Health Assured

Find out more about Health Assured, the University's Employee Assistance Programme

Notice: Health Assured is being replaced by Spectrum.Life 

From 5 May 2025, Spectrum.Life will be the new EAP provider for staff at the University of Oxford. Access to the Health Assured service will continue until 3 July 2025 to ensure a smooth transition. For more information, please visit the Pay & Conditions news page.

 

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a confidential employee benefit designed to help you deal with your personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing. The University has partnered with Health Assured to provide this service to all University employees, your partners and dependants.

All the benefits listed below can be accessed via the free confidential helpline available 24/7, 365 days a year: 0800 028 0199.

If this is your first call, you will be asked your name, University and some contact details. If you've called before, you will be asked to answer some security questions. Find out more in this Calling the EAP Helpline guide and on the information session recording.

Please do provide feedback on the service. Please note this is totally anonymous and separate from the feedback gathered by Health Assured. 

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If you cannot contact the service via the helpline, please contact Health Assured counsellors via live chat or video call on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser).

Health Assured can provide sign language counsellors, language line translators (click here for a full list of the languages spoken), text relay and video calls.

If you have any other accessibility requirements you would like to see included, please contact the wellbeing team at wellbeing@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Every employee can request six free sessions of counselling per issue per year. An initial assessment will be conducted by Health Assured to confirm if the issue you are facing is suitable for this short-term and solution focused approach. If not, you will be signposted to a relevant source of support. To access this service, call the above helpline or use the live chat, video call service or call-back function on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser).

Counselling is available either face to face, online or via telephone. In-person counselling is available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Staff partners and dependents can also request six free sessions of telephone counselling. 

Health Assured counsellors are trained to at least diploma level in counselling with a minimum of two-years post qualification experience. The team is made up of both female and male counsellors from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. 

They work in accordance with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's (BACP) ethical framework, and undergo regular clinical supervision and training in accordance with their guidelines.

The Health Assured confidential helpline and Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser) give you access to legal information and guidance on a wide range of issues including personal, financial and legal matters of any reasonable kind. Your call will be transferred to the relevant advisor by the helpline or you can also access the service via live chat on the Wisdom app.

The Health Assured legal advisors are fully trained and will assist with a wide range of issues by providing information on legal processes, obligations and liabilities, enabling you to identify your next step and make informed decisions about the best way to resolve the issue at hand. 

Common reasons for calling include: 

  • Consumer rights
  • Family and matrimonial law
  • Childcare and eldercare
  • Civil litigation
  • Medical Negligence
  • Motoring offences
  • Personal injury
  • Wills and probate
  • Landlord and Tenant
  • Housing and property law
  • Immigration

If the legal advisors cannot answer your query due to its nature or the specific information needed, they will signpost you to other sources of support. For more information view the Health Assured legal information and guidance flyer. 

The Health Assured helpline also provides guidance and signposting for debt and money management including: 

  • Budgeting
  • Buying or renting a property
  • Negotiating with creditors
  • Debt management plans
  • County Court Judgments
  • Benefits and grants
  • Mortgage advice
  • Equity release
  • Financial calculators

To access this service, call the above helpline or use the live chat, video call service or call-back function on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser). Your call will be transferred to the relevant advisor by the helpline. Please note, this service is available 9am-9pm 7 days a week.

Every staff member can also access the Space From Money Worries programme by SilverCloud. This is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programme aimed at equipping users with the necessary skills and coping techniques to better understand and manage the relationship between their financial difficulties and mental health.

To access this service, call the above helpline or use the live chat, video call service or call-back function on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser).

Critical Incident Stress Management offers immediate emotional support to staff in distress via the helpline. This service focuses on solving an immediate and identifiable problem, enabling employees to return to their daily routine quicker. 

If an individual requires follow-up support, counselling can be provided across the UK and Republic of Ireland. 

If you require immediate emotional support, call the above helpline or use the live chat, video call service or call-back function on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser).

Health Assured provides a service which helps managers to deal with important issues such as workplace conflict, holding difficult conversations or communicating change. 

The managerial consultancy service is available via the helpline Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. The management advisors have a thorough understanding of emotional health in work as well as managerial requirements, and therefore work with managers to coach them in the following issues when supporting their employees: 

  • Stress management
  • Conflict resolution
  • Communicating change
  • Work/life balance
  • Performance and appraisals
  • Team building 
  • Time management
  • Post-trauma support
  • Management information 
  • Return to work support
  • Bullying and Harassment 

For more information view the Health Assured EAP managers guide.

To access this service, call the above helpline or use the live chat, video call service or call-back function on the Wisdom app (please note, this app can be accessed on your browser).

 

Notice: Wisdom app has replaced My Healthy Advantage app

Please note, the ‘My Healthy Advantage’ app has been discontinued. It has been replaced by the 'Wisdom' app, information available below.

 
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Available for iOS and Android devices, the Wisdom app offers access to a variety of learning materials including health trackers aimed at improving water consumption, daily step counts, sleeping and smoking habits, interactive leaderboards, 4-week plans, mini health checks and more. 

You can also use the app to contact Health Assured counsellors via live chat and video call.

Available via Google Play and the Apple App Store, you will need to input this employer code to set up the app: MHA241469. After that you will be able to log in with chosen biometrics. You can also use the app on your browser using the same employer code. 

For more information on the app, please access this FAQ guide. 

 

All calls are confidential between the caller and their counsellor or advisor.

Exceptions can occur only if there is serious risk of harm to the caller or others. In such circumstances, the counsellor will always seek guidance before breaching confidentiality. 

Analytical usage data may be shared with your employer (excluding identifying factors). 

For more information please access this guide. 

This service is available to all University employees based in the United Kingdom. College-only employees also have access to the provision if their College has subscribed to this service.

Staff travelling abroad can access this provision although face to face counselling and country-specific legal or other advice cannot be given. Unfortunately, this service is not available to staff based abroad on a permanent basis (please refer to departmental-specific information for exceptions). 

Health Assured define dependants as living in the same household, aged 16-24 and in full-time education. 

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Fill in the feedback form

Access the Wisdom App on your browser

Employer Code: MHA241469

Contact us

Wellbeing@admin.ox.ac.uk 

Meet the team

Frances Parkes – Wellbeing Programme Manager 

Dr Ruth Collins - Staff Mental Health Training Service Lead

Bettina Kelemen - Staff Mental Health Awareness and Wellbeing Trainer

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