The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that GP sick notes are to be replaced by ‘fit  notes’ with effect from 6 April 2010 in a bid to reduce sickness absence and support people with health conditions to stay in, or return to work.

Absence and unemployment due to ill health costs the economy £100 billion each year; in 2007, 172 million working days were lost to ill health.

GP’s have been using paper sick notes to sign people off work for the last 60 years. The current sick note asks GP’s to make a decision as to whether their patient should or should not work and for how long they should be absent.

Fit notes intend to change the focus, with an emphasis on fitness, rather than sickness, by giving GP’s another category on the form indicating that the individual “may be fit for some work”.

Changes Explained

The main changes under the new system are:-

• GP’s will only be able to certify the employee “not fit for work” or “may be fit for work” as opposed to “fit for work”. This is to shift the onus on to the employer to carry out an assessment of what the employee needs in order to carry out their duties and to discuss this with the employee.
• The new fit note will list the common types of changes employers can introduce to assist the employee’s return to work. GP’s will indicate on the fit note which change is most appropriate. The changes included are;
  • A phased return to work;
  • Altered hours
  • Altered duties
  • Workplace adaptations
     

Employers will need to look carefully at how they manage sickness absence. Those with carefully considered return to work programmes will be better placed to benefit from the new regime. In contrast, employers that fail to engage with the new approach could find themselves at an increased risk of disability discrimination claims as the new style report might highlight reasonable adjustments that the employer could make to the employees duties or workplace that would help them return to work sooner.

The obvious risk with the new system is that GP’s will recommend a course that is costly or unfeasible from the employer’s perspective. From that point of view, it will be important for GP’s to understand the workplace environment and what can be facilitated to accommodate a return to work. Dialogue between the GP, employee and employer will be essential to give full effect to the new regime as obviously GP’s are not in a position to decide what a person can or cannot do with regards to their role at work.

Some employees may feel that they are being forced back to work and the most effective way of encouraging employees to return is through access to proper occupational health support. GP’s using the “may be fit” wording will have to provide general details of the effect of the patient’s condition, but GP’s are not occupational health experts and any such advice may be too generic to offer employers support. The role of occupational health may well be critical to the new system’s success and will bridge the gap between what the GP says on the fit note and the employer’s corresponding duty.

Placing more responsibility on the employer and employee to work together to find an appropriate solution should have a positive impact on reducing the number of days lost to sickness absence each year.

Although the new fit note system may mean that the process of returning to work no longer requires 100% fitness, it will take some time and training for GP’s will be essential. Therefore, in the meantime, a clear and detailed policy continues to be the most important tool for employers in tackling sickness absence.

Expert employment law advice, such as that provided by NorthgateArinso Employer Services is essential on how to deal with employee absences and how the new fit note system may impact on your existing policies and practices.