Fit for Work

A new government service, Fit for Work, which involves a referral for a voluntary assessment for employees who are off work through illness or injury, is being rolled out from January 2015.

Once an employee has reached, or is expected to reach, four weeks’ sickness absence they can be referred by their GP for a Fit for Work assessment by an occupational health professional who, if the worker agrees, will look at the issues preventing them returning to work. The referral will usually lead to a Return to Work Plan.

The change will not affect entitlement to SSP. Employers or GPs will be able to refer employees for a work-focused occupational health assessment intended to identify issues preventing an employee from returning to work. The service will draw up a plan for the employee, their GP and their employer, recommending how they can be helped back to work more quickly.

The scheme is not compulsory and workers will be allowed to refuse to be assessed or to follow any course of action or treatment recommended. Although the TUC is generally supportive of the principles behind the scheme, it is worried that people may be forced back to work before they are well.

It says that the referral service could have significant implications for employees and that trade union representatives will need to be aware of what the new service entails and the issues that are likely to arise so they can advise members who are referred to the service. It has produced a new guide on Fit for Work referrals for union representatives.

This can be downloaded from the TUC website at: www.tuc.org.uk/node/121924.