LRD guides and handbook July 2018

Health and safety law 2018

Chapter 10

Returning to work after long-term absence



[ch 10: pages 195-196]

The HSE has published guidance for safety and other trade union representatives offering practical advice on long-term sickness absence and return to work issues.



The guide outlines six key actions that union representatives can take to reduce sickness absence and help sick employees to successfully return to work:



• 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.



HSE, Working together to prevent sickness absence becoming job loss (www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/web02.pdf)


After reps reported confusion among employers about the roles of different medical practitioners, the TUC issued guidance on medical referrals, Rehabilitation, a short guide to the evidence, which is available from its website (https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/rehabilitation-short-guide-evidence).