"We would like to see more employers prepared to support their workforce through these difficult times."
- Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD
Of those surveyed (500), 60% of employers confessed that they don’t offer support for employees’ physical health, to help them stay in or return to work if they were to experience ill-health or injury.
Notably, only 38% provide support for mental or social health - e.g. mental health first aiders, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) & counselling. Considerably less than half (36%) provide support for financial health, such as advice on budgeting, discount vouchers or pay advances.
Of those who provide support when staff are incapacitated, a third (33%) said support for physical health is the most helpful. This was followed by mental health (31%), and financial health (29%).
When an employee experiences ill health and/or injury, 41% of employers fund this support on a case-by-case basis. Group Risk Development (GRiD) warns that this approach has several drawbacks. It can be both expensive and difficult to budget for since no employer will have the same number of cases year-on-year.
Additionally, providing support on a case-by-case basis requires employers to fully understand a condition before assigning the correct pathway. Without a level of clinical expertise, funds could be wasted and a positive outcome delayed.
GRiD highlights that employers who offer benefits such as Group Income Protection (IP) are well-equipped to deal with staff in these situations - this is the most cost-effective and comprehensive option for employers.
“While it’s good to see employers thinking broadly about their staff in these situations across the four main pillars of physical, mental, social, and financial support, these figures are low. We would like to see more employers prepared to support their workforce through these difficult times,” explained Katharine Moxham, Spokesperson for GRiD.
“We would encourage more employers to investigate how Group IP has helped other companies and how it could support theirs. It does, of course, give financial assurance but also a great deal of preventative and rehabilitation support too,” she concluded.
