It’s the sweet smell of success for Paycare. The UK operation of L’Occitane’s worldwide skincare, body care and home fragrances organisation decided to reward its employees by introducing an employer-paid healthcare cash plan from Paycare.

With more than 500 different products, available from over 560 stores in 50 countries, L’Occitane en Provence has established itself as a leading worldwide brand and boasts some ‘A-list’ customers such as Kate Moss and Glen Close.

L’Occitane en Provence currently employs nearly 170 staff in the UK throughout its 20 stores and head office in Central London. The first store opened in Kensington, London in 1995.

Human resources manager of the UK operation of L’Occitane, Julie Abernethy said: “We looked at a wide range of potential benefits for our staff including pensions and child care vouchers, but our demographics were not right. We wanted an additional benefit that our employees could use on a frequent basis and we also wanted them to feel they were getting something of value back from the company.

“We turned to healthcare. There’s confusion between private health insurance and a corporate health care plan, we had to ensure our people understood the difference.

“Private healthcare – where typically you get a room at a hospital when things go wrong – is quite different to the benefits from a cash plan. “Most of us regularly visit the dentist and optician and, because our employees are on their feet for long periods in our shops, they might also need chiropodists, chiropractors and physiotherapists, all of which are covered by most cash plans,” explained Ms Abernethy.

Having decided that the healthcare cash plan route was the ideal solution, Julie and her team drew up a shortlist of cash plan companies and compared their products.

“We were very impressed in the way Paycare presented the company and its products to us. The communication was simple and delivered in a matter of fact style. We decided that Paycare provided the perfect match for our situation.

The L’Occitane UK plan from Paycare reimburses employees’ costs for treatment from the dentist, optician, osteopath, physiotherapist and others, up to an annual maximum value. Within the plan there is unlimited access for staff to telephone a counselling and helpline. There are also options for employees to upgrade to a higher level and to introduce their partners onto the plan.