Supporting SME clients: The value of rehab and early intervention

As an adviser working with smaller businesses, you play a vital role in helping your clients protect their most valuable asset - their people. When it comes to employee wellbeing, early intervention is especially critical for smaller businesses—where the absence of even one team member can have a significant ripple effect.

Published: 02 Feb 2026 5 mins read

This is why our Group Income Protection policies are not just about providing financial support when an employee is unable to work due to illness or injury. They’re also about proactive and prevention measures – including wellbeing support and rehabilitation – to help prevent long-term sickness amongst employees and reduce lengthy time off work.

Early intervention – key to helping prevent long-term sickness

Early intervention is essential in managing the health and wellbeing of employees. Put simply, the longer someone is off work, the more difficult it could be for them to return. And if the absence goes on, there’s a greater chance that social and financial strains could make an illness worse.

Aviva’s Rehabilitation Manager Matt Smith agrees. He says:

Prolonged absence from work is known to lead to social isolation, financial stress, and a loss of routine, all of which negatively impact mental and physical health. It can also reduce self-esteem and motivation, making recovery and reintegration into the workplace more challenging. Accessing appropriate support as early as possible, can help reduce these risk factors and support a timely and sustainable return to work following absence.

Early intervention and rehabilitation services are non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

The impact of absence

For your clients with smaller businesses, the impact of having an employee off work long-term can be more significant than in larger businesses. Having to find, pay for and train someone to cover a position can be tough, and the impact on workload and morale can be felt more deeply.

By addressing health issues as early as possible, we could help prevent them escalating into more serious conditions that need extended time off work. It could be the difference between an employee taking a few days or weeks off, to months – or even years. As well as helping to protect the business, a proactive approach can benefit the employee and helps to maintain productivity and morale within their team.

Rehabilitation or intervention will look different for every employee. It could involve:

a referral to a clinical expert such as a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, or other experts
signposting to services, organisations or charities who could support the employee
identifying workplace adjustments to help the employee
training line managers to show how they can manage or identify similar concerns
supporting the employee and the business with return-to-work plans.

What are rehabilitation services?

When one of your client’s employees are unable to work due to illness or injury, Aviva works closely with the employer to provide tailored rehabilitation and early intervention support. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach—it’s about delivering the right help at the right time.

Our claims pathways provide expert clinical, emotional, and physical support to help employees manage their health concerns and, where possible, make a safe and successful return to work.

And the results speak for themselves: in 2024, 86% of employees who received rehabilitation support from Aviva either returned to or remained in work. But don’t just take our word for it, meet Brian, who after suffering a stroke, needed support.

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Transcript for video Brian's Group Income Protection story

My name is Brian Stacey, I work in engineering, I’m an NDT inspector and, I’ve done that for 35 years.

Before, I was very active. Used to go to the gym, go out most weekends and things like that.

I was at my friends shop and he noticed that my face had dropped and my speech was slurred and other things like that.

Sat at his shop and a ambulance pulls up outside. I say who’s that for?

He says you.

Did all the heart monitors and things like that and said we reckon you’ve had a stroke.

And then we went down to the hospital. They said you’ve had a bleed on the brain, on your left hand side. Which is where the weak side was. My speech was fine, to a degree. But, I was a bit slurred and things like that.

I then had a year off with the stroke and just got on with it really. I just wasn’t gonna give in and just carried on going.

My name is Anna O’Shaughnessy I work for a company called Krysalis consultancy limited.

Krysalis is a leading provider of neurological rehabilitation services in the UK, and offer a variety of different service streams to individuals with complex neurological conditions.

if an individual has a group income protection policy with Aviva, then a referral will come through to Krysalis following perhaps a diagnosis of a neurological condition or a neurological injury that an individual has sustained.

we deliver occupational therapy services and conduct comprehensive assessments with people to be able to understand and learn about the individual themselves, to establish how Krysalis may be able to support that individual through their rehabilitation journey.

The initial stage is getting in contact with Brian and having an initial chat and conversation and to introduce myself, my role, I very quickly learnt how open and honest Brian is, and started to understand him as a person right from that very first conversation.

We then arrange a more formal remote assessment where we conduct a variety of conversations, discussion and assessment to be able to underpin the challenges that Brian was facing at the time.

Additional things I worked with Brian on was relating to was things like fatigue management. The amount of energy that the brain needs to recover and heal and rewire that neuroplasticity is immense.

So its really important to help Brian to understand his symptoms, to understand why he was feeling the way he was feeling and to then look at his everyday life in order to help him. Its important for the organisation to understand element of Brians condition and how best they can support him at work.

Krysalis has been really good with me and the young lady they sent, Anna to help me out with all the different ideas and things like that to progress me on.

Its made me more confident outside of work as well. My driving has got a lot better.

I then went back to work. I cant do the job I was originally doing. I said I need something a bit simpler cause of the stroke and the memory side of it so I went on to a different job.

I feel a lot more confident in myself. That made me feel a lot better that somebody was actually being there for me and helping me out and giving me advice which is what they did.

Its really really important from an occupational therapy point of view to ensure that we have a really open, transparent with the individual, with the workplace and with the insurance company to make sure we have a consistent approach and that everybody understands first and foremost Brians needs, challenges and of course his strengths in order to support him in the best possible way.

Rehabilitation support is available to employees insured under Aviva Group Income Protection. It's a non-contractual benefit, which Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection, contact your employer, financial adviser or use your usual Aviva contact.

Or visit us online, at aviva.co.uk or search Aviva advisers.

How can your clients get access to rehab services for their employees?

For businesses who don’t yet have this type of protection in place, Group Income Protection offers a valuable way to support their employees and their business – with tailored options to help meet your client’s needs and budget.

On top of our valuable rehabilitation support, the main purpose of the policy is financial protection for employees unable to work due to illness or injury, making sure they can keep their earnings up during difficult times.

There are even more affordable options such as the limited payment term, which can offer your clients income protection for a set payment term, so they can cover their employees at a lower cost. This can be particularly advantageous for SMEs with smaller budgets, ensuring they can still offer valuable protection without straining their financial resources.

If your clients haven’t got Group Income Protection in place, it’s worth considering how it can elevate their overall benefits package, while fostering a supportive and healthy work environment. Our recent research showed that increasingly, employee benefits such as Group Income Protection are highly valued and could help businesses attract and retain talent; as well as demonstrating a genuine commitment to employee care.

If your clients have an Aviva Group Income Protection policy in place:

The great news is, they can already access our rehabilitation service. Early intervention can make a significant difference in helping employees return to work sooner and in better health. Because of that, we encourage employers to contact us as soon as they have concerns about an employee’s health – even if there isn’t a claim to be made.

We’ve got it covered

At Aviva, we’re dedicated to supporting you and your clients. For more information on Aviva Group Income Protection, get in touch with your usual Aviva contact or email us.