WorkLife has expanded its employee benefits through a partnership with group insurance provider Unum, with the aim of offering more affordable protection for SME workers.
Employers that use WorkLife will now be able to offer critical illness cover, group life insurance and dental plans to employees.
Rob Marshall, managing director of WorkLife, said: “Like us, Unum is dedicated to serving the SME market – this shared aim and understanding of the challenges faced by smaller businesses made them the perfect partner for us in the group protection space.
“At a time when many people’s salaries are having to stretch even further, benefits such as life, critical illness or dental cover can offer vital peace of mind when unexpected health concerns arise.”
According to research from WorkLife, health and insurance products were among the most sought-after benefits for SMEs, with 22 per cent of employers wanting to offer them over the next six months.
Glenn Thompson, customer solutions director at Unum, added: “It’s more important than ever to make valuable employee benefits accessible to small businesses and partnering with WorkLife means we can do just that.
“Our simple benefits take out the complexity so employers can put in-demand benefits in place quickly - with little administration and no underwriting – which might have felt unattainable in the past.”
The WorkLife platform launched in June with the aim of enabling more small businesses to reward and support employees similar to those at larger firms.
It is being offered to firms free of charge this year as a result of the pandemic, instead of the usual cost of £2 per employee per month.
The brand is part of the OpenMoney group, which includes robo-adviser OpenMoney. Employees can access free financial advice from OpenMoney through WorkLife, in addition to mental wellbeing guidance from the Thrive app.
The platform also offers employees access to life insurance and critical illness cover through online adviser Anorak.
chloe.cheung@ft.com
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