Help@hand frequently asked questions
Help@hand is there to provide your employees with connected health and wellbeing support to help your people thrive every day - at work and in life.
To support you in confidently providing this service and maximising the value of Help@hand in your organisation, we’ve put together these FAQs covering common questions and details on our latest enhancements so you can find quick answers.
Please note, these FAQs are only relevant for Unum Group Protection policyholders – Group Life Insurance, Group Income Protection and Group Critical illness.
If you have any further questions, find out how to get in touch here.
FAQs answeredSee below for questions we get asked
1. Latest updates: Help@hand GP Service change
No. Private prescriptions are still provided at no additional cost, but users will continue to pay for medication and delivery if they choose to have it sent directly to them. NHS exemptions do not apply as these are private prescriptions.
The service remains the same high quality — available 24/7 with no triage and rated 9/10 by users*, offering expert cross-referrals to other relevant Help@hand services, and available to employees, their partner and children up to the age of 18 (or 24 if in full-time education).
*Square Health data July 2024 – June 2025.
No action is required - the enhancement will be in place from the 1st September, and employees will not need to update their app. You may wish to remind employees of the support available through Help@hand, which you can do using our Help@hand communications toolkit.
Select the country where you are based when entering the mobile number.
From the 1st September 2025, we’re removing charges for fit notes and referral letters from the Help@hand remote GP service; to enhance the seamless Help@hand user experience and make it easier for employees to get the documentation they need to access onward support.
This update is based on feedback from our customers and how employees use the Help@hand service. This enhancement reflects our commitment to providing greater value and ease of access, as part of our ongoing work to support total workforce health.
2. Getting started and administration
Yes, the ‘Employees’ tile on the home screen of the Help@hand Admin Portal includes a status for each employee (email address) you have uploaded.
The definition of each status is as follows:
Active: The individual has booked an appointment.
Registered: The individual has downloaded the Help@hand app and have registered their details.
Unregistered: The individual has have not yet registered to use Help@hand.
Deregistered: The individual no longer has access to Help@hand.
Yes, if you’re unable to provide a work email address for your employees, you can use their non-work (personal) email addresses instead. Please ensure that you have the employee’s agreement to use their personal email addresses prior to registering for Help@hand.
The Help@hand Insights Report offers data on each service, allowing you to understand the needs of your employees and adapt your wellbeing strategy where needed. To request your Help@hand Insights Reports, please email help-at-hand@unum.co.uk.
Please note that this report is only available when 50 or more employees have registered, to maintain employee confidentiality.
You can quickly and easily manage the administrators for your account (including adding new administrators) by selecting the ‘Account Details’ button on the main screen and navigating to the ‘System Users’ tab.
Check the Admin Portal guide for top tips and instructions.
Yes, as an employer you should always register on our employer admin portal
We recommend that you register for Help@hand and launch the app to your employees. The app gives direct access to services including video consultations with experts, as well as many other resources to support employee health and wellbeing. The app enables employees to book an appointment at a day and time that suits them and read the biographies of the experts to find the best match for their needs. Employees will benefit from full flexibility, and an award-winning service.
Whilst we recommend this route, we understand that sometimes employees will prefer to use the telephone. To ensure that employees using the phone can get help quickly, please still register for the service here. When you register you will receive a welcome email for your administration account, but you don’t need to take further action.
If you do decide to provide app access at a future date, you can easily upload employee email addresses quickly from your account.
Once you’ve logged into the Help@hand Admin Portal, you’ll need to click on the ‘Employees’ tile on the main screen. This will display all your employees that are registered to access the services. Simply find the incorrect email address from the list, click the ‘three dots’ (also known as the ‘action button’) next to the email address and select the ‘de-register’ option when prompted. Once you have completed this step, you can add the correct email address by following the ‘add employee’ process on the portal.
Check the Admin Portal guide for top tips and instructions.
Simply click ‘Forgot Your Password?’ to request a password reset and log in.
Please note, you may need to whitelist the @squarehealth.com and @square-health.com domains if this email does not arrive. Please notify your IT department to allow these emails.
If the member’s email ID shows on the portal as ‘unregistered’, they have been successfully onboarded. If they have not received the invitation email, it may be a whitelisting issue.
Please be advised, that if you have tried to select the ‘forgot password’ prompt and haven’t received a password email, there is a chance the Square Health email domain for automated emails have not been whitelisted for your company email. This can be rectified by informing your work IT team to whitelist it. Please try to action the forgot password prompt again after it has been whitelisted.
Please inform your IT department to add the following records to allow the emails sent from @squarehealth.com and @square-health.com.
If you are still having issues, please ask your IT department to whitelist the following domain and IP addresses:
v=spf1 ip4:23.249.208.0/20 ip4:23.251.224.0/19 ip4:52.82.172.0/22
ip4:54.240.0.0/17 ip4:69.169.224.0/20 ip4:76.223.128.0/19 ip4:76.223.176.0/20
ip4:199.127.232.0/22 ip4:199.255.192.0/22 -all
Cluster5out.eu.messagelabs.com, spf.protection.outlook.com, _spf.salesforce.com, messagelabs.com amazonses.com
If the issue does persist and invitations do not come through, please reach out to Square Health for further assistance at help-at-hand@squarehealth.com.
Employees will be able to access services up until the date where the policy ends, at which point the Help@hand account will be deactivated.
If someone is midway through treatment with sessions planned, they can get in touch with Square Health directly for their last session(s) via help-at-hand@squarehealth.com or via the 24/7 helpline - 0808 304 3698.
