Returning to work after long-term absence

[ch 10: pages 199-200]

An HSE guide for safety and other trade union representatives offering practical advice on long-term sickness absence and return to work outlines six key actions to reduce sickness absence and help sick employees to successfully return to work. These are:

• helping to identify measures to improve worker health;

• suggesting the development of workplace policies for managing sickness absence;

• helping keep workers who are off sick in contact with work;

• helping plan adjustments to enable a return to work;

• supporting and empowering sick workers to return to work; and

• helping promote understanding of ill-health and disability at work.

The guidance, Working together to prevent sickness absence becoming job loss, is available from the HSE website.

TUC guidance on medical referrals, Rehabilitation, a short guide to the evidence, is available from its website.