Product in focus … Generali Eldercare Services

It’s known as the Sandwich Generation, and anyone caught in the middle knows exactly how it feels. A whole generation of people are dealing with the very real challenges involved with bringing up young families while caring for older parents or other relatives. Increasingly they find themselves squeezed between the very real needs of two generations.

The phenomenon may not be new, but the pressure is genuine. According to a study by Aviva, some 2.4 million adults in the UK currently find themselves providing care to more than one generation, and a quarter of the UK’s adult population have experienced having to care for both the older generation and the younger generation at the same time.

Those pressures can be financial – managing childcare, school or university costs at the same time as facing potential long term care costs. And of course they can be emotional, as ‘sandwich’ adults find themselves having to divide time between their careers, the people they care about have to seek a solution to that age old problem of not being able to be in more than one place at once.

A new service from Generali Employee Benefits UK, in partnership with EAP provider Optum, attempts to overcome some of these issues. The company’s new Eldercare Support Service offers information and support to all UK employees of Group Income Protection policyholders, whether or not they are insured. The support can include a report from an occupational therapist, who will carry out a home assessment of the employee’s parent to ascertain any urgent issues. This might be used to see whether a person can return home after an unplanned stay in hospital, and work out what other assistance they may need. It can cover what kind of assistance may be available through the NHS trust of social care services, and can offer a summary of key contacts.

Parents of staff can also benefit from a telephone and online EAP service so that they can seek help and support on emotional issues such as bereavement and practical matters like accommodation and mobility aids.

The pressure of work, parenting and caring for older relatives can be exhausting, and assistance in the form of information, practical help and emotional support can be invaluable. To find out how IHC can help you to support your employees, get in contact today.