Absence Due To Sickness: What Is A Fit Note?

On 6th April 2010 the 'fit note' (or 'Statement of Fitness for Work') replaced the old 'sick note'

. This article looks at what the fit note is and how it can benefit both employees and employers.

It has been proven that being active - either mentally, physically or both - can aid a person's recovery from ill-health. Depending on the type of sickness or illness that has been experienced this could include gentle mobility exercises, a regular walk in the park, a trip to the gym twice a week and importantly returning to work and regaining some 'normality'. Staying off work unnecessarily can often lead to depression, lethargy, demotivation, low self-esteem and a down turn in general well being. You could also miss out on promotions at work, crucial training programmes, social integration and over-time pay.

The new fit note allows doctors whose patients have been off work for more than 7 days to advise them on their ability to return to the work place, whether on a full time or part time basis and what support, if any, will be needed from their employer to enable them to do this. The doctor will be able to specify how many hours he feels his patient is able to work and what measures the employer should be asked to take to aid the employee's return to the workplace.

It may be that the employee's return needs to be phased in, especially if they have been off on a long-term basis, so that, for example, they start by working a specified number of hours per day or week and the number of hours steadily increases over a set number of weeks. Additionally, if the employee has been off work due to work-related stress, the employer must meet with them to discuss how this can be prevented from happening again - perhaps by a review of targets, restructure of teams of reassessment of work stations.

It is possible that a doctor will assess the patient and deem them unfit to return to work for the foreseeable future. In this case the doctor will complete the fit note stating that the employee is unfit for work. The employee should then send the fit note to their employer as evidence of their inability to work and so that sick pay can be arranged.

The fit note encourages the doctor, employee and employer to be proactive in bringing about the employee's return to work and as long as the lines of communications between the parties remain open and all concerns are addressed and dealt with as well as possible then all parties should benefit.

Copyright (c) 2011 Robert Gray

by: Robert Gray

POST COMMENT

Planning Your Funeral: Why It's Not A Morbid Thing To Do Can't Sell Your Timeshare? Step By Step Guide To Picking A Plumber Whats A Chakra Pre-owned Car Dealership: Reliability Minus A Hefty Price Tag How To Keep Busy While Your Car Is Having Brake Repair Transmission Repair: Getting To The Heart Of The Problem Is There An Average American? Pet Allergies Air Purifier---5 Features An Effective Cleaner Should Have Easy Way To Get A Boyfriend Back Kindle Fire: It's All About Amazon New Born Heart Murmur Benefits Of Having A Budgeting Process