A bring-your-own-wearable wellbeing benefit, with privacy built in
Most of the people in a company already wear something that records their sleep. A wellbeing benefit built on those devices costs nothing in hardware, takes a minute to join, and tells each employee which of the benefits already on offer would suit them. The question everyone asks first is whether the employer sees anyone’s data. The answer has to be no, and this page is how that is done.
A benefits list is long and the same for everyone: gym membership, a meditation app, an online GP, cycle to work, a sleep programme, nutrition coaching. Take-up is low because nobody knows which one is for them. A bring-your-own-wearable benefit answers that question from the employee’s own data, privately: connect the device you already wear, and see which three of the benefits fit the person it describes, with the reason.
- No devices to buy, issue, replace or collect back.
- Works for an Apple Watch, Fitbit, Oura, WHOOP, Polar, Suunto, Withings or Strava account; the employee uses what they own.
- The employee joins in a minute, read-only, without giving their name.
| The employer sees | The employer never sees |
|---|---|
| How many people connected | Who connected |
| Which benefits were taken up, in aggregate | Who was matched to what |
| Take-up compared with before | Any reading: sleep, heart rate, HRV, activity |
| Nothing else | Anything inferred about a person’s health |
This is not a policy choice that could be changed later. Humotron does not collect the employee’s name, so there is nothing to join a reading to a person. The employee consents to Humotron, not to the employer, and can withdraw at any time from their device maker or from Humotron.
Tracker readings are health data, special-category data under UK GDPR, and an employer processing them needs a lawful basis that is hard to establish and a consent that is hard to call freely given, because the employer is the employer. The clean answer is for the employer not to process them at all. In this arrangement the employer runs a benefit; Humotron, with the employee’s consent, reads the data and makes the match; the employer receives counts. The employer’s data-protection obligations are about a benefits programme, not about health data.
The employer runs a benefit. Humotron reads the data. That separation is the design.
- Employees are told, in the invitation, exactly what is read, who reads it and what the employer receives.
- Joining is voluntary and there is nothing an employee loses by not joining.
- The data page sets out what Humotron holds and for how long, in full.
Benefits teams who want a sentence for their own policy can use this one: “The wearable match step is provided by Humotron Ltd. Humotron reads tracker data with the employee’s consent; the company receives only aggregate take-up figures and never any individual’s data.”
| Device programme (WHOOP Unite, Oura for Business, Fitbit) | Benefits platform (Wellhub, Vitality, Unmind) | Bring-your-own-wearable (Humotron Benefits) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Bought and issued by the employer | None | None; the employee’s own |
| Who sees data | A dashboard, usually aggregate, sometimes more | The platform | Humotron only; the employer sees counts |
| What it does | Gives everyone the same device and app | Gives everyone the same catalogue | Tells each person which items in the catalogue fit them |
| Cost shape | Per device plus a plan | Per employee per month, typically £5–£10 | £249 a month, free for six months, plus £2 per employee who connects, once |
| Fits beside | Its own app | Its own catalogue | The benefits already on offer, including a platform |
It is not a replacement for a benefits platform. It is the step that makes the one you have get used.
- 1The employer sends its benefits list. Humotron maps each item to the patterns it suits.
- 2Employees get one link. Each connects any tracker in one minute, read-only, without giving their name.
- 3Each employee sees their three matches with the reason. The employer sees take-up move.
A platform fee of £249 a month, free for the first six months, plus £2 for each employee who connects, once, with the first three free. The Benefits page has the full walk-through and a demo.
Can my employer see my Fitbit data?
Not through this. The employer receives counts of how many people connected and which benefits were taken up. No reading, score or name reaches it.
What about people with no tracker?
They keep the benefits list as it is. Some employers add a device to the list so that those people can join later; that is their choice, not a requirement.
Is it a wellness challenge or a step count?
No. Nobody is ranked or compared. Each person sees their own three matches and nobody else’s.
How is it priced for a small company?
The same way. Ten employees who connect, after the first three, cost £14 once, on top of the platform fee that is free for the first six months.