The Structural Gap in Employee Benefits
Employee Assistance Programmes and wellbeing tools typically activate during crisis.
But caring pressures build long before that.
In the UK:
- 1.4 million working adults are in the “sandwich generation”
- 9% of carers leave work entirely
- 28% reduce hours to manage care
- 2.5 million carers are balancing employment and care responsibilities
For employers, this means:
- Mid-career attrition
- Reduced engagement
- Productivity drag
- Hidden retention risk
For benefit providers, it means something more serious:
A gap in preventative support within the existing benefits stack.
The Integration
Through its group risk arrangement via Zurich Insurance, employees at Ofcom accessed Podplan as part of their workplace benefits.
Podplan delivered:
- Structured later-life planning guidance
- Practical tools for organising care decisions
- Ongoing weekly insights to prompt early action
- A clear pathway to further support
Importantly, this required:
- No additional HR administration
- No change to claims infrastructure
- No operational expansion for the benefits provider
Podplan enhanced the value proposition — without adding servicing complexity.
Employee-Level Proof
Kayt Button, Ofcom employee and co-chair of the Parents and Carers Staff Network, shared:
As my mother’s primary carer, I’ve found it incredibly useful personally, and I recommend it to carers across our organisation.
She described how the platform helped her arrange a temporary stairlift — and how small weekly insights often crystallised practical decisions.
This is preventative intervention in action:
Small guidance → early decisions → reduced escalation.
What This Means for Benefit Providers
This case demonstrates that Podplan can:
- Strengthen a benefits portfolio with high-relevance, mid-life support
- Address a growing workforce demographic (working carers)
- Enhance perceived employer value between renewal cycles
- Deliver preventative engagement beyond traditional EAP models
- Integrate without increasing operational complexity
In competitive tenders, differentiation matters.
Preventative eldercare support is both commercially relevant and emotionally resonant.
It extends the benefit conversation beyond crisis response into structured life-stage planning.
Strategic Takeaway
Working carers are a retention risk — and a loyalty opportunity.
Podplan gives benefit providers a scalable way to:
- Protect employer workforce stability
- Increase proposition relevance
- Add preventative depth to their benefits ecosystem
Without adding complexity to delivery.