There is an ongoing debate in most workplaces about sick employees. What is a reasonable amount of time for the employee to be absent and should they really come into work if they’re sick? GPs have warned that the government’s Fit For Work service could force people back to work before they are ready.
Launched at the end of last year, the voluntary scheme enables GPs and employers to refer people to be assessed by health professions and assisted in returning to work. These employees would have to have been absent from work for at least four weeks for the referral to take place. GPs have been very outspoken when it comes to the level of support a scheme will receive. Already, they said that they won’t support something that is “punitive” and anything that pressures patients to go back to work or come off benefits.
HR experts wholeheartedly agree that the best thing a workplace can have is a healthy and productive workforce. The British Medical Association recently said it would boycott the scheme if doctors believed it was forcing people to work too soon. At the same time though, human resource experts are explaining that the system isn’t designed to force people back to work prematurely but to make sure that employees aren’t abusing their benefits.
Whilst HR departments across many industries feel that a plan to support a reduction in absence is a great thing, they also feel the service shouldn’t replace any kind of existing occupational health provisions.
Employers do not have to use Fit For Work but it does provide impartial health expertise and work advice to both the workplace and worker. The Fit For Work scheme will be rolled out to the entire nation in May.