UK businesses and HR professionals are expecting further Covid-19 restriction and challenges accessing NHS care this autumn and winter.
Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing survey of senior HR, finance and payroll professionals found more than half (53 per cent) expected government restrictions to be impose with a further 43 per cent saying such interventions remained ‘possible’.
Just 2 per cent of employers did not believe any further government restrictions would be required.
Howden head of benefits strategy Steve Herbert says: “These findings are not surprising given that UK Covid-19 infection rates at the start of September are around 30 times higher than at the same point last year.
“Human Resources professionals are being entirely realistic in accepting – and preparing for – a further period of restrictions should they be needed.
That said, the government has made it clear that vaccines have lowered the mortality risk associated with the pandemic, and that lockdowns are now considered a last resort. So any future restrictions are likely to be lighter-touch measures such as mandated mask wearing, a return to working from home for some, or possibly the more controversial issue of vaccine-only Covid-status certification requirements.”
Howden’s research also asked HR professionals how damaging further restrictions might be for their employer’s income and/or profitability. More than four in every 10 respondents (42%) did not expect renewed restrictions to cause any harm, although more than half expected such limitations to damage their business significantly (15 per cent) or a little (38 per cent) should they be imposed.
Howden also asked employers how exposed they were to increased staff absences in the winter ahead as a result of the rapidly growing NHS waiting lists. More than half (51 per cent) admitted that some (30 per cent) or all (21 per cent) of their employees were entirely reliant on NHS treatment pathways should an illness or injury occur.
However almost one in three organisations (31 per cent) already offer all their employees access to some form of private healthcare or treatments. A further 12 per cent of respondents said were unconcerned by these increasing waiting lists as they traditionally experience very low levels of sickness absence.
Herbert adds: “It is accepted by virtually all credible commentators that the already record NHS waiting list is likely to become even longer in the winter months ahead.
“The reality is that employees awaiting treatment might be prevented from working at maximum productivity, or indeed working at all, until such care is eventually received. This represents another potential headwind for employers and the national economy as the nation seeks to bounce-back from the challenges of the pandemic.
“Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing would therefore strongly encourage employers to remind employees who already have access to private healthcare treatments to use this option to bypass those NHS waiting lists.
“We would also urge employers without such benefits in place to explore the full range of company-sponsored support available – some of which are very low-cost solutions – before the winter months. Options to consider include remote GP appointments, Employee Assistance Plans, Occupational Health support, health cash plans, and Private Medical Insurance.”
