Tag Archives: long term absence

Right to return within one year of absence?

July 13, 2016 Absence management, Blog, Top Story, fit for work, long term absence, return to work, surveys and research, UK government, Inka

The Resolution Foundation published a report titled Retention Deficit in June 2016 to discuss the challenge of increasing employment level among disabled people. This article provides a summary of the report and recommendations. All the recommendations put forward here are those of the report authors.

Despite the employment rate sitting at a record high, the government has positioned halving the disability employment gap as a central challenge for the UK labour market. Progress in employment rates among the disabled has been modest at best, but large geographic variations in disability employment rates give reason to hope that improvements are possible. Continue reading →

Presenteeism vs work as means of rehabilitation

July 12, 2016 Absence management, Blog, Top Story, long term absence, presenteeism, return to work, surveys and research, Inka

The Institute of Employment Studies (IES) published a review of presenteeism in May 2016. Occupational Health & Wellbeing reported that the headline finding of the report was that presenteeism can be beneficial. Reading the report itself, it is obvious that the writers use a different definition of ‘presenteeism’ from the one we at Honeydew would use. Continue reading →

Do you understand the Fit Note?

April 14, 2016 Absence management, Blog, Top Story, fit note, long term absence, occupational health, UK government, Inka

Fit Note – 5 years on

The Fit Note was introduced in 2010 and it has been in use for a little over 5 years. IOSH, the Chartered body for health and safety professionals recently conducted a study into the Fit Note titled‘Getting the best from the fit note’, which found that there is still widespread misunderstanding about the notes. Continue reading →

GP report vs OH report

January 28, 2016 Absence management, Blog, Top Story, long term absence, occupational health, return to work, Inka

So you have an employee who is absent with a long term ill health condition. As the manager you wonder what the future looks like for the employee. What is their prognosis? When are they likely to be able to return to work? Will they be able to do their job in full when they return? Will adjustments be needed at the workplace? Basically, you need medical advice.

As an employer, there are generally two avenues to go down in order to get a doctor’s advice when an employee is absent or suffers from ill health at work. Either you write to the employee’s GP or NHS specialist or you send them to see an Occupational Health Physician (OHP) or Nurse. Which option should you choose? It helps to understand what you can expect from the GP versus the OHP. Continue reading →

Autumn Statement and the Spending Review spell further commitment to reduce long-term absence

November 25, 2015 Absence management, Top Story, cost of absence, long term absence, sick pay, UK government, Inka

Tougher checks for disability benefits?

The Daily Mail wrote today, 25 November 2015, that George Osborne was expected to introduce new rules in awarding benefits to the long-term sick in his Autumn Statement. Today’s Spending Review does outline a vague plan of reforms Continue reading →

Fit for Work now open

September 16, 2015 Absence management, Blog, Top Story, long term absence, occupational health, reducing absence, return to work, UK government, Inka

We’ve written about this before, but now it’s finally here. Employers in England and Wales are now able to refer employees to Fit for Work, the government service set up to help working people on long-term sickness absence.

Fit for Work provides occupational health services to people who have been, or are likely to be, off work for four weeks or more. It is particularly aimed at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that have little or no occupational health support. Continue reading →

Are your employees playing policies too well?

May 18, 2015 Absence management, Blog, Tips, Top Story, absence policy, absence triggers, long term absence, short term absence, targets, Inka

Whilst absence triggers can be highly effective in cutting your absence levels, the way you set them is critical to their success. Understand how your absence policy works in real life when employees start to take advantage of loopholes. Continue reading →

Truth or Myth? Is time off work the best approach to dealing with depression or stress?

April 29, 2015 Absence management, Blog, Tips, Top Story, long term absence, mental health, occupational health, return to work, solutions, Inka

Myth!

Whilst dealing with depression or stress, shutting yourself away from everything for a while can feel like the best thing to do. But it isn’t necessarily the best antidote to these feelings.

Continue reading →

Fit for Work?

February 19, 2015 Blog, Top Story, absence prevention, fit for work, long term absence, return to work, UK government, Inka

Lord Freud said recently “Providing support where it’s needed most will help to reduce the length of time employees take off sick which in turn will cut sick pay costs, improve economic output and reduce the chance of people falling out of work and having to claim benefits”. It is for this reason that the government have decided to implement new guidelines that mean people face a ‘fit for work’ test after a 4 week absence period due to illness. Continue reading →

After 2 years of absence, you are more likely to die than return to work

February 4, 2015 Absence management, Blog, Tips, Top Story, absence statistics, health, long term absence, occupational health, return to work, surveys and research, wellbeing, Inka

Why do absence management experts go on and on about early intervention? The data makes for shocking reading. Read on and find out some of the key reasons why you really need to intervene early: Continue reading →