DWP launches guidelines to help employers manage sickness absence
David Woods, 19 February 2010
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3 comment's on this article.New guidance goes live today to help British businesses manage staff sickness absence.
Guidance explaining what the fit note means for businesses is being published today (19 February) following extensive consultation with business groups and medical representatives. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), backed by a coalition of business groups, is urging employers to visit: www.dwp.gov.uk/fitnote
The new guidance has been created by the Department for Work and Pensions with the CBI, Acas, Federation of Small Business, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, EEF, Association of British Insurers and the British Retail Consortium. The Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association have also worked closely with the Department to advise on policy. The fit note reflects medical evidence that work is generally good for health and well being and can aid recovery for many health conditions.
According to the (DWP) the introduction of the fit note on 6 April 2010, in place of the traditional sick note, is set to cut the cost of sick leave for British employers and benefit the UK economy by an estimated £240 million over the next ten years.
Under the new fit note system, GPs will be able to advise if a patient "may be fit for work" and will offer advice on the effects of their health condition. Doctors will also have the option to suggest that their patient would be able to work, subject to the employer's agreement, if temporary changes such as reduced working hours or amended duties could be accommodated.
Caroline Waters, director, people and policy at BT Group said: "There are clear benefits to both employers and employees of adopting a flexible approach where individuals are recovering from a lengthy sickness absence. Often only a relatively minor adjustment of hours or workplace is needed to enable valuable talent to remain in the business and avoid recruitment and induction costs."
Dame Carol Black, who was responsible for conducting an independent review for the Government on the health of Britain's working age population, added: "Work plays a significant role in determining a person's health. The fit note is a hugely important development, which means that GPs will be encouraged to think about their patient's ability to work and provide more helpful information to patients to discuss with their employer. This is why the fit note is a win-win for both employees and employers."
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Aaron Ross - 25 February 2010
With the current sick note policy changing in April this year, employees and employers alike will no doubt see a huge change in how absence is recorded and authorised. However, whilst guidance has now been issued and many welcome the new approach, how it will actually work has yet to been seen and there are a large number of questions to be answered.
A major concern is that the new 'fit note' seems to be rather complex. GPs acknowledge that they are not trained experts in the field of occupational health and are concerned about how will they go about making the correct recommendations for the patient following a short face-to-face, or even, telephone consultation.
Occupational health is a speciality in its own right and as such, experts trained in this area are much better placed to make the judgements required within the new "fit note" system. We would therefore encourage employers to include an occupational health professional in the new process in order to mitigate the risk of cases becoming long term, complex and litigious whilst supporting the employee back into the workplace utilising all available resources.
John Picken - 26 February 2010
At one stage the Govt. was seriously considering giving GPs the option to tick a box saying 'Occupational Health Assessment' but decided against it, citing the reason that it might just become the default option.
Whilst the Govt. makes a fair point, it didn't make any reference to the lack of OH resource in the UK or the significant OH costs to employers if this option was included.
It has just launched a free Health for Work Advice Line for small businesses www.health4work.nhs.uk in recognition that smaller employers struggle to fund or resource OH.
Even though the fit note will not now include 'Occupational Health Assessment', the way that it is constructed means that OH service providers have never had a better opportunity to grow their business.
It will be interesting to see just how far the Govt. takes the NHS OH service as a competitor to commercial providers.
Is it now sowing the seeds of a UK wide state managed OH service in recognition of its shared responsibility to help people get back to work and away from welfare benefits?
John Picken
www.shandwell.com
Andrew Hunt - 24 May 2010
Free sources of HR support and advice include:
- The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
- Business Link
- The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
- The Department for Trade and Industry (Dti)
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
Business Link
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
The Department of Trade and Industry (Dti)
Hope this will help someone looking for HR advice
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