Paul Avis argues that, in a price sensitive era, early intervention and rehabilitation are important for the containment of group income protection premiums
Many group risk benefits also provide employer-oriented “value adds”, including EAPs and employer online and telephonic legal support services.
These offer support from an employer, as well as employee, perspective.
Through formal EAP referrals to discussions with trained legal specialists to run through specific case scenarios, organisations can maximise their own value as well as encouraging employee usage.
Someone needs to ensure that all these services are being utilised by pulling the strands together, while at the same time guiding the manager in how to support the absent employee appropriately.
One stakeholder not to be overlooked is the group income protection (GIP) insurer.
Early intervention by a medically trained rehabilitation nurse during the first two to four weeks of absence can offer significant benefits.
Of course, valid claims should and will always be paid. But the sooner action is taken, the better the chances are of an employee making a full and speedy return to work. Sickness absence in an employee is often so much more than just ill-health.
Specifically, the intervention can help line managers support the work reintegration process rather than avoid it.
In the early stages, the nurse will make a prompt holistic assessment of the individual’s needs, looking wider than just the obvious symptoms and the affect this will have on their current role.
The nurse will naturally gain a thorough understanding of the health concerns of the employee.
It is also essential that they know as much as possible about their workplace environment: the nature of the business, the organisational structure, the processes carried out, the culture and philosophy of the employer.
All these things impact on how a successful return to work can be achieved.
However, as if that was not enough, there is a bigger picture still.
Social, political, economic, organisational and ecological conditions can all be influencing factors in determining success.
The Hanasaari Conceptual Model, to give these wide-ranging considerations a name, is a bio-psychosocial model (traditionally called the Empowerment or Enablement Model of Disability), widely used as the basis for occupational health practice.
This model may have been a breakthrough in 1988, but it still forms the basis of the rehabilitation framework today, having been refined by academics Gordon Waddell and A. Kim Burton in the late 1990s and into today.
Of course, the nurse is not able to change these influencing factors. But knowing if and how they are affecting the absent employee can help them to provide the right sort of support and advice for the employee and their employer.
The rehabilitation nurse has to bring credibility and confidence to the management of employee absence, ensuring everyone involved has realistic expectations.
This is achieved by combining a supportive relationship with the individual and close interaction with the employer’s representatives (HR, line manager or OH), creating a partnership with the joint aim of facilitating the recovery and successful return to work of the employee.
Alignment of an action plan, based on support, communication and understanding is the watchword of success in these often complex and emotionally challenging situations.
