Workforce Support – Occupational Health Framework
Framework Description
The Workforce Support – Occupational Health Framework is run by NHS Workforce Alliance under NHS London Procurement Partnership. It gives public sector organisations access to occupational health, employee assistance programme (EAP) and eye care services across four lots, including a fully managed option. It runs until 13 April 2027, with two optional 12-month extensions to 13 April 2029.
Context & Use Case
NHS organisations use it to buy occupational health services such as physiotherapy, health screening, counselling, coaching and vaccinations, mental health support through an EAP, and eye care for staff. Employers wanting one provider for both OH and EAP can use the fully managed service lot, while others buy each service separately. The framework reference is RM6386.
Scope of Services
Lot 1: Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programmes, Fully Managed Service Lot 2: Occupational Health Services Lot 3: Employee Assistance Programmes Lot 4: Eye Care Services
Lots
Lot 1: Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programmes, Fully Managed Service; Lot 2: Occupational Health Services; Lot 3: Employee Assistance Programmes; Lot 4: Eye Care Services
Who Can Apply
Suits occupational health providers, EAP providers and eye care companies that serve employers. Applications for this framework are closed, so new suppliers cannot join now. The re-tender may come around 13 April 2027, or as late as 13 April 2029 if both extensions are used.
Buyer Benefits
Sickness absence is a major cost for public employers, and fast access to occupational health and mental health support helps staff return to work. The lot structure lets buyers choose a fully managed service or separate OH, EAP and eye care contracts, depending on their in-house capacity.
Next Steps
Appointed suppliers should watch for the extension decision before 13 April 2027 and prepare call-off responses with clinical governance, response times and absence outcomes. Others should follow NHS Workforce Alliance and LPP announcements for the successor and gather public sector OH or EAP references now.
How Athena Can Help
Occupational health and EAP contracts are scored on clinical quality, access times and outcomes. Athena's bid content and compliance reviews make sure your evidence is clear and matched to each criterion, and our competitor analysis shows how you compare with other providers.
For providers aiming at the successor, our framework strategy and positioning builds your evidence and social value offer early, and our end-to-end public sector bid support plans the response from first approach to award.
