John Cadbury and Joseph Rowntree knew a thing or two about looking after their employees. They offered free healthcare, believing employers had a civic duty to improve their employees' lives. In return, they gained a happier, healthier and more productive workforce

Given the dire state of the UK's economic productivity today and the challenges in the NHS, it might be time to revisit their teachings. The NHS is a much-loved institution, but it's clear that people accept the need for change. The 10-Year Health Plan for England represents a path towards keeping the health service free at the point of use while introducing reforms that have the potential to adjust the way people use and interact with the NHS.

Preventative health care is at the heart of the plan to help create a sustainable healthcare system. The shift to prevention, among other initiatives, will require expanding state-run screening and check-up services such as blood pressure, cholesterol, cancer, and diabetes, among others. The NHS is not set up for, nor has the capacity to deliver, this on a large scale. Marsh McLennan UK's recent report, Rethinking public-private collaboration in UK healthcare, as exclusively revealed by Healthcare Management, sets out a number of ways that by working better together, the public and private health sectors can help build a stronger, more resilient healthcare system.

For me, individuals and employers should take some accountability for healthcare – it is not solely the NHS's role to pick up the pieces. Such a framework, with shared responsibility, has been in place for decades in the pensions space, and it is time we thought similarly when it comes to healthcare. As a leading global consulting firm advising companies on the benefits they provide for their employees, we speak to many business leaders. They tell us they want to do more to improve workplace health and wellbeing, because healthy employees are more productive and therefore support business and economic growth.

Many larger employers already offer funded healthcare and could be well placed to support further, but this benefit is taxed multiple times, such that every £1 of workplace healthcare actually costs the employer £1.26, and the employee an additional 17p. The components of this are Insurance Premium Tax and Class 1A National Insurance, which are paid by the employer and the benefit-in-kind tax on employees.

Some employers are willing to shoulder their part of this burden, to help attract and retain the right levels of skills and experience in their companies, while also keeping their staff productive by being healthy. In other words, some companies are already footing the bill for preventative care services that would otherwise be funded by the state, demonstrating that they are willing to play their part to close the health gap in the UK.

But right now, they receive no Government incentive to do so, financial or otherwise. While this might be sensible in a country with a robust public health system, it doesn't work when that system is under strain. If the Government considered tax incentives, businesses could potentially provide employer-funded healthcare to a broader range of employees, not just those in managerial roles. Employers could become an early warning system, helping to shift the balance from treating sickness to preventing illness, or spotting it early enough to minimise expenditure for the NHS

This is a longer-term investment into the greatest infrastructure in the UK, our workforce. A small investment by the Government now could pay dividends in the future, through reduced costs for the NHS. As difficult as it may be in the current context, especially in light of a particularly challenging economic environment, changes in this space will help the Government to deliver on its vision to support growth. Every penny saved on the NHS can be reinvested in the economy.

Aside from actions from Government, we all have a role to play to support the NHS. Where possible, we also need to take responsibility for living a healthy lifestyle. However, if also coupled with shifting preventative care and earlier diagnosis of health issues away from the NHS, this would allow for earlier treatment of medical conditions to minimise costs for the NHS before they became more serious, for example, in cancer cases where earlier diagnosis also results in better patient outcomes. This also means employees won't languish on waiting lists for treatment and can return to work earlier.

The problems facing the NHS today need little introduction – they include long waiting lists and high levels of chronic illness, and increasing cost burdens from new medicines and technology. Then there is the systemic issue of rising demand for healthcare from an ageing population. People are living longer after retiring but older age brings poorer health and higher NHS costs – which are ultimately borne by those still in the workforce.

Tax incentives for workplace healthcare might not be as spectacular as building Cadbury's Bournville model village, or Rowntree's New Earswick, but in a time of stretched public finances and a flatlining economy, it is surely a pragmatic option the Government should consider.