The best UK EAP providers for 2025

How to find the best EAP for your team

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While employee rating is important, the reason you are looking an EAP will also depend on your team’s situation. Maybe you are looking to upgrade an existing EAP service and want to make sure your team gets a great deal. Or maybe there’s an employee on the team who’s struggling and needs support as soon as possible. In each case, what you prioritise will be different and so will the best EAP for your team. Knowing what to look out for will help you pick the best service.

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Why are you looking for a new EAP?‍‍

We have spoken to hundreds of people looking to buy an EAP over the years at Spill and they always fit into one of two categories: companies that already have an EAP and companies with nothing in place.

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It’s an important distinction. If you already have an EAP and you are looking for other options then it’s likely that your EAP is not performing. Perhaps no one is using it or team members are being denied support. The majority of buyers have experienced one or both of these problems. An important minority, however, are satisfied with their EAP but want to make sure there’s not a better deal out there.

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Then we have companies who have nothing in place yet. Surprisingly often, companies in this group are looking because someone on the team is struggling right now and needs professional support. Alternatively, a company may have reached a size to build out its employee benefits for the first time. Finally in this group there are companies who need to fulfil a duty of care to their employees.

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Whichever group you belong to, we have watch outs and tips for buying an EAP below to make sure you find the best fit for your team.

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Below we'll cover:

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We have an EAP but nobody is using it

If you are disappointed by usage on your EAP then you are not alone. A 2024 survey of UK business owners found that usage of their EAP was as low as just 3-5% of their employee base each year. Over a quarter of employees surveyed were unaware that their EAP even existed. This can be galling – especially when EAP contracts can last for up to five years.

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However it is important to acknowledge what reasonable usage is for an EAP. If you are paying around £10 per employee per year for access to therapy, it is impossible for the EAP to provide even 25% of the team with access to therapy. Let’s look at the maths:

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We know from a 2007 NHS study that 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem of some kind in a given year and most EAPs promise at least 8 counselling sessions for any employee that needs it.If we assume 25% of our 40-person company want to speak to a counsellor that’s 10 employees:

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Even the best EAP couldn’t make this maths work. Through a combination of low employee engagement and directing employees who contact them away from counselling (more on this below), EAPs can promise plenty of support while providing very little.

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It is acceptable for EAPs to provide limited support for a low price. Many businesses must prioritise cost and some support is always better than nothing. Indeed Eugene Farrell, chair of EAPA, said that EAPs should “acknowledge that they have their limits”. But it is important that you know what those limits are when buying and that EAPs are transparent.

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EAPs should “acknowledge that they have their limits.”

Eugene Farrell

Chair of EAPA

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Here’s some questions to ask during the buying process to make sure you don't get caught out paying for something that goes unused:

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Q: What is the “per session” price for counselling?

Lots of EAPs will give you a “per employee” price which makes it hard to know whether the support they are offering is realistic. If the price of a counselling session is £5, you will know they are assuming low usage.

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Q: What is average session use for a business of our size?

This will help you understand how many sessions your team is likely to use and therefore whether the price is good value. It’s worth also asking if you can pay-as-you-go for the first few months until you know how many sessions the team needs.

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Q: How will you remind my team about the EAP?

A key reason your team might not use the EAP is because they were told about it once via email and then never again. Some modern EAPs (like Spill!) offer integrations with Teams and Slack to stay top of mind for employees. Ask EAPs what they doing to remind your team they exist.

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Q: What’s the minimum contract length?

Do everything you can to avoid getting locked into a 5-year contract with an unused EAP. Be clear on contract lengths upfront and ideally make sure that there are no exit fees if the team ends up never using the service and you want to cancel.

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If you are comparing the best EAPs because your team is not using your current service, you can search our longer list of the best EAPs below and look for EAPs that have pay-as-you-go pricing, offer integrations and don't have exit fees.

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We have an EAP but team members are being denied support on it

If an EAP is going to work, your team must be able to book in for counselling sessions. Surprisingly this is an issue with some EAP providers who claim to offer counselling. A study by Unmind estimated that while only 5% of employees phoned their EAP’s call centre, 42% of those callers were rejected for therapy due to limited sessions and low-quality therapy services.

