A quarter of employers do not provide financial assistance to long-term absent employees, according to new research from Grid.
Grid’s research has found a quarter of employers do not financially support employees absent from work for an extended period.
According to Grid, 59 per cent of employers who do not offer long-term absent employees financial support cite concerns about paying staff in full on a case-by-case basis. But group income protection can provide coverage for all employees for an average of £300 per employee.
Grid says employers must consider how they can support absent employees when they are needed most.
The Employment Rights now requires all employees to be informed of their sick pay entitlement on the first day of employment or before, which exposes employers who only provide Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or other basic provision.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham says: “We know that meaningful work provides a number of benefits, including a sense of purpose and fulfilment and social interaction, but fundamentally, we also know that most people are compelled to work to earn a living. Many households have no savings at all and would struggle to pay their mortgage, rent or meet other financial commitments within weeks or months if they were unable to bring home a salary.
“Employers really need to think about whether they want to be the type of organisation that does or doesn’t help their employees financially when they are absent over the long term. It’s not just a case of doing what’s right for existing staff but demonstrating how employees are valued is important in attracting future talent too.”
Moxham says: “By supporting staff financially when absent long-term, an employer is recognising that the individual is a person first and an employee second. That individual will have out-of-work practical, emotional and financial responsibilities which can quickly mount up when they are unable to work through illness, injury or disability. Providing financial security for staff is not simply about the payment in itself but it’s about demonstrating an understanding of an employee’s homelife and showing care and compassion for them as a person. Employers need to understand that when a salary leaves their business account it is more than just a number: in the hands of an employee, it covers a child’s place at nursery; enables car maintenance; pays energy and credit card bills; and puts food on the table – funding the day-to-day lives of a family or household.
“When it’s considered in these terms, it’s hard to believe that any employer would not want to support their staff financially if they were unable to work through ill-health, injury or disability.”
Moxham added: “Although Grid’s research indicates that a quarter of employers aren’t supporting their staff financially during long-term sickness absence, market data indicates that this number could be much higher. So in practice even more employers may be missing a trick by not taking advantage of group income protection insurance so that they don’t have to fund the full costs themselves and know that all employees are treated equally.”