Accessibility and Prevention for a Healthier Workplace
Chief Medical Officer Report
Introduction
Helping SMEs Keep Employees Healthy, Happy and In Work
Our latest Chief Medical Officer Report—aligned with the Keep Britain Working initiative—shows how Group Income Protection (GIP) can help SMEs towards preventing absence, supporting employee wellbeing and enable quicker, sustainable returns to work. Through proactive services such as virtual primary care, mental health support, vocational rehabilitation support and meaningful workforce insights, GIP can help smaller businesses reduce disruption, boost productivity and build healthier workplace cultures where people can thrive.
What's inside the report?
1. Introduction – Dr Tarun Gupta, Chief Medical Officer, L&G Retail
2. Prevention’s role in absence management and how GIP can help – Vanessa Sallows, Claims and Clinical Development Director, L&G Group Protection
3. Improving GIP accessibility for SME’s: there’s more to it than cost – Colin Fitzgerald, Distribution Director, L&G Group Protection
4. Thoughts from intermediaries – Barry Waring, Founder, BW Consulting and Kevin O’Neill, Consulting Lead, Health and Protection, Barnett Waddingham
Let’s keep Britain working
We’re supporting the drive to keep Britain working by giving SMEs the tools accessible through our GIP — like early intervention, virtual care, vocational rehabilitation support and actionable workforce insights—that are designed to help keep employees healthy, supported and in work.
Read the first, second and third editions
Good work is good health
- How to extend salary replacement (in times of illness or injury) to more people.
- Helping employers ensure the good physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing of their employees.
- How to consider work as part of the recovery journey, helping to shift thinking from the 'all or nothing' approach that traditionally prevails in absence management.
Diversity Equity and Inclusion
In the second edition of our CMO Report, we continued with the theme of ‘Good work being beneficial health’. We also explored how group income protection can support the barriers to equity and inclusion as well as helping contribute to a productive workplace.
Digital health and wellbeing
Digital health and wellbeing tools help employers strengthen satisfaction, culture and overall employee health, while also supporting advisers in growing wellbeing awareness for their clients. Our third edition focuses on the value these technologies bring to people, businesses and wider society—today and in the future.
Future reports coming in 2026
Later this year, we will release editions five and six. Edition five will focus on working with cancer, exploring how employers can better support individuals who are balancing treatment, recovery, and return‑to‑work journeys, while fostering inclusive and compassionate workplace cultures. Edition six will then turn to metabolic wellbeing, examining the growing impact of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular risk, and highlighting practical strategies organisations can use to promote prevention, early intervention, and long‑term health through workplace wellbeing initiatives.
About our CMO: Dr Tarun Gupta
Tarun is the Chief Medical Officer for L&G’s UK Protection business. He is an experienced NHS GP, Clinical Commissioner and Occupational Health Physician to the private sector. Tarun serves as a resource for the claims and clinical teams and provides medical opinion on complex cases, applying his expertise to comprehensively assess functional ability, interpret disparate medical evidence and help provide clarity with claims that require a greater medical understanding. His clinical interests include mental health and workplace wellbeing, and he is a regular speaker on emerging workplace health topics. He contributes to medical education and professional development across the insurance industry through his involvement with the LUCID and AMUS committees.
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