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If you are reading this section, it is likely that you have had this experience already with your EAP and are looking for a better alternative. Perhaps a team member that you signposted towards your EAP has been rejected for support and is now worse off than before.

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Here are a few things you can do to avoid this happening a second time:

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1. Check Trustpilot

Trustpilot reviews can be a good way to sense check how often employees are turned away from their EAP. If there is a high proportion of one-star reviews with complaints about being unable to access therapy services, this is a red flag. The best EAP providers make it as quick and easy as possible for people to get the support they need.

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Excellent

Based on 94 reviews

Spill is fantastic

Having Spill is such a privilege and it's such a fantastic tool. It's excellent for many different reasons, whether you need to talk to someone because you feel lonely or you want to explore deeper topics that you haven't really spoken about before. Therapy isn't something you should be ashamed of it's such a fantastic thing to help you vocalise your thoughts and feelings with someone who helps you understand them.

Date of experience:

14 Apr 2024

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2. Ensure you can exit your EAP contract

Some EAPs will impose an exit fee if you try to stop paying for it early, even if you are exiting because your team cannot access the counselling service you are paying for. In some cases, exit fees can be more than the value of the contract itself. Make sure that you do not have an exit fee when you negotiate your contract. The level of resistance to dropping the exit fee will also be a good indicator for how good the service is.

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3. Ask for pay-as-you-go pricing

If you cannot avoid an exit fee, ask for pay-as-you-go pricing. That means only paying when the service is used. The best EAPs and modern EAP alternatives will allow you to only pay for sessions that take place which will incentivise them not to turn your employees away.

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4. Check the EAP covers neurodivergence

Some EAPs will not cover forms of neurodivergence and will turn away employees for support with their condition. As diagnoses for autism and ADHD in particular are increasing rapidly year-on-year (see below) checking that this support is included can be important.

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If you are comparing the best EAPs because your team is not using your current service, you can search our longer list of the best EAPs below and look for EAPs that have good ratings, no exit fees, flexible pricing and neurodivergence support.

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We have an EAP but we're just browsing options

With 78% of UK businesses offering their staff an EAP it is likely that you already have an EAP in place. It may also be providing the support that your team needs. However as lots of EAPs come with a 5-year contract, you might have last looked at what’s on the market around 5 years ago and a lot has changed since then.

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Here are some new trends around employee mental health to be aware of when making sure your team has the best EAP:

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Demand for counselling has never been higher

According to a report by the BACP, nearly a third of UK adults sought help from a counsellor or psychotherapist between 2023 and 2024. That’s a huge proportion of the working population and the main reason behind wait times of up to 153 days to speak to a counsellor in some parts of the country. With this void in support, employers are increasingly providing access to counselling for their employees.

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Significant increase in ADHD and autism diagnoses

In the past 4 years, there has been an unprecedented rise in the number of people being diagnosed with ADHD and autism. A recent study by UKIM put the increase in diagnoses at 600% in just 2.5 years. Often neurodivergent employees are among the most productive members of the team which has led many employers to prioritise EAP services that offer specialised support for these conditions.

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Confidentiality is crucial to employees

Confidentiality of mental health services has always been a requirement, both ethically and legally. However, in 2024 this jumped up the priority list for employees as one EAP provider was accused of allowing strangers to eavesdrop on employee therapy sessions, as reported by the BBC. The best EAP providers should prioritise confidentiality, this is crucial if you want your team to use it.

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Getting good value has become non-negotiable

In November 2024, the government announced that businesses would have to increase their National Insurance contributions from April 2025. This is the latest in several developments that have made it harder for businesses in the UK to keep any budget aside for supporting their staff. As a result, making every pound count has become essential. Spending money on a service that isn’t providing value is no longer an option.

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If you are comparing the best EAPs because you want to see what's new on the market, you can search our longer list of the best EAPs below and look for EAPs that have good ratings, no exit fees, flexible pricing and neurodivergence support.

