Protect your finances: Long-term absence can be costly: group income protection shifts that risk to the insurer.

Support your people: Demonstrates genuine care and helps employees through difficult times.

Encourage return to work: Built-in rehabilitation services help reduce the length of absences.

Strengthen your benefits: A standout addition to any employee package.

Group income protection (sometimes called employee sick pay insurance) provides a replacement income to staff who are unable to work due to illness or injury. Rather than relying solely on statutory sick pay, which falls well below most employees' salaries, a group scheme ensures your team continues to receive a meaningful proportion of their earnings (typically 50–75% of salary) for an agreed benefit period.

The policy is owned and paid for by the employer. Premiums are usually treated as an allowable business expense, making the cover highly tax-efficient. When an employee makes a claim, the insurer pays the benefit directly to the business, which continues to pay the employee in the normal way. This keeps the arrangement straightforward for HR and payroll teams while delivering real financial security to the individual.

Group income protection policies include a deferred period: the length of time an employee must be absent before the benefit begins to pay. Common deferred periods are 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks. Employers typically align this to the end of their own company sick pay entitlement, so the policy takes over seamlessly when their obligations end.

Choosing a longer deferred period reduces the premium, so businesses can calibrate the cover to their existing HR policies and budget. Our advisers will help you identify the most cost-effective structure for your specific circumstances.

Most group income protection schemes include access to rehabilitation services as standard: physiotherapy, counselling, occupational health assessments and vocational support. These programmes are designed to help employees recover and return to meaningful work as quickly as possible, benefiting both the individual and the business.

Many insurers engage rehabilitation support even before a formal claim is made, keeping absences shorter from the outset and reducing long-term claims costs. As independent advisers, Baker Hudson Health compares schemes from leading providers including Aviva, Unum, Legal & General and Canada Life to ensure you get the best value combination of cover and support services.

The following are illustrative examples only. They do not represent real clients or actual cases. Individual policy terms, eligibility and outcomes will vary.