The person everyone relies on
Office managers juggle suppliers, staff rotas, facilities, payroll queries and whatever else lands on the desk. In a small business you might also be the finance assistant, the HR contact and the person who fixes the printer. The variety is part of the appeal, and so is the pressure.
Physical risk is low, though carrying deliveries, moving furniture and setting up rooms can strain a back. The bigger worry for most is mental health: being pulled in every direction for years can lead to exhaustion, anxiety or depression that needs real time away.
Sick pay at smaller employers
Plenty of office managers work for firms with a handful of staff. Those employers often stick to statutory sick pay, a flat weekly amount set by the government that is well below a typical office manager's wage. Check your contract or staff handbook to see what you would actually get.
If the answer is statutory sick pay only, a shorter deferred period, such as four weeks, could suit you. If your employer is more generous, align the deferred period with the date your pay drops. Either way, the benefit is a share of your earnings, paid monthly while you cannot work.
- Find your sick pay terms in your contract or handbook
- Work out how many weeks your savings would cover
- Pick a deferred period that bridges the two
How your job is rated
Each insurer rates occupations by risk. Office management roles generally fall into the lower-risk groups, which helps keep premiums reasonable and makes an own occupation definition available from many insurers.
Describe your duties accurately on the application. If a large part of your week involves manual work, such as warehouse tasks or site visits for a building firm, mention it. Getting the job description right avoids problems if you ever claim.
Lifting, moving and the odd facilities job
Office managers often end up moving desks, carrying deliveries or climbing on chairs to fix blinds. Those tasks rarely change your occupation rating, but they explain why back injuries feature in office absences.
If you also manage a warehouse, a workshop or staff on a building site, say so. Your title is less important to an insurer than how your days are spent.
Life cover and the way we help
Small firms rarely offer death in service, so your family may have nothing from your employer if you die. A life policy sized to your mortgage or rent, plus a sum for your children, gives them time to adjust. Putting it in trust helps the money reach them sooner.
We listen to how your job and your household work, then compare policies from the insurers on our panel. We explain the trade-offs between cost and deferred period and help with the application, so you finish with cover you understand.