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We don't have an EAP in place and someone on the team needs help right now

Sometimes you will have a team member who unexpectedly needs professional support. Perhaps they have experienced a bereavement or have started having panic attacks in the office. In these cases, you need high quality mental health support as soon as possible.

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When looking for support, prioritise EAP providers that can guarantee your team member will speak to an excellent counsellor. There are plenty of horror stories on Trustpilot of employees being connected to someone who was unable to help them or even made matters worse. You want to have full trust in the EAP service you are connecting a vulnerable team member to so prioritise checking this during the buying process.

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Here’s some questions that can be helpful to ask when looking for the best EAP service for your team:

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Q: What happens when a therapist gets a bad review?

This will help you understand what quality checks the prospective EAP has in place. Some EAP services do not collect feedback while others collect it but do not act on it. This means bad counsellors could continue to practise on their platforms. It’s worth scanning Trustpilot reviews to get a sense of what the counsellors are like. The best EAPs will have extremely high standards when it comes to therapist hiring, training and ongoing supervision.

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Q: When is the earliest my team member could speak to a professional?

The length of time it takes to onboard an EAP can vary radically. The best EAP providers are able to offer your team member a next-day session, others will take you through a weeks-long buying process. Ask this question to avoid surprises.

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Q: How much would it cost just to support one individual?

This is a quick way to find out whether you can support just one employee instead of the whole team. Because many EAPs structure their business model around employees not being able to access therapy, many of them will not want to provide a service to just one employee who needs help. The best EAP services will have flexible pricing options allowing you to support any number of employees and will let you start with pay-as-you-go.

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If you are comparing EAP providers because a member of the team needs support right now, make sure you filter on having on-demand counselling and next-day sessions.

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We don't have an EAP in place and we want to build out our employee benefits

You may be looking to get something in place because the business has matured to a certain level or it’s in a good financial position. If you are not under time pressure, this is a great chance to get familiar with the different EAP options.

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There are lots of different services that EAPs offer:

• On-demand counselling
• Telephone helpline
• Mental health training
• Self-help resources

At one end of the scale, basic EAP providers offer a 24/7 telephone helpline for employees to speak with an advisor who will assess their level of ‘need’ and refer them on for further support if required. More sophisticated services also provide self-help content and training workshops. And modern EAP alternatives (like Spill) do away with the helpline altogether and allow employees to book counselling sessions on-demand using an online booking system.

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If you are not sure which EAP services you should prioritise, start by surveying your employees. They will have experienced services at other companies and will have opinions on what they liked. This will help you to focus spend on services that employees perceive as valuable.

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Finally, trialling the service is not widespread for employee mental health platforms, but that is changing. Some modern EAP services (like Spill) offer the chance for you to trial their platform including some therapy sessions for you to give to the team. This will help give you confidence that the service you are providing to your team is the right one.

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If you are comparing EAP providers because a member of the team needs support right now, make sure you filter on employee ratings, flexible pricing and the ability to trial the platform.

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We don't have an EAP in place and we need to fulfil a duty of care

In 2002, Lady Justice Hale judged that ‘an employer who offers a confidential advice service, with referral to appropriate counselling or treatment services, is unlikely to be found in breach of duty.’ This judgement did not make it a legal necessity to provide employees with mental health support, but it did mean that doing so gave additional legal protection.

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If you are looking to fulfil a duty of care, it is a good idea to get an EAP service in place. Just make sure that it is confidential. The 2024 BBC investigation into EAP providers did highlight that at least one service was not as confidential as they advertised. So far, the fallout has been with the EAP which had its accreditation suspended in 2024 by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

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However if employers are found to have been negligent in the procurement of their chosen EAP service, this could change. The employer also could no longer be protected by the ruling referenced above because the EAP service they provided was not confidential.

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If you are comparing EAP providers because you want to fulfil your duty of care, make sure you filter on confidentiality prioritised.

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Filter our list of the UK’s best EAPs

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Based on why you are looking for a new EAP service, you can now use the best filters to sort the list: