Sickness Absence Management and Medical Referrals
Employees who are either away from work due to a recognised illness or injury or otherwise, which is causing concern, and/or who have an unacceptable level of sickness, either short- or long-term, as defined in the organisation’s Policy and Procedure for Managing Employee Sickness Absence can be referred to our Service for an assessment of fitness to work. This assessment will be undertaken by the Occupational Health Physician or Occupational Health Nurse Advisor. The purpose of the assessment is to:
- review the current health status of the employee in relation to work, aiming to respond to the specific questions asked by the referring Manager
- establish any potential work-related impact to the employees’ health condition, and provide advice and recommendations to reduce or prevent further impact.
- advise the manager on the employee’s fitness to carry out their role
- provide appropriate support for rehabilitation or return to work plans.
We also provide advice to managers who have a member of staff who may require temporary or permanent adjustments to their role or working environment, to assist a return to work or to help maintain attendance.
Any employee whose poor work performance is considered unsatisfactory by management and which is linked to an underlying medical condition may be referred to us for assessment of fitness. In many cases, an assessment by an Occupational Health Nurse Advisor can identify the problem, but where a clinical decision is required, a referral to the Occupational Health Physician will be necessary.
The service offers impartial advice to both the employer and employee. Information given to management is factual, relating only to specific advice about recommended work restrictions and/or modifications.
Rehabilitation and Fitness Services
The OHWS has access to a fully comprehensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation service. Prices are based on a cost per item and will be agreed prior to commencement.
Recording and Reporting of Absence
Many organisations do not or have the capacity to keep clear records on the levels of employees’ absence as a whole or by specific individuals. It is very important and beneficial for the employer to know how many working days, each year, they are losing due to staff absence and the causes.
A system will be introduced in the workplace whereby an employee will phone us to notify that he/she will not be in work and give the reason for this. We will then inform the individual employee’s Line Managers or Human Resources.
The benefits of this service are that, it has
- 24/7 Recording
- Instant notification to line managers/HR
- Automatic ‘trigger points’
- Formal Process
