If you currently use our Westfield Health cash plan, there are some changes coming from 1 November 2026.

Westfield isn’t disappearing from our benefits offer, but the way colleagues access and pay for it is changing.

At the moment, eligible colleagues are automatically enrolled in Westfield, with YMCA paying the membership cost whether or not the benefit is used.

From 1 November, we’re moving to an opt-in approach. This means you’ll decide whether Westfield is a benefit you want to continue using and, if you do, you’ll register and pay for your membership directly.

For colleagues who actively use the benefit, YMCA will continue to provide financial support towards Stage 1 membership.

What does that mean for me?

If you don’t use Westfield, you don’t need to do anything to continue your membership when the current arrangement ends.

If you do use Westfield and want to continue, you’ll need to opt in and register for the new arrangement from 1 November.

You’ll pay the monthly Stage 1 membership cost yourself.

If you then make an eligible claim through Westfield within 12 months, YMCA will reimburse the cost of your Stage 1 membership for that year through our expenses process.

This reimbursement is available while you remain employed by YMCA Fairthorne Group. If you leave YMCA during that period, you will not be able to reclaim the membership cost.

Why are we changing it?

This change forms part of a wider review of our employee benefits.

We’ve been looking at how colleagues use our existing benefits, what people have told us they value and how we can create an offer that provides more choice across our workforce.

Under our current Westfield arrangement, colleagues are automatically enrolled regardless of whether they use the benefit.

Moving to an opt-in model means YMCA can continue supporting colleagues who actively use and value Westfield, while investing more widely in a broader benefits offer that gives colleagues more choice.

That wider work will also see the introduction of our new Access benefits platform, bringing benefits, savings and support together in one place.

We’ll be sharing much more about that throughout October.

Already have claims to make?

There is one important thing to do before the change.

Our existing Westfield arrangement ends on 31 October, with the new arrangement beginning on 1 November.

If you have any outstanding eligible claims under the current scheme, please submit them before 1 November.

The new arrangement will use a new system and new login details, so outstanding claims from the existing scheme should not be left until after the changeover.

Want to keep using Westfield?

You’ll need to re-register from 1 November.

Your existing enrolment will not automatically carry across, so even if you already regularly use Westfield, you’ll need to actively choose to continue.

We’ll share the practical details before 1 November, including:

  • how to register for the new Westfield arrangement
  • the Stage 1 monthly membership cost
  • how payments will work
  • how to submit eligible claims
  • how to claim your Stage 1 membership reimbursement from YMCA

There’s nothing you need to register for just yet.

For now, if you already use Westfield, the most important thing is to check whether you have any outstanding claims and make sure they’re submitted before 1 November.

Part of a bigger benefits offer

Westfield is only one part of the changes coming to our employee benefits this autumn.

The wider review is about giving colleagues more options, making our benefits relevant to more of our workforce and, importantly, making them easier to find and use.

So while the way we provide Westfield is changing, colleagues who value and use it will still have the opportunity to access it, with YMCA continuing to support the cost of Stage 1 membership where the benefit is actively used.

More information about Westfield and our wider benefits offer will be shared throughout October, ahead of the change on 1 November.