Aon will partner with companiions — an employe benefit company that provides in-person childcare and help with eldercare, often at short notice.
This will be available on its flexible benefits platform and available to employers to offer to their staff.
Aon says this new arrangement is designed to address the challenges employees face balancing work with caregiving responsibilities. It points to figures from Carers UK showing 7.7m workers are jugging paid employment with unpaid care. Aon says that without adequate support this can lead to absenteeism and lead to some leaving the workforce altogether — further exacerbating retention and recruitment problems across many sectors.
It points to figures showing that attrition and absenteeism costs UK businesses around £18bn annually, while in 2022, 54,000 women left the UK workforce due to caregiving responsibilities.
Aon principal consultant Joe Broadest says: “Many home workers’ daily processes involve caring responsibilities, which means they may find it difficult to return to the office as work styles have changed since the pandemic.The new service, companiions, helps employees by providing tailored family-friendly care provision. This has already been used successfully, particularly in pressured sectors such as legal and financial services where people need to be back in the office – sometimes at short notice or for unsociable hours.”
He says companiions helps employees to manage the process, supporting work-life balance and wellbeing.”
Lisa Robinson, founder and CEO of companiions, adds: “Companiions provides employees with access to in-person, on-demand childcare, everyday assistance, and eldercare, tailored to employee’s circumstance and situation. In doing so, organisations can create a supportive and healthy work environment that leads to reduced attrition rates and sick days, but also fosters diversity and inclusion, enabling employees to thrive regardless of caregiving responsibilities.
“We believe that a successful business starts with a thriving workforce. Work-life balance is a fundamental pillar of employee wellbeing. The platform is a game-changer for employees and employers, offering tailored support while delivering measurable results for businesses.”
