Long Awaited Fit For Work Guidance Published

The Department for Work and Pensions has this month published guidance for employers about the new Fit for Work service.

The service provides:

• Free health and work advice through a website and telephone advice line to help with absence prevention; and
• Free referral for an occupational health assessment for employees who have reached, or whose GP expects them to reach, four weeks of sickness absence.

The service aims to help employees to return to work sooner and help reduce sickness absence costs. It is hoped that the scheme will particularly benefit Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) which may have limited access to occupational health advice and services. Employees will normally be referred by their GP (which can be before an employee has been absent for four weeks), but employers can also make a referral after four weeks of absence with the employee's consent.