Paul Avis assesses how employee assistance programmes help prevent absence and assist productivity

Group Income Protection (GIP) pays an ongoing financial benefit during prolonged absence of an employee.  However, we are also committed to providing our clients with services that help them address potential absence issues before they become a problem, by helping their employees deal with the stresses encountered in everyday living.

EmployeeCare is an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) designed to help maintain stability within the workplace. It offers information and support on a wide range of topics, with the goal of helping employees lead and maintain a healthy lifestyle. For Canada Life GIP policyholders, this is available at no cost to their employees. The services are confidential and easily accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We have a range of material employers can use when encouraging their employees to take advantage of this service. If not all employees are insured under the policy, we thought it would be inconvenient not to promote the benefit to everyone. So we extended this service to all employees of our policyholders, not just those who are insured. 

Maintaining group wellbeing is a fundamental aim of EmployeeCare. A telephone service for managers offers guidance on areas such as workplace conflict, work-related stress and managing a healthy work/life balance. For employees, the service provides immediate access to trained counsellors, a telephone advisory service and an online health and wellbeing portal.