June 2015
Eldercare as an employee benefit is increasing in popularity among UK employees, research by travel insurance and assistance service provider Allianz Global Assistance has revealed. Nearly three quarters of the survey’s 200 respondents cited an interest in an eldercare-related benefit and 27 per cent confirmed the importance of a healthy work-life balance in line with their caring responsibilities.
Sarah Ducker, health development specialist at Allianz Global Assistance UK said the percentage of respondents interested in receiving eldercare-related staff benefits was up from 48% in 2014, indicating a ‘shift in perception’ of where people were looking for support in addition to the family network.
A ‘robust network of care management solutions’ to fill the social care gap was becoming increasingly important: “By providing care cover, employers can also play a key role in helping their staff cope with this growing concern,” Ducker added.
According to the research, 76 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about caring for elderly relatives, compared to 52 per cent last year who admitted feeling anxious about the ageing population. 68 per cent said they had no plan in place if a relative needed care due to ill health and 28 per cent said they would research online for eldercare help.
Matt Duffy, Head of Online Consultancy at Aon Employee Benefits said: “Most employers offer flexible working arrangements and policies for taking unplanned leave but typically, these have been created to support working parents care for their children. However, we are seeing many more organisations adapt arrangements and policies to cater for the varied need among our ever-changing diverse working population – including the provision of support for employees, to care for their parents.”
He continued: “We have also seen specific products enter the benefits market to specifically cater for these events too, and when speaking with our clients’ employees, this is becoming a more common requirement and request for innovation in this space, including insurance products, technology solutions for the home and provision of emergency care practitioners.”
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