Redundant workers who take lower-paid jobs get top up
Salisbury Underwriting Services will next month launch salary gap insurance to cover UK workers forced to take jobs on lower pay, the FT reports.
“A lot of people are having to take work that pays less money, but they still have to pay the same bills, still have the same financial commitments,” says Bill Graham of Salisbury Underwriting Services.
Graham, a North Carolina-based lawyer, came up with the idea when a factory near him closed and many of the workers were forced to take lower paid work.
Burger flippers
The policy starts once the holder has found new employment, when it pays out the difference between the old salary and the new.
The insured is not obliged to look for work of a similar nature, or even to re-enter full-time employment.
“They can flip burgers one day a week as long as they have a contract of employment,” Mr Graham said.
Broker view
Martin Jackson, director at broker Tobell, said: “We realised that there wasn’t anything like this in the market and we thought it was a great extension to accident, sickness and unemployment cover. There will be a lot of people who, long after the recession has passed, will remember the worries around job security.”
