What the Government's latest work & disability Green Paper means for employers

Paul Avis, Marketing Director at Canada Life Group Insurance, continues to discuss the Government’s Green Paper on work, health, and disability: “Considering the challenges faced by the current State Benefit application process and the tiny level of benefit, employers with employees who go on long-term absence should be under no illusion that poverty awaits, having been through the process.

“Hence, the Green Paper is the start of additional obligations, but also exciting opportunities to support people who have a significant change in their life circumstances.

“It will mean additional employer obligations, but also new ways of thinking about people with disabilities. Disability diversity programmes are the hardest for organisations to achieve, however good their intentions. Many people do not classify themselves as disabled, even when given the Equality Act definition in staff surveys. As a result, the quantification of people with disabilities in the workplace has always been a challenge for diversity programmes.”

Avis also discussed the role income protection will play: “There are challenges about the role that Group Income Protection (GIP) can play, and the good news is we believe we can respond to these; specifically, is there a return on investment on GIP? We can now prove this, and have evidence of schemes expanding on this basis.