Health Spending Accounts For Canadians Explained
A Health Spending Account (HSA), also known as a Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) or Health...
By Cindy Danielson
January 26, 2022
So you're an employer that learns an employee (let's call her Emily) is going off work due to an injury or illness. Research says that prolonged absence from one’s normal roles, including absence from the workplace, is detrimental to an employee's mental, physical, and social well-being. Check out these services to learn what you can do to help Emily return to work quickly and safely.
Depending on the circumstance of Emily's absence, the amount of time you have to prepare for it may vary. You could have no warning at all, be given a few days, or have months to prepare. As an employer, your first concern is for the overall well-being of Emily, but soon after, reality sets in and you realize you've got to figure out how to maintain her workload while she's absent. Your customers and/or staff rely on her to do her job and contribute to the overall success of the organization. Her absence is felt by those that work with her so you hope she's not off any longer than necessary. But, you can do more than hope - you can plan!
From a business perspective, Emily's absence creates a gap in the organization leaving you with many questions to answer, including:
From Emily's perspective, she has questions of her own:
No matter if you're the employer or the employee, there are lots of questions that you may or may not have the answers to. It's a stressful time that can impede Emily's recovery, which is exactly the opposite of what both the employer and Emily want.
It's in the best interest of both Emily and her employer that she returns to work as soon as she's well enough and it's safe enough for her to do so.
According to the Canadian Medical Association: The Treating Physician's Role in Helping Patients Return to Work After Illness or Injury, prolonged absence from one’s normal roles, including absence from the workplace, is detrimental to a person’s mental, physical, and social well-being.
Work provides many of us a purpose in life beyond the financial reasons of employment. So how do you help Emily return to work as soon as safely possible? This is where disability management programs and services can help.
In the context of this blog, reference to disability management services is a broad reference and may include programs available through Canada's healthcare system, programs available through the insurer underwriting an employer's short and/or long term disability policy, third-party disability management, rehabilitation and/or wellness providers and employee and family assistance programs.
Nobody wants to be off work due to a medical condition - it impacts an employee's mental, physical and financial health while negatively impacting the business. As an employer, it's your opportunity to help an employee recover quickly and return safely to the work environment so everybody wins.
Contact your Benefits Advisor or Simply Benefits and we'll refer you to one of our knowledgeable advisor partners.
If you're an Advisor interested in learning how Simply Benefit's digital benefits solution can help you and your clients, contact us.
Most insurers provide disability management programs so be sure to contact yours; however, if/when you need to seek the assistance of a third-party disability provider, check out these companies (sorted alphabetically):
Your benefits advisor can likely recommend a third-party provider too so be sure to ask.
Simply Benefits is a Third Party Payor (TPP) that provides Employee Health Benefits 100% digitally through our Canadian Advisor partners. Our all-in-one digital solution provides three portals that enable Benefits Advisors to digitally manage all client plans online, Employers to efficiently administer employee coverage, and Employees to view, update and use their benefits 24/7 via desktop or smartphone app.
We help ENGAGE Employees Anytime, Anywhere, SIMPLIFY the Benefits Experience, and EVOLVE an Advisors’ Benefits Business.
Connect with us at simplybenefits.ca or on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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