Employees will need to use any cashback earned via Savings and discounts, as this will not be accessible after your Unum policy ends - so please ensure this is communicated in good time.
Managing your Help@hand account is straightforward with minimal administration.
You just need to remember to:
- Add new employees that are eligible for Help@hand through your Unum policy. If you don’t do this then they won’t receive their welcome emails to download the app and start using the services.
- Remove (de-register) employees that no longer work for your company
All of this can be completed simply and quickly via the ‘Employees’ tile on the home screen of the Help@hand Admin Portal. You’ll also be prompted to view our CSV guide which provides you with more details on how to do this.
We have a handy toolkit available, which has relevant materials from pre-launch to ongoing communications to employees. There’s also useful information for using the portal, and a launch checklist. You can find this here.
Yes. This is to ensure that the phone number in the portal is the correct one, and you don’t get locked out if the number is incorrect. After your initial login, you can use either the mobile phone number or email address moving forwards,
Please note: if you are based outside of the UK, you will need to select the country where you are based when entering the mobile number.
3. Help@hand services
During consultation, the cost associated with medication, referral letters, or private fit notes is made clear to the user.
Adding a partner or child is very straightforward. Once your employees have completed the registration process on the app, they can then add their partner and/or children by selecting the ‘My Family’ option from the home screen. Partners and children (over 18 years old) will then be invited via email to download the Help@hand app and set up an account with their unique login details.
For services and eligibility please go to this page.
During the initial consultation with a trainer counsellor, there is an assessment made on what would be an appropriate route of treatment.
This might be immediate support, where there is a time-sensitive issue. The counsellor can support with problem-solving and coping strategies.
Employees can also be directed to computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) modules for additional support they can access at their own pace with the support of their counsellor where required.
Short-term counselling might be offered, when an individual is experiencing issues that would benefit from this support.
For example, if an employee is struggling with
- Bereavement or loss
- Work-related stress or anxiety
- Relationship or family issues
The service may not be appropriate for long-term or specialist support, for example
- Major depression
- Issues requiring a specialist (e.g. family therapy)
- Addictions such as drug or alcohol dependency
If an employee is at immediate risk, then the mental health practitioner may need to contact their NHS GP or other appropriate service.
The mental health booking process in the app explains the definition of ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ conditions, to ensure users can make an informed decision about using the mental health service and access appropriate support as required.
During the initial consultation with a counsellor, there is an assessment made on what would be an appropriate route of treatment. This might be immediate support during the session, where there is a time-sensitive issue. The counsellor can support with problem-solving and coping strategies.
Employees may also be directed to computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) modules or other useful resources for additional support they can access at their own pace. Short-term counselling might be offered, when an individual is experiencing issues that would benefit from this support.
For example, if an employee is struggling with
- Bereavement or loss
- Work-related stress or anxiety
- Relationship or family issues
The service may not be appropriate for long-term or specialist support, for example
- Major depression
- Issues requiring a specialist (e.g. family therapy)
- Addictions such as drug or alcohol dependency
If an employee is at immediate risk, then the mental health practitioner may need to contact their NHS GP or other appropriate service.
The mental health booking process in the app explains the definition of ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ conditions, to ensure users can make an informed decision about using the mental health service and access appropriate support as required.
There is no cost to your employees to use any of the Help@hand services. However, if an employee (or any family member they have added) requires a private prescription for medication, or opts to have this sent to them directly, they will need to pay for this. The remote GP will go through any charges and options during the consultation. This is also outlined in the consultations Terms & Conditions at point of booking.
4. Privacy and data
Unum have conducted comprehensive security due diligence checks with Square Health (the organisation that power the Help@hand app), who were able to provide the necessary assurance on their security controls. Full details can be found here.
No. Medical and health-related information will not be shared with Unum, or any employer. During a medical appointment, an employee may opt to share their consultation information with their NHS GP.
5. Access
Square Health may be able match individuals with clinicians who are able to speak their preferred language or alternatively can provide a chaperone or translator. The app is available in English (UK) only.
Please direct employees to contact help-at-hand@squarehealth.com to request support.
There are several ways Square Health can provide support. Users can contact Square Health via help-at-hand@squarehealth.com or via the 24/7 helpline (0808 304 3698) to discuss their needs in advance. On request, consultations can be extended in length to ensure that there is the time and space for all concerns to be communicated and understood.
Customers are also welcome to invite a chaperone to be present to aid their consultations via the Help@hand app.
For visual impairments:
Patients can undertake appointments by telephone. These can be arranged by contacting help-at-hand@squarehealth.com or via the 24/7 helpline (0808 304 3698).
For hearing impairments and/ or speech impairments:
Through the telephone support service, Square Health can accommodate calls through UK Relay.
For users who require lip reading, Help@hand provide consultations via secure video as standard.
The app is unavailable outside of the UK. To access available services, employees need to call the 24/7 helpline (on +44 808 304 3698) or contact Square Health at help-at-hand@squarehealth.com.
The remote GP service is not available in the Republic of Ireland.
The app is unavailable outside of the UK. To access available services, employees need to call the 24/7 helpline (on +44 808 304 3698) or contact Square Health at help-at-hand@squarehealth.com. The remote GP service is not available in the Republic of Ireland.
Yes, they can still access the service by following the ‘Forgotten password’ link found on the login screen of the Help@hand app. The app will then prompt them with the simple steps required to reset their password and to start using the Help@hand services. If they attempt to use an expired temporary password, employees will be prompted on how to resend an invite.
Alternatively, you can log into the employer portal and re-send their invite. Check the Admin Portal guide for top tips and instructions.