These proposals were contained within the Government’s ‘Good Work Plan’, and are designed to address the problems of increasing numbers of people working on more flexible working contracts in the ‘gig’ economy.
Grid spokeswoman Katharine Moxham says that this could help boost demand for many group risk products.
She says: “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.”
Moxham says that employers have a crucial role to play in facilitating access to affordable protection cover.
“This 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.”
She adds that employers often don’t appreciate the could do more for their employees if they looked at group income protection. As she pointed out the latest employer research by GRID showed that 75 per cent fo employers think GIP is more expensive than the actual costs.
She adds: “This cover comes with a whole raft of extra help and support . This can enables a business to position itself as a caring organisation.”
Potential employees may have a very different perception of their employer if they receive a written statement showing it makes no sick pay provision, and details the low level of support available from the state.
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