The Government is encouraging businesses to further adjust their work practices to reduce illness and disability in the workplace, yet nearly 20% of businesses are completely unaware that these requests are even being made of them, according to a survey by Aon Consulting, the leading benefits and employee risk firm.

Aon Consulting surveyed over 600 employers, asking them about their attitudes to welfare reform. The research shows that nearly one in five employers (19%) admit to not knowing about recent Welfare Reform announcements.

The Government has undertaken a two-pronged approach to ill-health and disability in the workforce. Firstly, they are encouraging employers to promote and report on health and wellness in the workplace, partly in an effort to stop people leaving employment and going onto benefits in the first place. Secondly, by reforming the eligibility requirements they are trying to ensure only the genuinely long-term ill and disabled qualify for state benefits, and that the majority of such claimants participate in work-related activity.

Employers seem not to be heeding the Government’s calls, however, with 63% of employers saying they have no plans to amend current sickness and absence benefits, for example by actively promoting return-to-work strategies or providing income protection, which would be vital to the success of the government reform effort.

Starting from 2010, more than 2.6 million people currently claiming incapacity benefits will be subjected to new, more stringent work capability assessment criteria, with the intended aim of moving those who are deemed able to work back into the workforce.

Matthew Lawrence, Senior Consultant, of Aon Consulting commented: “The protection of an employee’s health, safety and wellness is becoming an increasingly important socio-political issue, with employers being expected to shoulder more of the responsibility when it comes to keeping ‘sick’ employees in work and out of the benefits system. With employees an employer’s greatest asset it is certainly arguable that it is in their best interests to do so from both a financial and corporate responsibility perspective.

“Long term, businesses will need to adjust to these circumstances, and indeed changing a company’s approach to sickness, illness and absence can provide both short and longer term benefits. For example, having formal absence processes in place, utilising occupational health resource effectively and introducing a wellness programme can very quickly help reduce the number of sick days taken by employees as well as helping reduce the number of long-term injuries sustained at work, such as back injuries, and increase productivity.

“With regard to those currently caught in the cycle of benefits dependency, it does appear that there are currently a limited number of jobs available. However, this group of people should not be written off and employers should view this as part of a wide ranging opportunity. An opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of their workforce; to decrease the costs of ill-health on their business; to increase productivity; to be recognised as an employer of choice; and, in due course, to tap into a section of the working-age population that for a multitude of reasons that in the past could not or would not participate in work activity.”