The company I work for has recently starting using First Assist for its Absence Management and we have been told we need to ring 0845 600 6415 when we are off sick.  I have emailed the company asking for a geographical number, with no success as yet, so wondered if anyone has such a number.  This is my first post, I have tried to search online, but I hope someone can help me.

---

~ Edited by Dave: Thread title amended

Hello and welcome to SAYNOTO0870.COM.

As its website shows, FirstAssist Group is made up of a number of companies. There is FirstAssist Insurance Services and FirstAssist Legal Protection.

FirstAssist Health & Wellbeing is the bit that does absence management, amongst other things. It also shares its website (www.first-assist.com) and apparently its offices with FirstAssist Added Value Services.

From the contact page:

Wheatfield Way
Hinckley Fields Estate
Hinckley
LE10 1YG
Tel: 01455 251155

32-42 High Street
Purley
Surrey
CR8 2PP
Tel: 020 8763 3333


We discussed this company very recently in connection with its operation of the BMA's Counselling Helpline:
http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1280096097

This company evidently operates helplines for many clients, some of which are staffed 24 hours a day. The BMA's helpline is 24 hours and I guess that the absence reporting line will be as well.

The question is, which office handles calls for absence reporting? It may well be the case that the same staff answer different types of calls for different clients. We know that BMA counselling is answered at Hinckley.


The SAYNOTO0870.COM alternative numbers database is about people sharing numbers, so please feedback on what you find, as I would like to list an alternative for others to use. Any other information you have or find out might help. The e-mail address, for example. It would certainly be useful to know which office handles calls to the 0845 number in the OP.

I just rang the alternative number given, they answered with "First Assist", didn't actually ask them if they were dealing with my company though in case it gets back again that I am being a trouble maker. Our staff have been on the training today about using this number, have been told it is company policy to use this number.  I have seen posts somewhere about requesting the geographic number under the Freedom of Information act.  Is this the right (next?) way to go with this, as I am not getting anywhere with my request for this number from my company?  

Valr

ValR wrote on Nov 2^nd, 2010 at 1:03pm:

… I have seen posts somewhere about requesting the geographic number under the Freedom of Information act.  Is this the right (next?) way to go with this, as I am not getting anywhere with my request for this number from my company?

Freedom of Information requests can only be made to public sector organisations. As it's a private company, FoI does not apply.