How you log off work sick set to vary when new guidelines roll out
The Government is changing the system as 8.7million in the UK now have a limiting health condition
A man talking to his GP
The “fit note” system which results in a huge majority of patients being signed off work is to be overhauled. The Government will launch a series of pilots to examine ways to end the “tick box exercise” and provide personalised support for people to stay in employment, or return to work if they fall ill.
Under current arrangements, healthcare staff issue an official medical statement, also known as a sick note or a doctor’s note, which enables people to access sick pay and make benefit claims. About 11 million fit notes are issued every year in England, with more than nine in 10 confirming the person is not fit for work.
The four pilots will cover up to 100,000 appointments and last up to a year, the Government said, with “continuous testing” to establish the most effective approach to tackling the increase in the number of fit notes issued. Under the plans, patients are set to be either referred to community health workers after being granted an initial fit note, or not granted a note and supported by a separate service.
The support would include dialogue between patients, employers and health professionals covering “reasonable adjustments and keeping people connected to their workplace”.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “Fit notes are too often a dead end – a piece of paper that tells people they can’t work but does nothing to help them get better. We’re changing that. By bringing employers, the NHS, and patients together we can help people recover faster, stay connected to their jobs, and get the economy firing on all cylinders.
“That’s what these pilots are about, and that’s what this Government is committed to – fixing what is broken.”
A Government review last year found there are 8.7 million people in the UK with a work-limiting health condition, an increase of 2.5 million in a decade. The pilots will be launched in Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Gill McAteer, Director of Employment Law at Citation said: “Although the trials are expected to last for a year, there are clear indications that this is the direction of travel as far as the government is concerned and the reform of the fit note system will be focused on helping get employees back to work as soon as possible and engaging employers in the conversation early on, as to how this can be done.”
Gill added: “It may be difficult to manage employee expectations with what is genuinely feasible in practice. Although employers are already under a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees who are suffering from physical or mental disabilities within the meaning of the Equality Act, it can be difficult for them to access expert advice on what that looks like.
“The latest HSE figures show that over 50% of work-related sickness absences relate to stress, depression and anxiety. Poor employee wellbeing not only impacts sickness absence rates but also retention, engagement, productivity and performance levels. By almost every business metric, happier employees bring direct operational benefits and therefore efforts to improve wellbeing should be seen as supporting operational requirements rather than competing against them.
“The key to this is to listen to the employee and take expert advice on what can be done to support them. Do not discount measures without giving them careful consideration and remember your legal duty to make reasonable adjustments in the case of disabled employees. Often small businesses struggle to access occupational health services which can give invaluable insight here so this new direction for fit notes, with accessible experts geared to discussing how the employer can support the employee back to work, could be very beneficial. However, some employers will no doubt be concerned by the use of non-clinical support and may fear that employees will be given unrealistic expectations which they simply can’t meet.”
