The new Fit For Work service: What is it and how does it work?
In 2011 the Government announced that it planned to introduce a new health and work scheme, aimed at helping employers and employees facilitate a return to work for employees who have been off work sick for over 4 weeks. The scheme is called “Fit For Work” and the first phase was launched in December 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions has now published guidance notes for both employers and employees as to how the scheme will work in practice, which are available on the FFW website: www.fitforwork.org.
The scheme is intended to provide a service similar to an occupational health assessment, and will give employers, employees and GPs access to free health advice and support in relation to employees’ health in the workplace. A free telephone and online advice service has already been launched, and an assessment service will be introduced during early 2015. The FFW service will be delivered by registered occupational healthcare professionals, and in most cases assessments will be carried out by telephone.
The telephone and online advice lines can be used as often as necessary, and are available for employers, employees and GPs to contact FFW for advice where an employee’s health may be affecting their work, or when an employee is off sick.
Referrals to FFW and assessments
Once an employee has been off work for four weeks (which can include absence which the employee has self-certified) they may be referred to FFW for assistance in returning to work. Referrals to FFW can be made by GPs or by employers, although it is not mandatory for employees to agree to have an FFW assessment. The employee must consent to the referral and there must be at least the possibility of the employee returning to work, whether this is on a phased return or not. There is no limit on the number of employees that an employer can refer for FFW assessment, but an individual employee can only be referred for one FFW assessment in any twelve month period.
Once an employee has been referred to FFW, it is anticipated that FFW will contact the employee to make an assessment by telephone within 2 working days, and the person who carries out the initial assessment will become the employee’s case manager throughout the process. The assessment will involve the employee describing their condition, their job and any factors which are affecting their return to work, with the idea being that all possible obstacles preventing a return to work are identified. The employee and their case manager will agree a Return to Work Plan to address each obstacle and enable a safe and sustained return to work. In some circumstances, the case manager may also (with the employee’s consent) contact a suitable individual at the employer organisation to help in drawing up the employee’s Return to Work Plan.
Return to Work Plan
Once the Plan has been prepared, with the employee’s consent it will be provided to the employee’s GP and employer.
The Plan will cover a specified period of time and will state whether the employee is fit for work, or whether they may be fit to work if the employer follows various recommendations. It may also contain a timetable for the employee to return to work, advice for the employee and their GP, and may suggest other possible sources of assistance in the individual employee’s particular case. It does, however, remain for the employer to decide whether to implement any recommendations contained in the Plan.
A Plan can be accepted in place of a fit note as evidence of sickness absence for SSP (www.practicallaw.com/1-200-3609) purposes, and to avoid unnecessary consultations with GPs, the guidance suggests that employers should not ask employees to provide a fit note in addition to a Plan. An employee may however still be required to supply a fit note to cover the period between a referral being made and a Plan being issued.
Tax exemption
A new tax exemption which came into force on 1st January 2015 may also assist employers and employees in following any recommendations for treatment, for example physiotherapy. This tax exemption enables an employer to pay medical costs of up to £500 per tax year, per employee, without giving rise to a taxable benefit for the employee, and can be used to pay for medical treatment recommended to help an employee return to work. The exemption will apply when an employee has been absent from work for four weeks or more, and will cover treatments recommended by health professionals at FFW as well as within an employer’s own occupational health service.
Discharge from FFW
Employees will automatically be discharged from FFW two weeks after they have returned to work (including where this is a phased return), or on the date when FFW decide that there is no further assistance they can offer the employee. This will be either when the employee has been with the service for three months, or at the point that FFW decides that the employee will be unable to return to work for three months or more.
Contact details:
FFW advice line: 0800 032 6235
Website: www.fitforwork.org
For more information on the Fit For Work scheme or any aspect of managing employee sickness absence, please contact the Employment Law team at Askews Legal on 024 7623 1000
Askews Legal LLP – Solicitors in Coventry.
