Topic of the week: Fit notes case study

In this week's topic of the week article, Judith Harris of Addleshaw Goddard continues a series of articles on the new fit notes system with a case study that looks at how employers should deal with sickness absence in light of fit notes. 

A fit note should form the basis for a discussion with an employee about whether or not he or she could return to work. 

• Topic of the week: Fit notes case study Statements of fitness for work (or fit notes), which come into effect on 6 April 2010, will enable doctors to suggest adjustments to an employee’s role and/or workplace to enable him or her to return to work after a period of illness. 

Previous articles in this topic of the week series

Fit notes: overview An overview of the new fit notes system. 

Fit notes: dealing with sickness absence A look at how employers should deal with sickness absence in light of fit notes. 

More from HR & Compliance Centre on sickness absence, fit notes and related topics

HR & Compliance Centre subscribers have access to a wealth of material on sickness absence, fit notes and related issues - ranging from policies and documents on sickness and sick pay to FAQs on disability discrimination. We pick out just some of the information available on the subject. 

Statement of fitness for work

In March 2008, Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, conducted a review of the health of Britain's working age population. She recommended, among other matters, that a statement of fitness for work should replace the sick note, a recommendation that the Government has adopted. However, according to a report in Personnal Today (Black warns fit note will fail without detail), Dame Black has warned that the fit note is in danger of becoming just "another version of writing a sick note". Also according to Personnel Today, HR practitioners have warned that fit notes will lead to disputes over suitable work. 

HR & Compliance Centre subscribers can see a sample version of the Statement of fitness for work, in the HR & Compliance Centre policies and documents section, to familiarise themselves with the format of the fit note. 

In The Black review recommendations: one year on, Nic Paton looks at developments since the Government put its support behind Dame Black's recommendations. 

Requirement to certificate absence

For statutory sick pay purposes, employees can normally be required to provide a doctor's sick note after seven calendar days of sickness. The Pay for employees not at work section of the HR & Compliance Centre employment law manual explains the statutory sick pay rules and employees' obligations in relation to notification and certification of sickness absence. The Self-certificate form for sickness absence in the HR & Compliance Centre policies and documents section can be used where an employee has been absent from work for seven days or less. 

Managing sickness absence

According to Dame Black's review, ill health costs the economy over £100 billion a year. It is in an employer's interest to manage sickness absence and reduce its own cost liability. There are a number of resources on HR & Compliance Centre to help subscribers manage sickness absence, including:

• Good practice: Sickness absence management
• How to deal with employees on long-term sickness absence
• Line manager briefing on long-term sickness absence

as well as a range of policies and documents on Sickness and sick pay:

• Long-term sickness absence policy
• Letter to a doctor requesting a medical report on an employee on long-term sickness absence
• Letter informing an employee absent from work due to sickness that his or her pay will be stopped or reduced
• Medical examinations contract clause
• Letter requesting that an employee attend a medical examination

Use of absence triggers in managing absence - the IRS survey examines the different measures that organisations use to trigger a management reaction to employee absence. 

Fit notes and disability discrimination

The new fit note includes an option for the doctor to tick that the employee "may be fit for work taking account of the following advice". The doctor can set out suggested arrangements that could help the employee return to work. Arrangements, such as a phased return, altered hours, amended duties and workplace adaptations are set out on the statement as boxes that the doctor can tick. These arrangements could amount to potential reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and, although the advice on a fit note is not binding on the employer, if the DDA applies, it will still need to make reasonable adjustments. The Disability discrimination section of the HR & Compliance Centre employment law manual explains the law on disability discrimination and employers' obligations under the DDA, while the Equal opportunities policy relating to disability can be used to set out the employer's commitment to providing equality of opportunity for disabled people. 

There are also answers to the following FAQs on disability discrimination:

• How does an employee's condition meet the definition of disability?
• Is an employer breaching the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 if it fails to make adjustments for a disabled person?
• Where an employer redeploys a disabled employee to a lower-grade post under its obligations to make reasonable adjustments, is it obliged to maintain the employee's salary level?