ClosePress release 18 December 2018.
Commenting on the announcement in the Government's "Good Work Plan" that a written statement of rights will be mandatory from day one for all workers and will be extended to include details of eligibility for sick leave and pay, Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Group Risk Development (GRiD) said:
"This is an important first step in the journey away from uncertainty around what will happen if a worker is off sick for any length of time. A common reason people don't buy personal income protection is because they think they won't need it – ‘it won't happen to me’, ‘the State will provide’, ‘my employer will look after me’ - but most don't actually know what protection is in place for them via their employer. It's absolutely crucial that people move beyond guesswork and assumption and have a clear idea of what they can expect from their employer if they have a period of sickness absence.
"Following this change, workers will be able to make a better informed decision on whether they need to make their own provision or whether they should lobby their employer to do more for them.
"Employers can play a crucial role in facilitating access to affordable protection cover, and the new requirement to make a statement about sick pay could well be the key to focusing more employers on how they could play a role in helping their workforce achieve financial resilience to income shocks, especially from sickness absence. Employers often don't appreciate that they could do so much more for their people if they looked at group income protection - it's cheaper than they think (GRiD's latest employer research shows that 75% of employers think that group income protection is more expensive than it is) and it also comes with a whole raft of extra help and support that enables a business to position itself as a caring organisation (rather than might otherwise be the case if they have to state to all of their people that they make no sick pay provision)."
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For further information please contact:
Sharon Mason
SMUK Marketing and PR
smason@smuk.org.uk
Mob: 07747 611773
Land: 01252 843350
Katharine Moxham
Spokesperson for GRiD
Katharine.moxham@grouprisk.org.uk
Mob: 07887 512508
Notes for editors
About GRiD
Group Risk Development (GRiD) is the industry body for the group risk protection sector, promoting the value to UK businesses of providing financial protection for their staff, enhancing their wellbeing and improving employee engagement. Our membership includes insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries who have a collective wealth of experience built over years of operating in the group risk protection market. Under the chairmanship of Steve Bridger (Managing Director Group Protection Aviva UK Insurance – Corporate), GRiD aims to promote group risk through a collective voice to Government, policymakers, stakeholders and employers.
GRiD works with government departments and regulators involved in legislation and regulation affecting group risk benefits, and with other organisations involved in the benefits and financial protection arenas. GRiD also seeks to enhance the industry's standing by encouraging best practice and by participating in industry-wide initiatives such as the professional qualification in group risk managed jointly with the Chartered Insurance Institute.
GRiD’s media activity aims to generate a wider awareness and understanding of group risk products and their benefits for employers and employees.
GRiD's dedicated spokesperson, Katharine Moxham, provides expert media comment on a full range of group risk issues.
Follow Katharine Moxham on Twitter @KMoxham
