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Group Income Protection (GIP) offers benefits for the policyholder’s organisation and its employees. Fundamentally, it provides a level of salary continuation when an employee is absent through ill health or disablement. The additional benefit most aligned to financial protection is access to rehabilitation services.
The cost of sickness absence is often high up the list of organisational concerns for an employer, so early involvement in absence to maximise rehabilitation support is sensible and prudent. Although GIP benefits become payable during long term disability, the payment only starts after the employee has been absent for a set period, commonly 28 weeks. For the first 28 weeks the employer funds Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so managing sickness absence by active engagement makes perfect sense from a financial and philanthropic viewpoint.
Employers may not have the resources or expertise to manage the absence effectively, so the GIP provider is ideally placed to support the early investigation of absence, helping the employer and their employee at this difficult time.
Canada Life’s Claims Management Services team focuses on the fact that every absence can have a huge impact on the workplace and recognises the importance of supporting employees as early as possible. This support includes unlimited access to our in-house, medically qualified rehabilitation consultants (RC). Where possible, our RCs engage with employers and their employees after just a couple of weeks of absence. This is known as early intervention. The aim is to manage employee absence effectively and find the best outcome for all involved, which in many cases is a speedy return to work.
There is strong evidence to suggest that work is good for physical and mental well-being and the reality is that many absent employees want to return to work. Unfortunately, it is not always an easy journey to make. The RC works with the employee, their medical specialist and their employer to facilitate a successful return. They create an achievable return to work plan, endorsed by the employee’s GP, and provide support for all parties throughout the process. This can be a “lifeline” for individuals struggling to cope.
There is a financial cost to sickness absence for employers - not just through SSP but through the loss of productive, experienced, employees. The longer the absence continues, the greater the financial cost and the more difficult it can be to rehabilitate the employee. Employers have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make every reasonable effort to rehabilitate absent staff, when possible, but providing the right help can be daunting. This is where our RCs can help.
A couple of years ago we surveyed the employers who had engaged with our RCs and 93% (1) found the rehabilitation outcome either very good or excellent, demonstrating the value of their support. Where an organisation embraces our early intervention services and fully engages with us, we can make a difference.
The service is tailored to suit the needs of the employer and each absent employee is treated as an individual, so the support offered is right for their situation – an important consideration when choosing your GIP insurer.
1. Source: CMS 2013 Rehab survey of employers
