Why is early intervention in absence and effective rehabilitation key in dealing with sickness, absence and disability?

Group Income Protection cover provided by Canada Life Group Insurance offers many benefits for both the policyholder’s organisation and to its employees, providing a level of salary continuation when an employee is absent through ill health or disablement. The additional benefit which is most closely aligned to this product is access to case management and rehabilitation services. The cost of sickness absence can be high on the list of an employer’s concerns so the early involvement that Canada Life provides is both sensible and prudent.

Although group income protection benefits become payable during long term disability, the payment only starts after the employee has been unable to work for a set period, commonly 13, 26 or 52 weeks. The employer has to fund Statutory Sick Pay themselves for up to a maximum of 28 weeks. Therefore, managing sickness absence by active engagement with the absent employee makes perfect sense from a financial and philanthropic viewpoint.

Canada Life recognises that even a single absence can have a huge impact on the workplace.  So we offer support as early as possible in an employee’s absence through our in-house, medically qualified rehabilitation consultants (RC) who are all from nursing or occupational health backgrounds, and our experienced Claims Management Consultants (CMC). Our RCs and many of the CMCs are regionally based to facilitate home and workplace visits ensuring support is on hand whenever needed. Where possible, our RCs engage with employers and their employees in the early stages of absence. This is known as early intervention. The ambition is to manage the employee’s absence and find the best possible outcome for all involved, which in many cases is a return to work.

There is strong evidence to suggest that work is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being.  The reality is that many absent employees want to return to work but it is not always an easy journey to make.  The RC works with the employee, their medical specialist and the employer to facilitate a successful return to work. To maximise the possibility of success, an achievable return to work plan is created and remains available to provide much needed support for all parties throughout the process. 

From the employer’s perspective, there is a financial cost to sickness absence, not just through Statutory Sick Pay 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 back into work. Employers have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make every reasonable effort to rehabilitate employees whenever possible and it is certainly not acceptable to simply dismiss an employee when they have been off work for a long period. However, providing the right help can be a daunting task for any employer, and this is where the support from our RCs can help.

Where an organisation embraces our early intervention services and fully engages with Canada Life, we have found that we can make a difference. Early intervention can help reduce longer-term absence and increase the chances of an early return to work. However, the Group Income Protection product is not jeopardised in any way.  Where a return to work is not possible and a claim needs to be made, we are committed to ensuring a fair and efficient assessment and the full payment of all valid claims.   

The service we offer is bespoke to each client and tailored to suit the needs of our policyholders. So, when choosing a long term disability insurer, access to a local, proactive, supportive and experienced claims management team can pay dividends for both the organisation and its employees.