9 December 2024
Should you obtain a GP or Specialist medical report when an employee is absent from work?
I am often asked to see an employee for a sickness or absence-related issue and have been told by the HR manager or employment lawyer that they have already requested a medical report from the employee’s GP or Specialist prior to our occupational health consultation. In my opinion, I feel it is usually more useful…
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30 September 2024
Early Identification and Support: Why Timing is Everything in Managing Neurodiverse Employees
Neurodiversity (encompassing conditions like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and dyslexia) plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and creativity. However, recognising and supporting neurodiverse employees from the start can make the difference between a thriving team member and one who struggles unnecessarily. The cost of unaddressed mental health issues, including neurodiverse conditions, is estimated to…
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16 September 2024
Why it’s worth paying for a good quality OH report
A common objection to obtaining an occupational health report is that they can be expensive. However, when you consider the potential cost of absence, ongoing poor performance or possible litigation, then, in my opinion, paying for a good quality OH report is a very small price to pay. A good quality OH report should give…
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7 August 2024
How to support employees at work with Long Covid
While most people who test positive for Covid-19 do get better within a few weeks of illness, for some people coronavirus can cause symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. This is sometimes called post Covid-19 syndrome or ‘Long Covid’. Most people will make a full recovery within 12 weeks, but…
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11 March 2024
How to set up an effective health surveillance programme with occupational health support
What is a health surveillance programme? As an employer you should have an ongoing health surveillance scheme if an identifiable disease or health effect may be linked to the exposure at work. This is a programme of regular health checks which are used to identify at an early stage if an employee’s health is being…
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10 January 2024
Can an employee return to work before a fit note expires?
The short answer is yes! One of the purposes of a fit note is for the GP to communicate with the person’s employer about their current health status and if they are fit to return to work or if they are fit to return to work with some adjustments or support in place. An employee…
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30 November 2023
Dealing with mental ill-health when an individual is at work
There are many types of mental health issues. An issue can happen suddenly, because of a specific event in someone’s life, or it can build up gradually over time. Some common mental health issues include stress (while not classed as a medical condition, it can still have a serious impact on wellbeing), depression and anxiety….
Read full article31 October 2023
Pre-employment Health Assessments
What is a pre-employment assessment and why do you need one? As a business owner or manager, you’ll want to ensure you have the right person to do the job as this will lead to reduced absenteeism and increased productivity. A pre-employment assessment is usually performed as part of the recruitment process, after the interview…
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6 October 2023
How to spot the signs of deteriorating mental health at work
Why is it important to spot the signs of deteriorating mental health at work? Having poor mental health has the potential to have a significant impact on both the individual, their family and friends, as well as their work colleagues and their organization. On a personal level, it can significantly affect quality of life, quality…
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14 September 2023
Getting the best out of your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
What is an EAP? An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a service that provides fully confidential advice, practical information, support and counselling to employees on a wide range of personal and work-related issues, including financial and legal advice, stress management and wellbeing. An EAP can be made available to all employees no matter when or…
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24 August 2023
Small Occupational Health Provider v Big Occupational Health Provider
Occupational Health Services Ltd is a small clinician-led OH provider…and we don’t hide the fact. People often associate the company size with its success, but let’s define success. In our eyes, success is ensuring our clients receive the highest quality OH services. We are in the business of providing our customers with the best possible OH…
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6 July 2023
How do we deal with non-consent for OH reports?
One of the questions I often get asked by managers is what happens if an employee does not consent to release of the occupational health report? Consent requirements for medical reports By law, an individual needs to consent to the sharing of their medical information. This means that in occupational health, we cannot release our…
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18 July 2022
The role of occupational health assessments
The latest official data shows that 32.5 million working days were lost to work-related ill health in 2019/20, with stress, anxiety and depression accounting for almost 18 million of these. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that Covid-19 has forced employee wellbeing more urgently into focus for many organisations. Businesses…
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12 September 2021
Why you need a menopause policy
Menopause awareness has been gaining traction recently, and rightly so; women of menopausal age are now the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. In fact, some 4.3 million women aged 45-60 are currently employed in the UK. While some of these will be blissfully unaffected, many will experience an impact on their work and home life. …
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10 September 2021
Working with cancer: how OH advice can help
According to cancer support charity, Macmillan, HR staff in a large company will see more new cancer diagnoses each year than the average GP. More than 700,000 people of working age are living with a cancer diagnosis in the UK, and many of these will continue to work during or after treatment. This could be because…
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10 August 2021
Supporting employees with mental health issues
What managers need to know Three out of five employees have experienced a mental health issue in the last year either because of work or related to work, while 31 per cent have been formally diagnosed with a mental health condition. Yet despite these alarming figures from Business in the Community/Mercer research, stress, anxiety and depression still…
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10 July 2021
Are standing desks worth the money?
It is well documented that a sedentary lifestyle and sitting still for long periods during the day can have an adverse effect on health. The effects can include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer; and prolonged static postures can contribute to backache, depression and muscle degeneration. Our bodies are designed to stand and move for long…
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13 June 2021
Fitness for safety critical work
Safety critical work can be defined as a task where the ill health of an individual may compromise their ability to do that task, therefore posing a significant risk to the health and safety of others, as well as plant, premises and the environment. Types of safety critical roles involve operating machinery such as cranes,…
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8 April 2021
Are you doing enough to manage stress at work?
An individual who feels stressed at work may feel stressed solely due to work issues, but in many instances there is likely to be a combination of home and work pressures. Sometimes the home pressures are the main issue, which then cause the individual to struggle with the normal work pressures, which can lead them…
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8 March 2021
Supporting employees with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) at work
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), and is a condition where you have long-term disabling tiredness (fatigue). Most people with CFS also have one or more other symptoms such as muscular pains, joint pains, disturbed sleep patterns, poor concentration, headaches, low mood. The cause is not known. Treatments that may…
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22 January 2021
What to expect from an occupational health assessment
The purpose of an occupational health referral is for the employer to understand if there is a health condition present that may impact on work, or if there are any work factors that may impact on the employee’s health. The referral should provide information on the individual’s health condition or symptoms, identify how that condition…
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2 November 2020
Is your employee classed as disabled under the Equality Act (2010)?
Determining whether an employee is likely to be considered as disabled under the Equality Act (2010) is important as it means that employers must consider offering reasonable adjustments to that person’s work if there are aspects of their work where they are at a substantial disadvantage, compared to a non-disabled person, due to their health…
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13 August 2020
Fitness to attend a disciplinary meeting
Have you ever invited an employee to a disciplinary meeting only to find that they go off sick the following day with stress? Attending a disciplinary meeting is likely to cause anybody feelings of anxiety and worry, but in many cases, delaying any formal investigations or hearings is likely to increase the anxiety further and…
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24 June 2020
What are reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act (2010) and when do they apply?
The Equality Act (2010) requires employers to offer reasonable adjustments for disabled employees, however, it is down to employers to decide what is reasonable and adjustments should comprise. Reasonable adjustments are limited to those that prevent a disabled person from being placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with those who are not disabled, and are…
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