Having sat in many board rooms over the last 3 years with MMB with flexible working, working parent support and working mum’s returner programmes on the agenda, has allowed me to meet the good, the bad and the ugly, when it comes at ways to attract and retain staff. Hearing not just new plans and ideas, but actual implementations and investment into employee empowerment is a halleluiah moment!
Read our popular Return to Work After Maternity Leave – UK Returner Plan & Checklist (2026)
Every so often, we are lucky enough to work with people and businesses who get the value of employee engagement and retention and not just as buzz words or the latest PR pitch but as a core value through the heart of their organisation. Emis Health is one of those businesses with such people who are championing this change driven from within and with the board’s support. Emis Health recognises that as their workforce goes through life and its changes. They wish to be there with them to empower them every step of that journey.
Something that when you think about it is such a simple yet great idea. As people, we go to work, but we also take work home and home to work. Do we fight so hard to say they both are not interlinked and stress from home can also affect our work and vice versa, something we saw in our MMB returner survey.
Why don’t we see employees as people? Why don’t we get that offering great support at all stages of that employee’s life? From paying off a graduate loan, access to financial advice through returning to work, can positively impact the people who work with and for you.
So this is the point where I could wax lyrically about Emis Health as a business and their plans but let me tell you what they are doing now. Not just talk but action that’s already there. Emis Health has delivered a complete intranet help book for people looking to start the journey as a parent in all forms, including the ability to check out policies and maternity pay without having to ask for them from a line manager or HR, its all there transparent and clear a click away.
Emis Health’s Support Network
They are a business that values supporting their people through all life’s experiences and empowering them to be the best they can be in the workplace in an open and supportive culture. They have so many amazing initiatives already in practice along with more in the pipeline to support all their employees through work while understanding the impact life changes have on them.
In 2018 Emis Health announced several initiatives in-house to show their commitment to equality and diversity. The is not a tick box exercise but a way of life for the business moving forward. From creating the Women’s network, enhancing their family-friendly policy, to launching flexible working, they have so much more ahead for 2020.
Maternity and Paternity Experience
Emis Health is transparent with their maternity and paternity experience. They’ve provided a family-focused intranet where you can find their full maternity pay and policy before you even begin your parent journey without fear. Their new family-focussed intranet supports parents with access to great tools and links. It carries them right through the journey and what to expect. This includes training and identifying a key member of staff to take on the role of the family-friendly specialist and our MMB returner programme for returners back into the business.
The support and access to great information are there without fear of any form of reprisal on asking about maternity or paternity leave. Women and men can see the people who have gone before and the support they received. What more could you ask for?
# Emis Health Empowering Returner Parents