# Wellbeing benefits: what UK employers provide in 2026 > UK wellbeing benefits benchmarks 2026: employee assistance programmes, mental-health support, financial wellbeing and earned wage access. Source: https://lumihr.co.uk/resources/wellbeing Author: David Whitfield (https://lumihr.co.uk/about/david-whitfield) Data: lumi reward benchmark · national · collection window 2026 H1 --- *lumi benchmarks · Wellbeing · Collection window 2026 H1 · By David Whitfield* > **Key findings** > - 72.4% of organisations provide an Employee Assistance Programme, the common answer (n = 268). ([What wellbeing and financial wellbeing benefits do UK employers provide?](/research/wellbeing-financial-wellbeing-2026)) This area covers the support an employer provides around health and money: the employee assistance programme, mental-health provision, financial education and advice, earned wage access before payday, and the wider wellbeing programme. Every figure on this page comes from the lumi reward benchmark, with the number of organisations answering shown beside it. The papers below give the full distributions, and the public figures link to one page per metric. The register lists 19 metrics in this area, among them employee Assistance Programme offered, mental-health support provisions and earned wage access before payday; every one has a public definition in [the metric register](/register). ## Frequently asked questions **What wellbeing and financial wellbeing benefits do UK employers provide?** In the lumi reward benchmark, 72.4% of organisations provide an Employee Assistance Programme, the common answer (n = 268). **What are the most common employee wellbeing benefits in the UK, and what do employers spend?** In the lumi reward benchmark, an Employee Assistance Programme is the most common wellbeing provision, at 72.4% of UK organisations (n = 268), and mental-health first aiders are the most frequently selected mental-health provision, at 53.6% (n = 267). The median annual wellbeing budget is £102 per employee, with quartiles of £50 and £145.75 (n = 124), and 41.6% have a documented financial wellbeing strategy (n = 267). ## Related - [All resources](/resources) — every paper, guide and template, filterable by topic. - [How the numbers are made](/methodology) — collection, the floor of three, and how positions are read. - [Who is in the sample](/sample) — the organisations behind every figure, by sector and by size. ## What the research says ### What wellbeing and financial wellbeing benefits do UK employers provide? - 72.4% of organisations provide an Employee Assistance Programme, the common answer (n = 268). - Mental-health first aiders are the most frequently selected mental-health provision, at 53.6% (n = 267). - "No strategy" is the common answer on a documented wellbeing strategy, at 43.8% (n = 267). - The median annual wellbeing budget is £102 per employee, with quartiles of £50 and £145.75 (n = 124, "Not applicable" excluded). - 41.6% have a documented financial wellbeing strategy, the common answer (n = 267). - 66.7% do not offer earned wage access (n = 267). Where fees were reported, 75.3% are employer-funded (n = 89). - One-off payments are the most frequently selected cost-of-living intervention of the last 24 months, at 41.7% (n = 264). Read the paper: https://lumihr.co.uk/research/wellbeing-financial-wellbeing-2026 ## The public figures - [Employee Assistance Programme offered](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/employee-assistance-programme-offered): 72.3% answered “Yes” on employee Assistance Programme offered (n = 267) - [Mental-health support provisions](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/mental-health-support-provisions): 53.6% selected “MH first aiders” for mental-health support provisions (n = 267) - [Annual wellbeing budget per employee](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/annual-wellbeing-budget-per-employee): The median annual wellbeing budget per employee is £102 per employee (n = 124) - [Health screening or assessments offered](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/health-screening-or-assessments-offered): 58.1% answered “No” on health screening or assessments offered (n = 267) - [Wellbeing strategy and review cadence](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/wellbeing-strategy-and-review-cadence): 43.8% answered “No strategy” on wellbeing strategy and review cadence (n = 267) - [Wellbeing and health data tracked](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/wellbeing-and-health-data-tracked): 51.7% selected “Absence rates” for wellbeing and health data tracked (n = 267) - [Occupational health access](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/occupational-health-access): 40.4% answered “OH without SLA” on occupational health access (n = 267) - [Managers with mental-health training](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/managers-with-mental-health-training): 68.7% answered “None” on managers with mental-health training (n = 262) - [Documented financial wellbeing strategy](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/documented-financial-wellbeing-strategy): 41.6% answered “Documented strategy” on documented financial wellbeing strategy (n = 267) - [Earned wage access before payday](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/earned-wage-access-before-payday): 66.7% answered “No” on earned wage access before payday (n = 267) - [Limit on early pay withdrawals](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/limit-on-early-pay-withdrawals): 55.1% answered “No cap” on limit on early pay withdrawals (n = 89) - [Independent debt advice access](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/independent-debt-advice-access): 69.1% answered “No” on independent debt advice access (n = 265) - [One-to-one financial coaching](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/one-to-one-financial-coaching): 64.4% answered “No” on one-to-one financial coaching (n = 264) - [Season ticket / commuting loans](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/season-ticket-commuting-loans): 80.2% answered “No” on season ticket / commuting loans (n = 262) - [Cost-of-living interventions in the last 24 months](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/cost-of-living-interventions-in-the-last-24-months): 64.8% have cost-of-living interventions in the last 24 months in place (n = 264) - [Free or subsidised staff meals](https://lumihr.co.uk/metrics/free-or-subsidised-staff-meals): 72.1% answered “No” on free or subsidised staff meals (n = 265) ## Guides and templates - [How to build a financial wellbeing programme](https://lumihr.co.uk/guides/how-to-build-financial-wellbeing-programme)