For the past four years, I have worked for Serco, a large international services organisation, looking after its long-term absent employees. Serco has a group income protection (GIP) policy, which protects staff through illness and injury.

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In the world we live in today, with such amazing medicines and cures for some awful conditions, it seems so sad that when employees’ sickness entitlement ceases, most organisations are forced to terminate their contract through the employer’s capability policy.

This is where a GIP policy saves the day. Imagine your situation as a manager: a member of your team tells you they have cancer and need time off, not only to recover, but possibility to work part-time while receiving treatment (most cancer patients want to work to get through it, in my experience).

A GIP policy would eliminate the termination of an employee’s contract, and protect the employee through their absence and/or part-time working (GIP makes up their pay to full time or the hours they were contracted to work before their absence). This is true care and compassion.

With government health and wellbeing reforms set to come in by May 2015, a GIP policy would be a good place for organisations to start to really protect their staff. As an organisation, this attracts employees and retains loyal workers who help grow the business.

Hot 100 Club – Lorica - 2014

If you would like to talk to me about GIP (I am not a broker or a seller of any kind), feel free to contact me at ashleigh.witcher@serco.com. I would be more than happy to share my experiences and case studies with you.

Ashleigh Witcher is senior benefits and pensions administrator at Serco

  • She will speak about the role of prevention in health and wellbeing benefits at Employee Benefits Live 2014, which will be held at Olympia National on 24 and 25 September.

The Hot 100 Club comprises industry leading lights who have contributed to Employee Benefits