Fewer than half of UK employers support injured workers

A new report from Group Risk Development (GRiD), the UK industry body for group risk protection, has revealed a worrying lack of staff support for employees in the event of an injury.

Only two in five (40%) offer support for their physical health or help them to stay in or return to work should they be injured or suffer an illness or disability.

This support includes access to private treatment, vocational rehab and similar medical services.

Furthermore, a similar number of employers (41%) do not use group income protection to fund their support services.

The study also comes on the back of a record £2.49bn in claims paid by the UK group risk industry in 2023, an increase of £278.4m on the previous year’s figures.

More encouragingly, the report also found that there were at least similar levels of support for mental, social and financial health challenges.

More than a third (38%) of employers provide mental health support such as counselling, employee assistance programmes and mental health first aiders.

The same number of employers provide social health supports such as including employees in work events. And 36% provide advice on budgeting, discount vouchers or pay advances.

Yet according to Katherine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD, the numbers are still too low. “While it is 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.”

Another concern for GRiD was the finding that 41% of employers fund their physical support on a case-by-case basis, which has a number of drawbacks. Not only is it more costly and more difficult to budget, it is not egalitarian and could result in claims of discrimination or inequality.

Furthermore, a case-by-case approach could also lead to a delay in treatment due to a lack of clinical expertise.

The findings, therefore, support the use of group income protection schemes, stated Moxham. “We would encourage more employers to investigate how group income protection has helped other companies and how it could support theirs,” she said.

“It does, of course, give financial assurance but also a great deal of preventative and rehabilitation support too.”

The study, carried out by Opinium, interviewed 500 HR executives in UK companies in January 2024.

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