Around 63 per cent of employers and 54 per cent of employees believe that the government is lacking in support for the health and wellbeing of workers in the UK, according to Grid.
Employers say their staff are impacted by being unable to access support across all areas of health and wellbeing, including support for mental health (57 per cent), preventative care (52 per cent), financial, if they are unable to work through sickness or injury, (48 per cent) and physical health at (47 per cent).
According to Grid, primary care is now focusing more on preventative support but the change is not happening fast enough for employers.
Grid says that employers should ensure that their offering has a wide range of preventative measures, such as apps for fitness tracking and health tests, to appeal to different groups.
Employee benefits such as group risk benefits, including employer-sponsored life assurance, income protection and critical illness, offer affordable solutions that can help prevent absence, offer early intervention and support those returning to work or those who need time off.
Grid spokesperson Katharine Moxham says: “The current pressures on the public purse mean that this inadequate support is not going to change in the foreseeable future, and every company could be affected if they haven’t been already.”
“While there are marginally fewer long-term sick employed people now than there were at the peak in 2023, the numbers are still worryingly high. Encouraging people back into the workplace is remarkably difficult, particularly where employers have little or no support in place, which is why preventing absenteeism in the first place should be the ultimate goal.
“State support for employees is only going in one direction, with Government ever-more relying on employers to step in and step up. Most employers will want to provide for their hard-working staff, and indeed, they will need to if they aren’t doing so already. There are a number of helpful employee benefit options available to employers on this front, and as the lack of access to support is likely to impact an increasing number of staff, there is no time like the present to put work-based support in place.”
