Fit for Work's medical director Dr Lucy Goundry discusses the service's progress so far.
It's now been six months since employers across England and Wales began referring their employees who have been off sick for four weeks or more to Fit for Work.
The early take-up among employers has been extremely encouraging, with referrals coming from all types of businesses, both large and small.
GPs can also refer their patients to Fit for Work, with employers using the Return to Work Plans to help their employee return to work and replacing the need for a fit note.
We're really proud of how the service is working so far, helping employees to make a successful return to work after a significant period of absence.
We recently held a number of employer-focused roadshows in association with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) across England and Wales.
These were all over-subscribed events, with over 900 different employers attending and wanting to learn more about the service and ask us questions.
In 2016, we'll continue raising awareness of the service by attending conferences across England and Wales, such as the Health and Wellbeing at Work conference 2016.
We will also continue our work with ACAS, who are delivering regular workshops on Fit for Work and managing sickness absence.
Having a valued member of staff away from work on long-term sickness absence has a real impact on the bottom line of a business, as well as affecting productivity and morale of other team members.
So our ultimate goal is for Fit for Work to become the default service for people who hit four weeks' sickness absence.
We want every employer to think of us and know they can refer an employee who has been absent from work for four weeks or more to a dedicated health professional when they need to, who will help the employee get back to work.
It's not just getting staff back to work which helps employers. Fit for Work closely supports and advises those who are managing health conditions in the work place regardless of whether they have been off sick for four weeks or more, signposting them to other relevant services like Access to Work, local support groups or a physiotherapist.
And a tax exemption of up to £500 a year per employee is available on medical treatments recommended by Fit for Work or an employer-arranged occupational health service to help with positive steps towards a return to work.
We are continually evaluating and assessing Fit for Work to make sure the service is constantly moving with the times and adapting to the needs of employers and employees.
Feedback is very valuable to us and we'd love to hear from you - please do tell us what you think or get in touch if you have any questions at fitforwork.org/contact-us/
Remember - Fit for Work is available for advice as well as to refer your employees for an assessment. This advice is free and open to everyone, employees included.
The advice line is
Dr. Lucy Goundry is medical director of Fit for Work
Further reading
