Workplace sickness
Cirencester Friendly pays 94% of 2014 claims
Cirencester Friendly paid £3.3m in sick pay benefit for its income protection customers in 2014, with 94% of eligible claims paid.
Early Intervention Service returns half of referrals to work
Canada Life has announced that its Early Intervention Service (EIS) has seen 47% of referrals result in a return to work.
NICE warns 1.2m asthma patients 'incorrectly diagnosed'
Up to 30% of adults considered to have asthma may have been incorrectly diagnosed, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said.
A third of employers offer group life
Group life assurance is offered by 36% of employers a survey by Group Risk Development (GRiD) has found.
Middle aged taking the most sick leave
Employees aged 30-49 took an average of 2.3 sick days in the past six months, more than any other age group, research from AXA PPP healthcare has found.
Employers reveal health and wellbeing concerns
Obesity, work/life balance and presenteeism are among the health and wellbeing concerns of employers, research for Group Risk Development (GRiD) has revealed.
Sickness 'main reason' for workless households - ONS stats
Sickness, both long-term and temporary, was the main reason given for not working by people aged 16-64 years living in workless households across the UK, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has found.
Long shift work link to impaired brain power
Long term shift work is linked to impaired brain power, research published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine has found.
Health issues workshops launched by Unum
Unum has launched a set of workshops to help employers spot and manage some of the most common causes of sickness absence.
Insurers reveal mental health challenges for firms
The potential cost of employee mental health problems to businesses has been highlighted in two separate pieces of research from two insurers.
NHS support for workplace health schemes in five year plan
The NHS will offer help and support for workplace incentives to promote employee health and cut sickness-related unemployment.
Absence falling as care impact rises
The average level of employee absence has fallen by a day to 6.6 days per employee in the last year, nearly a third report that rates have been affected by caring responsibilities, research has found.
Unum: Services like MAS should raise sickness absence awareness
Unum has urged the government to improve take-up of income protection (IP) through four key steps including channels such as the Money Advice Service (MAS) raising awareness of sickness absence.
Employers urged to support staff with musculoskeletal conditions
A report from The Work Foundation and Fit for Work UK is accusing employers of not doing enough to support people with chronic musculoskeletal disorders.
SMEs must improve staff health and wellbeing - AXA PPP Healthcare
SME employees are at increased risk of ill health and burnout, according to a new poll by AXA PPP Healthcare.
Four-day week needed to reduce stress, says top doctor
Reducing the working week to four days would help to combat work-related stress and the mental ill-health associated with overwork or lack of work, one of Britain's leading doctors says.
Disability Benefit Consortium opens Big Benefits Survey 2014
The Disability Benefit Consortium has launched its 2014 Big Benefits Survey and is looking for input.
AE encourages firms to redesign benefits packages
Auto-enrolment (AE) has prompted an increasing number of employers to overhaul their entire benefit offering, JLT Employee Benefits research reveals.
Flexible working changes introduced but many workers will still 'lose out'
The right to request flexible working has been extended to all employees from today, where it was previously limited to just parents and carers.
Employee burnout behind a third of absenteeism cases
Over a quarter (26%) of employees have called in sick to work when they weren't ill; according to research from Canada Life.
GPs could be incentivised for HWS referrals and lose fit note responsibility
GPs could be given incentives to encourage them to refer employees to the Health and Work Service (HWS), but may lose the responsibility of issuing fit notes.
HCML revamps catastrophic injury case management
Health & Case Management Ltd (HCML) has re-launched its catastrophic injury case management service.
Improving approaches to employee mental health
Misconceptions about mental health are hampering the treatment of the subject by employers. Joy Reymond explains how they can improve their approach.
OH Nurse: I do not see how Health and Work Service will work
An occupational health nurse has questioned the viability of the government's Health and Work Service (HWS) and in particular the ability to conduct return to work consultations over the telephone.
