Staff Absence Protection – more than just an Insurance

Staff Absence Insurance providers have much more on offer than an absence policy to protect you when staff are unable to come to work. It is vital to institutions in the current climate where the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still present and staff may be suffering from burnout.

Ensuring you are covered for any such absences may also include some of the following benefits:

• Budget certainty; as you know how much you will be spending on absences over the course of the year, protecting you from any unexpected financial impacts
• Simple claims processes through online systems
• Cover that can include pre-existing conditions
• Services to help reduce incidents of staff absence through physical and mental health support, including reasonable adjustment recommendations to help staff return to work
• Education and leadership support for staff including management advice helplines
• Staff wellbeing services including advice and support with menopause, living with cancer and chronic illnesses, dealing with stress, mindfulness, weight management, maternity, and more
• 24/7 online General Practitioner consultation surgeries
• Training workshops
• Pupil wellbeing support
• Cover for COVID-19 absences

The list above is an indication of what is potentially on offer through either lot of our Staff Absence Protection & Reimbursement framework, however that does not mean every supplier can provide each element. It is therefore recommended that members consider what elements they may genuinely need before tendering. It is also worth considering whether a mutual arrangement would be beneficial for your institution.

To learn more about what services providers on the framework can propose, please undertake pre-market engagement by speaking to the providers directly. Alternatively you can check out their websites available from the individual supplier pages through the Staff Absence Protection & Reimbursement framework webpage.

CPC have put together an easy-to-use questionnaire in collaboration with framework providers to ensure that all the information they need is provided to them. Interested members can find this in the Associated Documentation section of the framework page.

If you have a policy which is due to expire over the next few months, members are recommended to start looking at this soon to ensure they remain covered. As always, CPC work closely with Insurance specialist partners Risk2Value for all members’ technical insurance queries, details of which can be found in the framework User Guide.

Should you have any queries or concerns about the contents of this article, or the Staff Absence Protection framework in general, please contact Lisa O’Shea, Senior Procurement Officer on 0161 974 0947 or [email protected].