The “Fit note” explained
With effect from 6 April there will be a change in the way that doctors within the UK certify illness or injury. A new medical ‘fit note’ will replace the current ‘sick note’ for employees as part of a Government scheme and will change the way in which doctors within the UK certify illness or injury. The plans are designed to help more people stay in work rather than drift into long-term sickness.
Fit note Vs sick note
Currently a doctor may provide the individual with a ‘sick note’ which will either state that they are unfit for work (until a defined point in time) or fit to return work. With effect from 6 April, doctors will now issue ‘fit notes’ which will now provide doctors the option to sign employees off work as unfit (as per the current system) or that you ‘maybe fit’ to work, taking into account the doctors recommended workplace adjustments.
The focus of the fit note will now be on what people can do, rather than what they can’t do, and will also help employers by suggesting what employers can do to help sick staff return to work sooner, such as suggesting a different role for an individual.
Work and Pensions Minister Lord Bill McKenzie said that employers find managing sickness absence a challenge that is compounded by the 'sick note' system. He said the current system “makes sickness absence a black and white issue – either you are unfit for work or you are not.”
"We recognise how important it is to help people who are sick to stay in work or get back to work quickly – the new fit note will help do just that," said Lord McKenzie.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has estimated that 172 million working days were lost due to absence in 2007, costing employers £13 billion. Absences that last over four weeks make up around 40% of days lost to absence, it reported.
The benefits of the fit note
Through the provision of a little extra information from the doctor it is hoped that the ‘fit note’ will provide employees who may have previously been forced into staying away from work on sick leave the opportunity to return to theworkplace and not suffer from the isolation of being ‘signed off’ on sick leave.
The aim of the new ‘fit note’ is not to force people back to work before they are ready, but to support those who may be fit to return to work with a little support re-enter the workplace in a safe and productive manner.
Doctors may recommend the following options when an employee is considered ‘Maybe Fit To Work’:
• Phased return to work
• Temporary adjustment in hours
• Temporary amended duties
• Workplace adaptations
Further information on absence management is available in the Corporate Healthcare Sickness Absence section of this website.
Further information – health at work
Benenden Healthcare Society provides practical online advice on Health in the Workplace as well as Corporate Healthcare to contribute to your staff benefits package.
Alternatively, call Benenden Healthcare on 0845 052 5733* for information about personal healthcare.
