Most UK employers (82 percent) acknowledge the critical role they have in addressing long-term sickness absence and getting people back into work.
However, with 2.8 million people classed as economically inactive due to long-term illness, close to half of employers also told researchers that they would like to be able to access greater guidance and resources to help them manage the issue.
These were the key findings in Aviva’s latest return to work research, which showed that 74 percent of employers feel their company is good at supporting employees back into work after long-term sickness.
However, the challenges are greater for micro SMEs (which employ 1-9 people). More than half (51 percent) do not have a return to work process, which is a concern as smaller employers account for around 95 percent of the UKs businesses.
Three quarters of employers from micro SMEs said that they don’t have any vocational rehabilitation or occupational health support. In contrast just 5 percent of employers with more than 100 employees said that they don’t have any set procedures or support services.
More than half (53 percent) of companies with 100 or more employees offer occupational health support and just over a quarter (26 percent) offer vocational rehabilitation assistance to employees returning to work following long-term sickness absence. Among micro-SMEs, those that offer early intervention support is significantly lower, with just 5 percent offering occupational health and the same percentage offering vocational rehabilitation.
Bigger employers were also more likely to offer wellbeing benefits (45 percent), private healthcare (38 percent), employee support groups (38 percent) and a digital GP service (26 percent).
Call for government support
Across employers of all sizes, close to half (45 percent) told researchers they want the government to provide more guidance on how to access best-practice services.
This call for more support comes as the government launched its ‘Keep Britain Working’ review. This is an independent review of the role of UK employers in promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces. The Aviva research confirms that employers would welcome guidance and support to better manage employees’ return to work after ill-health.
Areas where businesses would like more information include occupational health, vocational rehabilitation support and preventative wellbeing services.
The same proportion of employers also want support to make these services affordable through incentives or tax concessions. And a similar percentage of employers (43 percent) felt the government should have a greater focus on public health and support people to live healthy lives.
Aviva said that in spite of positive progress, the reality is that the number of employees who aren’t fully fit for work is forecast to rise.
By 2040 more than 9.1 million people in England will be living with major illness, which is equal to about one in five of the adult population, according to the Health Foundation.
The foundation’s research showed that a lot of the projected growth in illness relates to conditions such as anxiety and depression, chronic pain and diabetes. It said that this reinforces the need to establish a best practice approach to vocational rehabilitation, particularly one that enables early intervention and provides ongoing support for employees’ health and wellbeing.
The Aviva research found, encouragingly, nearly two thirds (63 percent) of employers agree that it’s important to get people back to work as quickly as possible following ill-health. More than a third (36 percent) said that they offer wellbeing support to help encourage their employees to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Jason Ellis, sales and distribution director for Group Protection at Aviva, said: “The UK is seeing more and more people leave the workforce due to ill-health, and this trend is likely to continue. Employers play a crucial role in addressing this issue, so it’s reassuring to see many companies have processes and support systems in place to help employees return to work and stay there after experiencing health problems.
“However, our research shows a significant variation in the level of support different organisations offer. This highlights the need for the introduction of best-practice guidelines and better education and access to return-to-work support for both employers and employees.
“It’s essential that employers intervene early and that an employee’s return to work is carefully managed. Expectations should be agreed upon and clearly communicated from the start, with progress checked and adjustments made as the employee’s circumstances change. Without a clear, transparent strategy, there’s a risk the employee might have an unnecessary extension of absence.”
