The Northern Ireland Prison Service has extended its relationship with Specsavers Corporate Eyecare.

Northern Ireland Prison Service employs more than 6,000 people and has been using Specsavers Corporate Eyecare to provide its eyecare for seven years. It has just placed a large new order to cover all its driver eyecare needs.

Prison officers regularly drive as part of their day-to-day work and NI Prison Service is using Specsavers Corporate Eyecare’s Driver Eyecare eVouchers to ensure that its responsibilities surrounding the safety and competency of its drivers are met.

In addition to the standard Driver Eyecare eVoucher, NI Prison Service is also offering Specsavers store vouchers as an easy and practical way for employees to supplement the eVouchers and upgrade from single-vision to bifocal or varifocal lenses.

The health and safety officer at NI Prison Service said: “The driver vouchers have proved to be a useful resource for our staff.

“The scheme saves them money and allows them to choose from a wide variety of frames.

“I have received very positive feedback from our staff. I am informed that they find the vouchers easy to use and that the staff at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare are very helpful and knowledgeable.

“They have also been very flexible, allowing us to anonymise our department on the vouchers, so the user’s occupation is not shown.”

Philip Mobley, account advisor at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: “NI Prison Service has gone beyond its legal obligation for providing basic eyecare for drivers and is offering additional vouchers to cover different lens options.

“This is a forward-thinking move as collisions caused by poor eyesight are not uncommon and the cost to an employer can be far greater than just repairs to damaged vehicles.

“The appreciation shown by employees for simple additional benefits like this is also an important factor.”

Driver Eyecare eVouchers cost £35 each and provide:

• A full eye examination
• If required, a pair of glasses from the £45 range, fitted with standard PENTAX CR39 single vision lenses plus a scratch-resistant treatment
or a £45 contribution towards other frame ranges or lens options
• If corrective glasses are not needed, a pair of non-prescription sunglasses from a selected range are provided

Premium Club is built into every Driver Eyecare eVoucher and offers a further £20 contribution when glasses are selected from the £99 range or above, thus giving a combined contribution of £65.

Store vouchers are available in increments of £5 and £20 and may be redeemed in store for the same amount.