Zurich Insurance is offering one-off coronavirus antibody testing for all its employees and their immediate families living in the same house over the age of 18.

The Swiss insurance provider has its UK base in Swindon and is rolling out the scheme around the globe after carrying out a successful pilot version in Switzerland.

Most British staff suggested that they would like to be tested, though employees will not be required to disclose their test result and testing remains entirely optional.

Chief operating officer for Zurich UK John Keppel said: “It’s not surprising that our survey sample showed up to 95 per cent of Zurich UK’s 4,500 employees expressed an interest in receiving this test so we intend to make them Covid-secure and easily available.

"We have chosen Bupa as a reputable and trusted provider. They will be administering approved antibody testing on our behalf.

“In the short-term, Zurich isn’t committing to any levels of return to office occupancy, instead choosing to align to government guidelines and industry best practice.

"As social distancing restrictions are reduced, we will in turn, ensure our customer needs are incorporated in our office occupancy levels. At this point, we remain largely home based as a workforce.”

The test is a one-off optional benefit which is not linked to a return-to-office approach. It has been put in place to offer peace of mind for workers who worry that they may have caught Covid-19.

It is one of several ways the company has helped staff during the lockdown. Others included providing free office equipment for those working from home, launching wellbeing hub with free access to the Calm app, an emergency loan of up to £750 per person subject to approval, reducing childcare vouchers to £1, and giving employees the option to sell holiday back to the company or reduce their pension salary sacrifice for the year.

The Zurich Community Trust has allocated £1.7 million to ease the pressure on charity partners selected by employees. This includes a £25,000 award to the Wiltshire Community Foundation. The trust donated £134,000 has been donated to local partner organisations, including projects in Swindon.