From April 2010, the existing doctor’s sick note is changing and will be replaced by a “Fit Note” – a statement about an employee’s fitness for work.
Under the current system, doctors can only advise whether the patient should or should not work. To help more people get the support they need to get back to work, the new system gives doctors two options to choose from. The new Fit Note will allow doctors to declare that a patient is :-
• “Not fit for work”, or
• “Maybe Fit for work” taking account of changes that can be made to an employee’s role or workplace to facilitate a return to work.
Michelle Chamberlain, an employment lawyer at Thursfields comments: “The fit note aims to help employees return to work as soon as possible. By considering issues like a phased return to work at an early stage, it is hoped that problems with return to work after long term sickness absence could be avoided.”
The guidance makes it clear that advice given by the doctor about possible changes to assist the employee to return to work is not binding. If the doctor declares that an employee could return to work if adjustments were made but the adjustments are not possible, the employee should be treated as not fit for work. The guidance can be found at www.dwp.gov.uk/fitnote .
For more information please contact Michelle Chamberlain at Thursfields on Tel: 01562 512412 or email@ mchamberlain@thursfields.co.uk