Aviva is calling for larger corporates to be compelled to clearly communicate the details of their workplace health and wellbeing support and a voluntary national health at work standard for SMEs.
The calls came as research conducted by the insurer identified a significant gap between SMEs and larger employers’ ability to access workplace health and rehabilitation for their employees.
It found SMEs were commonly well behind larger corporates in the health support offered to staff.
Just one in four (27%) employees at SMEs had access to mental health support compared with 41% at larger employers with similar figures for access to flexible working or absence-related interventions – 27% compared with 39% at larger employers.
The survey of 1,235 full-time and part-time UK employees found only a quarter (24%) of SME employees had used return-to-work interviews compared with 38% at larger employers.
Health at work standard
Ahead of the release of findings from Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review, Aviva has called for a voluntary national health at work standard, supported by practical guidance and resources to help SMEs meet it.
The research also found a gap in structured workplace health and wellbeing products and policies offered to staff – 16% in SMEs compared with 31%.
Confidence in accessing financial support during long-term illnesses was found to be significantly lower at SMEs too.
Employees of larger companies were more likely to report being ‘very confident’ (41%) compared to SME employees (30%).
Employees of larger employers were found to be much more likely to have used occupational health (29% vs 16% for SMEs), structured return to work programmes (31% vs 16% for SMEs) and wellbeing support (31% vs 20% for SMEs.)
SME employees also reported a gap in communications – they were more likely to be unaware about what health and wellbeing support is available, how to access it, and what financial support they would receive during a long-term absence.
Two-tier approach
Consequently, Aviva is calling on government to consider a two-tier approach to improving workplace health standards across the UK:
- For large employers: Introduce a requirement to clearly communicate the details of their workplace health and wellbeing support, both internally to employees and externally to the public. This would make health support more transparent, comparable, and competitive across industries.
- For SMEs: Establish a voluntary national health at work standard, supported by practical guidance and resources to help SMEs meet it. This would provide a clear benchmark for good practice, without placing undue burden on smaller businesses.
Real challenges
Jason Ellis, head of group protection distribution at Aviva, (pictured) said: “We know that SMEs care deeply about their people but often face real challenges when it comes to workplace health support, such as limited budgets, fewer HR and employee communication resources, and competing priorities.
“A national health at work standard could be a game-changer, helping SMEs access the tools they need to keep their teams healthy, supported, and productive.
“We look forward to the outcome of the government’s Keep Britain Working Review into how to provide greater access to workplace health support to employees of all sizes, particularly to SMEs.”
