Insurance giant Zurich has launched a campaign to call on government to do more to help rehabilitate Britons back into the workplace.
Speaking to FT Adviser, Peter Hamilton, head of market engagement for Zurich and the government's disability and access ambassador for the insurance sector, said rehabilitation has been "overlooked" for years, despite being something that would "benefit everyone".
He said: "It benefits the individuals, the company for whom they work, and the UK economy as a whole."
The campaign aims to get policy makers to include rehabilitation as a component of its workplace health roadmap, and has already gained the support of Kim Leadbeater MP for Batley and Spen.
Leadbeater said: "The UK’s workforce is not fighting fit. I’m pleased to say that awareness is increasing among employers of the benefits of improving the health and wellbeing of their workforce but there is definitely more to be done.
Formal recognition of rehabilitation is one of those component parts which has been absent from many discussions.Peter Hamilton, Zurich"As I set out in my Healthy Britain Report in 2023, I believe we need a much more comprehensive approach to the health and wellbeing of the nation, and increased support from employers will help unlock the full potential of the UK’s workforce and generate economic growth.”
The campaign launch comes shortly after the government announced it had appointed Dame Carol Black to head up its review into occupational health task force.
The task force aims to improve employer awareness of the benefits of occupational health in the workplace, tackle in-work sicknesses and help grow the economy.
In 2023, the government launched its Occupational Health Innovation Fund, which has provided £1mn funding to 10 projects to develop innovative new models of occupational health, using technology to improve the capacity and capability of occupational health providers and increase access for SMEs.
But Hamilton said the issue of long-term sickness among Britain's workforce needed to go beyond occupational health and tackle the process of successful rehabilitation.
He pointed to some recent research Zurich commissioned from the Centre for Economics Business and Research, which showed that, at current rates of growth, the cost of long-term sick leave is set to almost to double by 2030.
This would cost the economy £66.3bn a year in lost productivity.
Responding to the figures, Leadbeater said Zurich’s research showed the need to spread best practice among employers about how to prevent illness in the workplace through a national ‘health at work’ standard.
This would include the "provision of vital vocational rehabilitation services, to return the long-term sick to productive employment".
Bridge from benefits
He said: "Clearly the issue with long-term sickness from work is not new and it is good to see the new government taskforce being created.
"But formal recognition of rehabilitation is one of those component parts which has been absent from many discussions about getting people back into work.
"I know the government is keen to get the over 50s back into work, but a greater focus should be those who would like to work but cannot at the moment."
According to Hamilton, research from the Association of British Insurers in 2023 showed that the majority of people who had rehabilitation as part of their workplace insurance policies stayed in employment, but sadly only three in 10 Britons have access to rehabilitation services as a workplace benefit.
Hamilton added: "The sooner you can get back to work the better. But too often people are away so long they end up on benefits and while they would like to work, they find a big challenge is the way benefits are structured.
"The process does not create a bridge from being on benefits to getting back to work, so if you go back to work and find that it's not possible to continue, you have to start again from the beginning.
"So one area we would like government to consider is how to help people flex between the two and manage that translation back to work."
The adviser's role
Beyond the government's role, Zurich is keen for members of the financial services profession to get behind the campaign, including those advisers who have small to medium-sized clients or business owner clients on their books.
"There is a financial incentive for employers to look after the staff they have got. It can seem like a big outlay on staff benefits but if you had a better sick pay, and better benefits, you would have a healthier and more productive workforce", Hamilton added.
Hamilton said even if financial advisers do not operate in the group risk advice market, if they could signpost to those who do, it would benefit the UK economy as a whole.
A greater focus should be those who would like to work but cannot at the moment.HamiltonHe said: "We've seen how ancilliary benefits such as 24-hour GPs and wellbeing services are being used more and more as part of the overall insurance package.
"Group risk products that include rehabilitation gives companies access to an HR style function that many smaller companies otherwise could not and would not be able to offer their staff."
For this reason, he has urged advisers to get involved and raise the message of the benefits of protection policies and the importance of focusing on rehabilitation back into the workplace.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
