Income protection (IP) is the most desired group risk or healthcare benefit for employers but it is also one of the least commonly provided in schemes, according to research.
In contrast more employers already offered private medical insurance (PMI) to their workforces than said they would like to do so.
The findings came from a survey of 300 business leaders conducted by Love Your Employees.
Encouragingly, 56.3% of employers said they would like to offer staff income protection, but just 28% had done so. Only 15.7% were uninterested in providing these benefits to staff – the lowest rate in the sector.
On critical illness protection, the survey found 38% offered this type of protection already, with 32.7% wishing to offer it and 29.3% not interested at all.
PMI was already supplied by 41% of respondents with 29% wanting to offer it and 30% were not interested,
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) were similarly popular with 37% making this available to staff, 37.3% interested in doing so and 25.7% uninterested.
However dental insurance was much less desireable and lower down the peckign order with only 25.3% of firms including this for staff, 39% considering it and 35.7% having no interest.
And while most employers (54%) were interested in offering staff help with addiction, just 4% have acted on this, and 41% of workplaces were not interested.
Elliott Smith, co-founder of Love Your Employees, said more employers need to recognise the importance of addiction support given the “severe“ and “drastic“ impact it can have on businesses and employees.
“Addiction is often filed in the too difficult pile. It will need sensitivity, expertise, and braveness to a certain extent to tackle what is a common problem area,“ Smith said.
“Funding in this area has been disseminated over the last 10 to 12 years, and for many there is nothing available where they live. Perhaps there are rewards to be had by offering this kind of support in the workplace.
“Helping to move those with problems from chaotic functioning towards a higher level of wellbeing and performance is in both employee and employer interests.”
