Addressing the sick-note culture

A new independent assessment and advisory service is being set up by the Government to help British businesses tackle long-term sickness absence in the workplace by getting people back to work. The scheme, announced by the Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud, plans to save employers up to £160 million a year in statutory sick pay and increase economic output by up to £900 million a year.

Currently, only 10 per cent of employees of small firms have access to an occupational health service, compared with more than half of staff in larger firms. The new service will enable employers of all sizes to receive bespoke, independent advice for cases of sickness absence lasting more than four weeks.

Under the current system, the vast majority of fit notes declare employees to be unfit for work. The new service is part of the Government’s response to the recommendations of health and business experts Dame Carol Black and David Frost.

Dame Carol Black said: “What David and I found in our Review is that far too many people with potentially manageable conditions – like stress or back pain – are effectively being signed off work for life, sliding from a short spell of sickness absence to a life of long-term benefit dependency.
“The changes being made by the Government will begin to change that. They will ensure that employers and employees get the best possible access to occupational health advice and support. And the new service will also provide much-needed support for GPs too, so they can spend more time helping their patients and less time having to police the benefit system.” The service is expected to be up and running in 2014.

EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has welcomed much of the Government’s response but has also expressed concern at the absence of any proposals to improve the effectiveness of the fit note.
The Government response to the Black/Frost review can be found at: www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/healthat- work-gov-response.pdf