The North East is one of three regions in England selected to pilot a new Department for Work and Pensions-funded project and it’s already been used by organisations including Northumbria Police and Cramlington-based AAF Ltd. The Midlife MOT gives businesses a way to help their employees take stock of their finances, skills and health and it includes one-to-one support and in-person health checks.

Matthew Robson and Suzanne Grady from PeoplePlus, who are delivering the programme in the North East, explain how businesses in our region can access the free support for their employees.  

How is this pilot different from the government’s existing Midlife MOT, which people can access online?
Matthew: The online version covers the same themes of work, health and money but this new pilot is much more in depth and personalised. Each person is given a midlife adviser who’s with them for the duration of the programme, and people have access to live sessions on topics like wills, pensions and stress management, plus a physical health check.

The whole point is we can support individual employees in the way they need, so we carry out an initial assessment and help people decide which sessions they’ll find the most useful. There’s no one-size-fits-all with this programme.

Unlike the original, online version, this Midlife MOT pilot is targeted at businesses instead of individuals. How does that work and what are the benefits to businesses?
Matthew: It’s basically a fully-funded support package which you can offer your staff and any organisation with a site in the North East, which has at least some employees aged between 45 and 55, is eligible.

We know that, when staff feel better looked-after, then attrition reduces, so offering support like this can help with staff retention. If your staff members are physically healthier, have a better understanding of their money and feel less stressed, they’re also going to be more productive. And the age range this is created for – people aged 45 to 55 – is a group which can be overlooked when it comes to development and training.

What has the feedback been like so far from businesses and staff members?Matthew: We’ve found that, once a business has signed up to the programme, 94% of employees who attend the initial awareness session sign up to the programme. 

We’ve tailored things for different organisations, so some prefer group sessions while some think their staff will respond better to one-to-ones. Most of the sessions are delivered via Teams so we can easily cater for people who work remotely and we have health-check packs we can send out, for businesses that don’t have a physical premises. 

Suzanne: The programme caters for people with different levels of awareness on work, health and money and we’ve had really positive feedback, regardless of what people’s knowledge is to start with. 

It’s flexible, so people can choose the support they need – so people who might be thinking about new roles within the business, or their options for part time work after retirement, can get can help with CVs, upskilling and transferable skills from our careers coaches. 

I’ve attended every session and found them incredibly useful. For example, the pensions session really helped me think about the lifestyle I want to have once I retire and what I need to do now to achieve that, and it gave me practical information on how I can check my state pension. And the wellbeing sessions were really great. Even if I already knew something, it brought it back to the front of my mind. 

It’s not just a tick-box exercise, it’s a lot more than that and I know I could really have done with something like this when I was in my previous job. 

The Midlife MOT pilot is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions in the North East until May 2025. To find out how your organisation can take part, email Matthew on Matthew.Robson@peopleplus.co.uk.