You are here:  Home  News  News Article

Monday 21st May 2012

SEARCH NEWS ARTICLES

View All News
Open the calendar
Open the calendar

News Article

News Archive

Fit notes for work absence 'need changing'

04/01/2012 Fit notes for work absence 'need changing'Fit notes supplied by doctors for people who are on sick leave for more than seven days need to be amended, it has been suggested.

After research by absence management specialist FirstCare revealed that fit notes can actually double the time that employees are likely to be off work, it has called for the government to amend the scheme.

Replacing the sick note in 2010, the fit note was intended to reduce the length of long-term workplace absences. However, FirstCare argued that as health professionals sign off workers for blocks of time, they could be out of work for longer than they need to be.

"GPs are in a difficult position, as they are expected to decide what an employee can or can't do without knowing anything [about] their job, workplace and support services available," said James Arquette, a director at FirstCare.

"However, the current system doesn't provide sufficient guidance on how to manage long-term health issues, or allow for either phased returns to work or managed workloads that would reduce long-term absences."

It recommended for GPs to consider phased returns to work and called for more guidance on how to manage employee workloads to accommodate their medical needs.
womenintechnology has a dedicated careers advice service for women, graduates and experienced professionals looking for technology and IT jobs.
Delicious
Submit

Latest Jobs

  • #.Net Developer

    Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Apps Prog Cnslt

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch provides comprehensive market, industry, product and advisory expertise to more than 140,000 businesses around the globe.   With unrivalled insight and access delivered by... More

  • Application Programming Consultant

    Overview Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Senior Java Developer

    Bank of America Merrill Lynch is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More

  • Project Manager

    Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing... More