B11 Rehabilitation - worthy or worthless?
David Bingham of IPRS ably chaired this event, arranged by XL insurance, into progress (or otherwise) in the use of rehabilitation by employers. It was an entirely interactive workshop - a discussion rather than a lecture, with a considerable range of experience among those attending.
A key question posed at the outset by Stuart Sutherland of XL was, why has there been such a slow take-up of rehabilitation by employers when there is so much strong evidence for its financial and wider business benefits? There was consensus that use of rehabilitation is significantly higher among AIRMIC members compared to SMEs. Nonetheless, there is still much work to be done even at many bigger companies.
One explanation for the shortfall in usage is that rehabilitation needs to become a corporate priority if it is to succeed, with strong support from the top. You cannot just press a button to make it happen; considerable time and financial resources are required, and there are inevitably competing priorities. It was agreed that rehabilitation requires a cultural change across the organisation incorporating, among others, HR and line managers. It cannot happen overnight.
Some people might think the recession to be a reason to avoid such an investment, but the workshop agreed that the opposite was the case. In these difficult times employers can ill afford unplanned staff absences. The group discussed examples of companies where rehabilitation had become embedded with dramatically favourable outcomes.
Other subjects included the difficulties posed by some claimant lawyers, especially when handling Public Liability claims, and the role that insurers can play. In fact, very few people left the meeting when it ended, and the informal discussion continued into lunch.
B11 Employee Absence (XL Insurance)