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CO0346 Employee Assistance Programme

Essex County Council

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

20 Aug 2026 at 11:34

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

06 May 2026 at 15:21

Tender Notice
Award

09 Aug 2023 at 14:28

Award Notice
TenderUpdate

20 Jun 2023 at 09:33

Tender Notice
Tender

08 Jun 2023 at 11:23

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council procured an Employee Assistance Programme to support its employees’ personal and work-related wellbeing across Essex. The service covers confidential professional support, including advice, counselling, management support, trauma and critical-incident assistance, therapeutic interventions, bullying and harassment support, and online and mobile health content. The provider is also expected to assess organisational needs, design tailored services, communicate and promote the programme, monitor and evaluate delivery, and report themes and trends that could inform council action. The requirement is classified as company health services. Occupational health services, general medical treatment, tax advice, standalone legal advice, and leisure or recreation advice are outside scope, except for signposting or relevant welfare-counselling support.

The procurement has completed and the contract is active. It used an open procedure with electronic submission, and six electronic bids were received, including five from SMEs. Vita Health Wellness Ltd was awarded the requirement on 10 July 2023, following the award period start, and the contract was signed on 1 August 2023. The estimated tender value was £351,000 including the single lot. The active contract value is £79,875.88. The contract period was 750 days, with options to extend for up to 36 months; an amendment records use of an extension taking the contract end date to 31 August 2026. Evaluation weighted quality at 55%, price at 40%, and social value at 5%.

This award indicates demand for a structured employee wellbeing service combining clinical support, management advice, digital resources and organisation-wide engagement. A credible future supplier would need qualified counselling and therapeutic capability, reliable arrangements for responding to trauma and critical incidents, and experience supporting issues such as stress, anxiety, depression and substance misuse. It would also need to provide confidential delivery, clear referral and operating procedures, accessible web and mobile content, and a practical promotion and implementation programme. Strong competitors would be able to assess workforce needs, monitor usage and outcomes, protect sensitive information, and give the council useful analysis of themes and trends. Experience of service evaluation, audit, continuous improvement and working with a large public-sector workforce would strengthen relevance.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

CO0346 Employee Assistance Programme

Notice Description

At Essex County Council (ECC) we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our people. We strive to enable the right environment, conditions, and behaviours so individual and organisational wellbeing is embedded in everything we do. The purpose of our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provision is to provide confidential and professional support to employees who may be experiencing personal or work-related issues. This will be offering counselling, guidance, and resources for a range of challenges such as stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, financial or legal issues, and more. We are seeking a Provider to deliver an EAP service within ECC as a crucial aspect of our broader wellbeing offer, to ensure that our employees have access to timely and effective support to help them cope with personal and work-related challenges, and ultimately, maintain a healthy and productive workforce.

Lot Information

Lot 1

At Essex County Council (ECC) we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our people. We strive to enable the right environment, conditions, and behaviours so individual and organisational wellbeing is embedded in everything we do. The purpose of our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provision is to provide confidential and professional support to employees who may be experiencing personal or work-related issues. This will be offering counselling, guidance, and resources for a range of challenges such as stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, financial or legal issues, and more. We are seeking a Provider to deliver an EAP service within ECC as a crucial aspect of our broader wellbeing offer, to ensure that our employees have access to timely and effective support to help them cope with personal and work-related challenges, and ultimately, maintain a healthy and productive workforce. ECC's EAP is currently delivered by an external Provider, the contract of which is due to expire on 31st August 2023. Services provided include, but are not limited to: advice and support counselling services management support services trauma and critical incident support promotion of the Employee Assistance Programme therapeutic interventions bullying and harassment support interactive health content via a web platform and mobile application The annual utilisation rate with our current provider in 2022 (April - September) was 4.17%. The organisation focused service will provide: An assessment of organisational need and the design of tailored EAP services Clear communication of the EAP defining the purpose, objectives, and parameters of the service Clear communication so that the EAP is used to maximum advantage for both employees and ECC Comprehensive procedures outlining how the EAP will operate and be monitored and evaluated An effective implementation and on-going promotion plan to reach all those eligible to use the service Feedback to ECC on themes and trends which would benefit from action by the authority Arrangements for audit, evaluation, and service developments Occupational Health Services, general medical treatment, tax advice, legal advice aside from signposting in the context of welfare counselling and relevant consultation and advice relating to leisure or recreation are outside the scope of this procurement. For a full description, please refer to the specification provided within the tender.

Renewal: There are options to extend for a total period of up to 36 months.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-03d4ac
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079371-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85147000 - Company health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£351,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£351,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£79,875 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Aug 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
10 Jul 2023Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
1 Aug 20233 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Essex County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Postcode Area
Chelmsford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLH3 Essex
Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Vita Health Wellness Ltd

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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