program within the ambulance service department, as well as providing guidance to employees and supervisors nominated when there is a need to consult or have access to the EAP service. The ambulance service department's Employee Assistance Program provides the nominated managers and supervisors as well as all the employees within the department access to the following personal services:

• Advice and support for nominated supervisors and managers with regard to dealing with challenges that are linked to their roles and functions;
• Confidential counselling help to employees within the department and their immediate kin; and,
• Provision of telephone, face-to-face or eternal confidential counselling with regards to work or personal issues.

The main objective of the EAP is timely provision and identification of help to assist resolves either personal or work-related issues. Subjects that may be handled through the Employee Assistance Program include addictions such as gambling and smoking, dealing or coping with loss and grief, substance or alcohol abuse, health matters, financial concerns, family challenges, personal trauma, relationship issues or dealing with drastic changes in one's life. The Employee Assistance Program services are thus offered for assisting staff whose intentions involve addressing such work-related and personal issues.

Policy Provisions

Definitions

The following definitions will apply with regard to this Employee Assistance Program:

• "Calendar Year" denotes a period of 365 days, which begin from January 1st to December 31st.
• "EAP" denotes Employee Assistance Program
• "Service Providers" allude to the company that is engaged by the department for the provision of confidential counselling sessions to the employees working in the department, through engaging the Employee Assistance Program
• "Counsellor" denotes the individual psychologist contracted by the service provider to give the employees confidential services that relate to the Employee Assistance Program.
• "Staff Member" signifies an individual appointed by the department as a fixed-term or continuing staff on a part-time or a full-time basis.
• "Immediate Family" refers to a child or spouse of the staff member.

Access to Services

An employee may approach the person(s) providing the EAP directly and schedule an appointment in cases of need (Feit & Holosko 2012). A manager or supervisor nominated for the same after having consultations with an employee may refer him or her to the provider of the EAP. Staff members, as well as their immediate family members, are allowed to have access to the EAP sessions to a maximum of 4 one-hour sessions every calendar, catered for by the organisation. In instances where there is a need to have additional sessions, the provider is allowed to make a referral of the employee to an external body capable of handling the matter. The provider also has the discretion of scheduling for the further employee sessions outside the normal frameworks of the organisation, the employee bearing the extra costs.

In unique circumstances, as well as on request of the employee or after being recommended by the counsellor, the in-charge HR (Human Resources) may make approvals up to three extra visits. The in-charge of the HR department, whereas upholding privacy, will make consultations with the relevant heads (managers) concerning any extra visits. Such extra visits may be financed from the department's allocated budget.

Attendance at Sessions

An employee attending the service provider in the course of the working period will be considered as being on duty, given the session attended is financed by the organisation. The employee should advise the relevant senior official or the nominated supervisor/manager if they are having access to the EAP during working time.

Privacy and Confidentiality

All meetings with the psychologists (consultative meetings) will be held behind closed doors and will be held in total confidence between the EAP counsellor and the employee. The department may get statistical data and information on the frequency and broad categories of use and access of the EAP provider for ensuring that the financial support to the EAP service is sufficiently sustained. Such information will not incorporate the names of individuals using the EAP services.

Having access and using the EAP service is confidential and voluntary. Strict discretionary measures are to be effected as well as promotional opportunities and job security should at no time be put at risk through participation. In instances where the department has resolved to engage an external provider, attention should be directed to the allocation of an activity code or file reference (for billing) to the employee procuring the counselling services. All data and information associated with the counselling content given to the employees by the service providers of the EAP are to be strictly kept confidential.

Written consent of the employee is to be procured before any counselling details are availed to any other parties (apart from instances where there are exceptions). Individual and personal data used and collected in the course of providing the EAP services are secured by the HRIPA (Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002), and the 1998 PPIPA (Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act) (Winston & Winegar 2014). Employees looking for EAP help need to be provided with a privacy brochure for explaining how their private data is managed in addition to how they might access their information.

Exemptions from Confidentiality Provisions

The service providers of EAP are allowed to notify the organisation of activities that make up an imminent and serious threat to safety, health or life of the employee or any other individual, as well as a serious risk to public safety or public health. For instance, if an employee is not capable of undertaking their present duties safely, the organisation needs to become cognizant that close support or work interruptions might be required. There might also be other legitimate requirements to disclose or use the data, which are stated in the privacy brochure. If for whatever purposes, any EAP archives are significant to a court proceeding, parties to the court proceedings may request for a court order, for instance, a subpoena, to get duplicates of those records. It is of paramount importance to note that a court order supersedes an employee's rights to confidentiality and privacy. The organisation should ensure that these important aspects have been communicated to the employees using the EAP services.

EAP Records

The EAP service providers should establish strictly confidential and maintain appropriately certified EAP records. It includes maintaining all employee data in a secure, complete, orderly and accurate manner, consistent with the agreed recognised procedures within the organisation. The maintenance of files and notes under a protected environment is a necessity of all EAP service providers and additionally regarded an essential component of appropriate employee management. EAP service providers who operate internally are required to dispose and retain EAP data files in line with the stipulations of GDA (General Disposal Authority) stipulations (Richmond et al. 2015).

Client Access to EAP Records

According to Australia, Winwood and Dollard (2016), employees who have used EAP services may request to have access to their personal data under the HRIPA (Health Records and Information Privacy Act). The entity providing the EAP services needs to get necessary proof of identity prior to releasing or giving access to privy medical information belonging to the client. Access to employees’ medical records, logs needs to be maintained on each employee's files. Employees have no ownership of their personal data files, and in instances that necessitate access, they may get that information without any objection.

Grievances

Any protests and grievances emanating from the application of this proposal to the department will be handled through the grievance executive management process presaged in the provisional – Employee Grievance Management Policy.

Policy Review

The department may effect changes to this procedures and policy from time to time to make improvements to operational effectiveness. Incidentally, any employee wishing to make any commentaries concerning this policy is allowed to forward them to the HR department.

Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

It is of paramount importance to make reviews and evaluations with regard to the efficacy of the EAP. These reviews need to be developed and may include the creation of an EAP committee that would involve appointed coordinators and managers for reviewing the data. A review procedure might positively contribute to the expansion and growth of strategies that address the main workplace issues as well as improving the wellbeing and performance of the employees. Features to be put into consideration during the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Program may incorporate grievances, calculations concerning sick leave levels prior to providing the EAP services and subsequently at fixed intervals after the service has been introduced.