Income protection
Provide your employees on long-term sick leave with solid financial protection with a supplemental monthly income.
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The Return to Work programme is a high-quality, specialised assistance programme designed to get your staff members back to work safely and successfully. It provides specialised guidance and support for staff members on sick leave for a stress-related mental disorder such as burnout or depression. Available completely free of charge as part of Income Care income protection coverage.
A comprehensive approach that's easy to apply:
Individually-tailored guidance from A to Z
Individually-tailored multidisciplinary support delivered by recognised experts based on the specific needs and abilities of the staff member on long-term sick leave.
Independent
Participation in the programme is strictly confidential: as the process is independent, your staff members feel completely free in their choices.
High success rate
The Return to Work assistance and guidance programme will have your employees on sick leave fit, healthy and ready for active duty again, up to three times faster: nearly 7 staff members out of 10 returned to work within 6 months.
Optimal satisfaction
Participants in this assistance programme gave it a satisfaction rating of 9+ out of 10. And what's good for them is good for you.
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Why is it more than just return-to-work assistance?
More than 500,000 employees are currently off on long-term occupational incapacity leave. Over one out of three cases can be attributed to psychosocial disorders, most of the time depression or burnout. These record-high figures call for specialised, custom-designed solutions.
Resources to address this problem are quite fragmented, with long waiting times. But with our Return to Work programme included in our Income Care income protection plan, your staff members will have immediate access to proactive, individually-tailored return-to-work assistance. Support and guidance that go beyond the statutory programme, with a focus on minimising the risk of relapse. All at no extra cost whatsoever.
Return to Work has proven its merits over the past few years.
A win-win proposition for the employer and the employee
Lawmakers and the INAMI/RIZIV: multiple players but no targeted solution
In the past few years, both lawmakers and the social security system have been trying to cut down on the number of long-term sick leave cases. Statutory return-to-work assistance programmes, career change programmes, skills assessments, etc. are all very useful tools. But none of them "cure" the problem. For stress-related disorders, immediate access to the right kind of specialised care is essential, for your organisation as well as your staff members.
High success rate, speedy and sustainable return to work
The Return to Work assistance and guidance programme helps get your staff members on sick leave for a stress-related mental disorder back to work up to 3 times faster than those without access to this type of care. Moreover, alongside a high return-to-work rate, the programme is also successful at keeping people happy and healthy at work: our analysis shows that after 6 months of returning to active duty, 9 out of 10 employees who participated in such programmes are still back on the job and relapse-free. And you score a double win: your employees are happy and healthy again, and you minimise the direct and indirect costs associated with long-term sick leave.
Watch this video (FR/NL) to find out what two HR managers had to say about the added value of Return to Work in their HR policy.
How does the assistance programme actually work?
Once the occupational incapacity has been reported, your employee will automatically have access to the Return to Work assistance programme. Participation is purely voluntary. The first phase of the programme is always an intake interview, which serves as a basis for designing a plan tailored to your staff member's needs.
To do so, we've partnered up with four specialised providers, each with their own scientifically-proven approach. As an employer, it's up to you to choose the care provider that best matches your profile:
It's up to you to choose the care provider that best matches your profile.
Your staff members can take out a cash advance towards purchasing or remodelling real estate.
Want to find out more about occupational incapacity and income protection?
A necessity, not a luxury
If you're still on the fence: the findings from our joint research with Vlerick Business School on occupational incapacity show that income protection insurance with comprehensive return-to-work assistance is fast becoming a necessity, not a luxury.
Job hunters these days increasingly look at the bigger picture. Now more than ever, they value companies that genuinely care about their staff members. Income Protection insurance with return-to-work assistance is a way for employers to differentiate themselves on the market.