Long-term sickness absence is high on the agenda as we hurtle towards general election polling day (4 July, 2024). The role of employers in tackling this high profile issue has never been more important, says Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Group Risk Development (Grid). And, she argues, it makes good business sense for employers.
Government concerns about the number of people who are economically inactive because of long-term sickness have made numerous headlines recently. And potential measures to reduce economic inactivity and cut the benefits bill have received the same level of attention.
This level of scrutiny will not be different for any new administration, and the role of employers is crucial in stopping people falling out of work in the first place.
To give some context, the number of people economically inactive because of long-term sickness has risen to over 2.5 million people, an increase of over 400,000 since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility, government spending on disability benefits is set to skyrocket by 49 percent from £39.1 billion in Great Britain in 2023-24 to £58.1 billion in 2028-29.
Good business sense
Regardless of government objectives, it also makes good business sense to retain knowledge and expertise from employees, thus avoiding hefty recruitment and training costs.
Employers with a programme of support in place for all pillars of employee wellbeing are well placed to do exactly this – providing ‘good work’, retaining valued employees, and increasing productivity.
In fact, 43 percent of employers intend to increase their investment to provide support for staff during 2024*, which demonstrates that they see the benefit in supporting staff and are prepared to fund it.
However, rather than self-funding support for health and wellbeing on an ad-hoc basis, it’s better value, and easier to ensure quality and consistency, by investing budget with established employee benefits providers. Providing support on an ad-hoc or needs-based approach can be expensive, unpredictable and can risk inadvertent inequality.
Where support is predetermined, all employees have access to the same and equal support from a specialised third party, without discrimination, preference or prejudice.
This is easier to achieve than employers might think since some health and wellbeing support may be right under their noses, included within another benefit purchase. For example, many health and wellbeing and private medical insurance (PMI) providers include a wealth of support to prevent ill-health such as support with nutrition, lifestyle and exercise. It makes sense for employers to be aware of such benefits and to encourage their employees to make full use of them for preventative purposes.
Embedded services
Similarly, group risk benefits (employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness benefits) give access to a huge array of additional health, wellbeing and support services embedded within the purchase.
These are designed to supplement and complement an employer’s programme and can be used every day by employees, line managers, HRs and business owners alike, offering tangible value.
Embedded services can include access to an employee assistance programme (EAP), a second medical opinion, nurse-led support, vocational rehabilitation, fast-tracked counselling and physiotherapy, an online GP, health apps, and HR and line manager support.
Employers may also find that group risk benefits give their employees access to discount vouchers, financial education and wellbeing tools, a debt consolidation service or a pay advance scheme to support financial wellbeing.
So, along with the insurance itself, these services all deserve a place within HR policies and protocols, as valued tools in the supportive kitbag.
Know your absence
But an effective support programme is only part of the equation. It’s also key for employers to have a handle on absence, including the reasons why. That way, employers can actively bring into play the most appropriate support for that absence. This might be their EAP for short-term counselling, or their PMI provider for treatment. They may use their group income protection provider for a number of areas of support, including case management, vocational rehabilitation, independent adjudication of whether an absence is genuine, mediation, and vocational rehabilitation advice and support.
Industry stats for the group risk sector demonstrate the effectiveness of working in this way. Last year, 50.5 percent of employees who had a period of prolonged sick leave starting in 2023 had returned to work by the end of the year, following support from group income protection providers**. This support included active early interventions, such as fast-track access to counselling, physiotherapy and other treatment provided by the insurer. It also included access to specialists in serious illness, vocational rehabilitation and mediation.
There’s no doubt that the record number of people on long-term sick is an issue for the UK.
An effective workplace benefits and support programme helps provide a solution for employers, the state and workers alike. In particular, employers who offer group risk benefits to their workforce have real and practical help in keeping their employees in work, and helping those who are absent to return.
