An advice firm says a staff health programme has cut sickness absence by a third, leading to one employee shedding three stone in weight and running half-marathons.

Wealthcare in Bury reported that its team member had slimmed from 15st to 12st over a six-month period, following the healthier lifestyle drive that began in late 2015.

The firm has cut out cakes and pastries at its office meetings, offering fruit instead, as part of the scheme, which has been deemed such a success that the business is adding ‘wellness days’ to the employee benefits packages it offers to clients.

Directors, managers, administrators and consultants at Wealthcare each underwent a 15-minute health check in late 2015.

The programme covered blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index, waist measurement, height and weight, followed by a lifestyle review and health guide.

Following the tests, staff made various changes to their lifestyles and absenteeism at Wealthcare due to sickness fell by a third in 2016, the firm said.

Some staff cut out saturated fats or reduced the amount of red meat and dairy foods they ate, while others took up exercise, switched to no added sugar drinks, substituted sweet snacks for fruit or stopped having sugar in their coffee or tea.

Joint managing director Stephen Cainer said the advice given to staff led to them making practical improvements, such as better nutrition and physical fitness.

“It created a culture where employees chose to live a healthier lifestyle, and this seems to have kept sickness at bay,” he said.

“We take an active interest in the welfare of our workforce and believe that employees are at their most productive and creative when they are in an environment which supports their health and well-being. It makes an essential contribution to business success.

“By investing in this type of programme, health issues among staff can be detected early and employees can work more efficiently and effectively by improving their lifestyle behaviour.

“We wanted to test the service, as it was something we were looking at marketing to clients.

“As a result, we’ve been able to demonstrate first-hand to clients our own positive experience, while our staff have a clearer understanding of the product and how easy it is to use.

“Employee wellness days now form a new service for our clients in 2017.”

Stephen said Wealthcare would continue to hold annual health checks for its staff.

“We have had very positive feedback from the staff who had the tests and this has led to much greater awareness of how small changes can make a really big difference,” he said.