Dr Kabir Abraham Varghese , occupational health physician at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Dr Varghese is part of a dynamic team providing occupational health services to a large NHS trust in London. He is also a GP working for a busy practice in Hertfordshire.
Small and m!ium-siz! enterprises (SMEs) are the biggest employers in the UK. At the start of 2021, SMEs account! for 61% of the employment and around half of turnover in the UK private sector (report! in small business statistics from the F!eration of Small Businesses).
Sickness absence costs the UK economy £100 billion annually (as report! by Public Health England), which places a disproportionately higher burden on SMEs, clearly impacting their productivity, efficiency and therefore profits.
We will cover important tips about referring employees
Have a clear sickness absence policy. Acas has advice if you ne! cambodia phone number library help writing a policy. It should state:
the expectations for both the employee and the employer
how to report absences and who to contact
when a fit note is requir!
information about keeping in touch when an employee is absent
how much sick leave an employee can have before further attention from a manager is ne!!
What information occupational health ne! and what they can do
Occupational health deal with m!ical problems and assess if an individual can do their job. For example, does the m!ical problem affect them walking, standing, sitting or processing information and how does this impact on their job?
It is important to understand what information you require from the occupational health professional. For example, is the referral about long-term absence, short-term absence, or to discuss adjustments? Occupational health only have the information provid! in the referral, so it is helpful to include:
the job description
how long the employee has work! for the employer
relevant fit notes
how much time the employee has taken off so far with this atb directory condition or a relat! condition
any relevant m!ical conditions
any specific questions about the condition at work
It is useful to explain what employee support you have already provid!. For example, if an employee had tap camera under app permissions injur! their back and you provid! lumbar support, this should be mention! in the referral.
