The coronavirus pandemic has tested our physical and mental wellbeing in a number of ways like nothing before – both in the workplace and at home. But whether you have employees who are isolating, struggling to work from home, managing their overall wellbeing or experiencing symptoms of long COVID, our wide range of health and wellbeing services are here to help*.
.jpg?width=716&name=CR00674_Covid_Infographic_FINAL%20(1).jpg)
Click on each service to find out how Unum can support your business and your employees
Extended lockdowns and ongoing uncertainty for all of us can take its toll in a way that’s unique to the person we are and our individual circumstances. That’s why our Wellbeing Check offers access to a personalised 1-to-1 coaching session with our specialist team for bespoke support.
Our health professionals have expertise in a wide range of areas, including occupational therapy, occupational psychology, counselling, physiotherapy and nursing. We can support employees against the impact of COVID-19 both in and out of the workplace, including:
- Work-related concerns such as workload, dealing with change, working from home or returning to the office, work/life balance and time management
- Personal concerns such as personal stressors, maintaining self-care and overall wellbeing, resilience, and motivation.
Find out more about our Wellbeing Check and how to make a referral.
While protecting the mental health and wellbeing of employees is a top priority for employers, the uncertainty and change brought on by COVID-19 has brought the issue of mental ill-health even more to the forefront.
We have a range of services designed to provide early support so any short-term issues can be quickly addressed to prevent them from becoming longer-term problems.
Our mental health at work plan can help you to implement a mental wellbeing strategy, develop mental health awareness, encourage conversations about mental health, improve working conditions and review employee mental health and wellbeing.
Discover more about our mental health and wellbeing plan and how to arrange a consultation.
Our Mental Health Pathway provides easy access to a set of services to support your workplace or an individual employee. You can find out more here or contact Unum directly using pathway@unum.co.uk to speak to someone about your needs.
General wellbeing and self-management have never been more important. Our range of educational podcasts and ‘On Course’ and U-First workshops can support employees with self-care and empower managers to look out for the wellbeing of their teams. Topics include:
- Thriving through change
- Mental health and stress awareness
- Enhancing resilience
- Why movement matters
- Healthy eating and physical activity
- Stress and technology
- How to manage and improve sleep
- Alcohol awareness
- Mindfulness
With the NHS under renewed pressure, Help@hand provides employees with fast, easy access to five key support services, via one easy-to-use app – whenever needed.
Services include:
- Remote GP - available 24/7
- Mental health support for anxiety, depression or cognitive difficulties
- Physiotherapy to address ongoing symptoms such as muscle fatigue or pain
- Medical second opinion
- Life, money and wellbeing support via Lifeworks
- Discover more about Help@hand
Our comprehensive EAP service, LifeWorks, provided by Morneau Shepell, can offer support for any COVID-related topic, including for people experiencing the impact of long COVID and those needing extra help with their recovery.
Support includes:
- 24/7 confidential helpline - Assistance with elder care, childcare, domestic legal issues etc.
- COVID-19 toolkit - Specific resources and support for people self-isolating, caring for others, work-related, financial signposting, and manager support
- New norm toolkit - Covering coping with change, burnout, return to school or the workplace, and developing and maintaining positive habits
- LIFT fitness - Custom-developed fitness programmes to assist with reconditioning and increasing physical activity, suitable too for people working from home or those uncomfortable visiting a gym
- CareNow - Interactive self-management programmes for a range of issues
- Nutrition and sleep - Access to a range of nutritional and dietary support
We provide tailored case management support for any employee affected with a health condition, including the effects of long COVID or the associated impact on mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. This includes:
- An initial needs assessment to identify what support is required
- Bespoke return to work plans with ongoing case management support when appropriate
- Access to a wide range of additional services such as remote psychological support and
- virtual workstation assessments provided by our specialist partners
- For anyone experiencing symptoms of long COVID:
- Work-readiness plans
- Fatigue management and activity-pacing plans
- Tools and resources to help with cognitive difficulties – such as difficulty focusing
- Advice on workplace adjustments
- Personalised support with a dedicated case manager for as long as needed to support a return to work
These summaries below provide an overview of some of the services available from our team:
COVID-19- returning to work
Supporting a return to work
For more information on COVID-19 support or to talk to our specialist team about absence management services and wellbeing checks, email pathway@unum.co.uk
If an employee is unable to return to work, our claims team is on hand to help. To make it as easy as possible in these unprecedented times, we’ve adapted our claims process to include the use of e-signatures and explored alternative ways to gather any medical evidence needed including accepting scanned copies of documents where appropriate.
Our Cancer Pathway also provides information on our simplified cancer claims process and our support resources.
You can find more information and to stay up to date visit our dedicated COVID-19 information hub.
*Access to services may vary depending on your policy.
**This is a non-contractual benefit which can be withdrawn or changed by Unum at any time. The service does not form part of any Unum insurance policy and there is no additional cost or increase in premium as a result of Unum making this benefit available.